Cats Get Revenge, Gut Out Huge Win Over Butler

Butler has spent the better part of the past two years as a giant thorn in Villanova’s side, having won three consecutive games against the Wildcats. The first half Saturday felt like déjà vu for Wildcat fans, as the Bulldogs were again scorching hot and appeared on their way to burning Villanova with another anomalous shooting performance.

Butler made its first four shots and jumped out to a 10-6 lead. The lead ballooned to 13 as the Bulldogs continued to rain in buckets, and it appeared we were in for a repeat of the last meeting of the teams. Butler shot 56% from the floor and 54% from three, and killed the ‘Cats in transition, outscoring them 14-2.

But Villanova remained calm and stayed the course. It slowly chipped away at the lead, and a quick 5-0 spurt to end the half, capped by a huge Collin Gillespie three, cut the margin to a manageable three points.

In the second half, Butler finally did what ‘Nova fans have been waiting for it to do since December 30: come down to Earth. Butler shot just 34% from the floor and 31% from three in the second half.

‘Nova blitzed the Bulldogs out of the gates, using a 16-4 run to open up a nine-point lead just over five minutes into the half. From there the teams traded blows, with the ‘Nova lead hovering between five and nine. Butler twice closed to within four, including with 2:37 to go, but ‘Nova had an answer every time.

Most of those answers came from Donte DiVincenzo, who was fantastic, scoring a career-high 30 points. He shot 11-20 from the floor and 3-6 from three, coming up with big play after big play. He added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block while playing all 40 minutes.

Jalen Brunson was huge as well, pouring in 27 points of his own on 10-18 shooting. He added two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Omari Spellman secured yet another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. While he didn’t have a big scoring game, his impact was felt throughout. He was incredibly active on the glass, and he chipped in two assists, two steals and a block.

Mikal Bridges had a rough day offensively, netting 10 points on 4-13 shooting and 0-3 from deep, but he had his usual impact all over the court and made one of the biggest plays of the day with a steal and a dunk in the second half. He added five assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block.

As expected, Collin Gillespie got his first career start. He had five points, four rebounds and a block in giving the ‘Cats a solid 21 minutes.

Jermaine Samuels chipped in two points and five rebounds, including some massively important ones in a tight game. He had a three rattle out after looking like it would go down, and he looked much more comfortable. He attacked the glass with aggression and gained some valuable experience in 19 minutes.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had two points and three rebounds in nine minutes. He showed a nice spin move to get his only bucket.

Despite Butler’s gaudy first-half shooting numbers, the defense was much better. The Bulldogs got fewer clean looks and were forced to work on the offensive end. The improved defense finally started to bear fruit in the second half, as the Butler shooting numbers finally regressed back towards the season averages. For the game Butler shot 44% from the floor and 41% from three. After giving up 101 points in the first meeting, ‘Nova held the Bulldogs to just 75, giving up less than 40 in each half.

The ‘Cats won the turnover battle 12-9, converting those 12 Butler turnovers into 22 points.

‘Nova was much better on the glass, winning the battle on the boards 36-29.

Villanova was also able to reverse its fortunes at the foul line, netting a plus-11 margin from the charity stripe. The ‘Cats shot 20-23 from the line, while limiting Butler to just nine attempts.

The Wildcats shot 51% from the floor but just 33% from three. They did a much better job executing the offense and remaining diverse in their attack. DiVincenzo and Brunson in particular did a great job attacking the basket and working out of the post.

This is a very encouraging and satisfying win for Villanova. Concern was high entering the game with Eric Paschall missing his second-consecutive game, leaving the ‘Cats down two starters. That, combined with Butler’s recent success against the ‘Cats and the first half looking like a repeat of the last matchup, made it feel like ‘Nova was in very real danger of dropping consecutive games for the first time in five years.

Instead, the Wildcats remained calm and stayed true to what they do. Eventually, the improved defense was rewarded, and Butler started missing some shots. ‘Nova made the necessary adjustments and executed on all the keys of the game. In an incredibly tough spot, Villanova gutted out an impressive, important win.

Next up the ‘Cats will look to start another winning streak when they head to Providence on Wednesday.