On Saturday, Villanova will look to build on Wednesday’s big win over Marquette when it hosts Butler at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Wildcats defeated Butler 80-72 on January 22. Since then, the Bulldogs have gone 3-5, entering Saturday’s game with a 15-13 record and a 6-9 mark in the Big East.

‘Nova holds an advantage in every traditional statistical category except field goal percentage, which Butler leads 44.9 percent to 44 percent.

The Bulldogs have experienced struggles at both ends of the floor since the last meeting between the teams, as their points per possession have fallen from 0.967 to 0.942 while their points per possession against have risen from 0.882 to 0.916.

Butler’s key contributors remain the same, as does their favored style of play, so to save time and space we’ll link to our preview of the last game where you can find that information.

Nova Nation would be thrilled if the ‘Cats can replicate their previous offensive performance against Butler. ‘Nova shot 49.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3 while knocking down 12 shots from deep. Five ‘Cats (Booth, Paschall, Gillespie, Bey, Cosby-Roundtree) scored in double figures.

Defensively, Villanova did a nice job against an offense that has the potential to give it problems with its motion. The Wildcats limited Kamar Baldwin to 11 points on 5-14 shooting while Paul Jorgensen and Joey Brunk combined for just eight points despite them combining to average over 19 points per game.

The free throw line also played a key role in the last meeting, as ‘Nova got to the line 18 times, converting 16 of those attempts while limiting Butler to just five attempts. The ‘Cats had a 13-point advantage from the charity stripe.

The Butler offense remains a threat, as it can do some different things to beat opponents. We mentioned the motion, which has given Villanova problems in the past. The Bulldogs are effective in the post, while Jorgensen, McDermott, Tucker, Thompson, and Fowler are reliable threats from 3. McDermott had 14 points on 4-8 from 3 in the last meeting, while Thompson led the Bulldogs with 15 points. In addition, Baldwin can create havoc with his dribble-penetration and ability to finish at the basket.

Containing Baldwin is key, as it can turn into a long day if he is able to get to the basket at will and either finish on his own or kick the ball out to the capable shooters on the perimeter as the defense scrambles.

At the same time, you can’t lose the players on the perimeter and need to always be aware of cutting and screening motion.

It will be interesting to see how the ‘Cats elect to guard Baldwin. Villanova’s job handling switches against Marquette provides a bit of encouragement, as it will need another connected effort on defense.

The hope is that ‘Nova can replicate its performance from Wednesday night while combining it with some improved shooting as the ‘Cats look to continue to pressure Marquette at the top of the Big East and jockey for NCAA tournament seeding.