Villanova returns to the court Sunday to take on a Butler team that has had a particularly difficult 2020-21 season. From a COVID pause that cost it three weeks to a rash of injuries, the season hasn’t gone the way Butler had hoped. As a result, the Bulldogs come into Sunday’s meeting with Villanova with an 8-13 record, 7-11 in the Big East.

That said, the Bulldogs are coming off one of their best wins of the season, a 61-52 win over Seton Hall. In addition, Butler took down Creighton, 70-66, on January 16. Both of those victories came at home, where the Bulldogs are 7-4 this season.

“At home, they go to another level,” Jay Wright said. “They’re very comfortable in that place, it’s actually a great place to play. I think players love playing there. They are so dialed in at home offensively.”

Offense has been an issue for Butler this season. The Bulldogs average 62.7 points per game and shoot 40.7% from the floor, 32.5% from 3, and 64.5% from the free throw line. They’ve been held to fewer than 60 points six times this season and have scored 70+ just four times.

However, all four of those 70+ point performances have come at home, where Butler’s points per game average rises to 65.4.

Things have been better on the defensive end, where Butler ranks in the top 70 on both KenPom (61) and Haslametrics (69). Butler’s opponents have averaged 67 points per game this season.

“They have always had a great defensive philosophy,” Wright said. “I think they’re as locked into playing personnel as anybody you play against. They play your personnel and they’re locked into your individual tendencies really well.”

Villanova won the first meeting between the teams by a score of 85-66 but there are some key differences heading into the second meeting. First, Butler was coming off a three-week layoff when the teams met in December. Second, that game was at the Pavilion instead of Hinkle Fieldhouse. And finally, Butler wasn’t at full strength in that first meeting. Bo Hodges and Bryce Golden didn’t play, and Aaron Thompson got injured in the second half.

Villanova is well aware of those differences.

“The last time we played them Golden didn’t play, Thompson was in foul trouble then got hurt, Hodges didn’t play so it’s really not a lot to take from that game,” Wright said. “Except for the fact that (Jair) Bolden can really get it going, he lit us up in the first half, we did a little bit better job on him in the second half. I think this is a different team we could be playing.”

“I feel like this game is gonna be completely different than that last game, we can’t compare them because now they have Hodges and Golden and Thompson since he got hurt in the second half, so it will be a completely different game but we just gotta be locked into Villanova basketball for 40 minutes,” Jeremiah Robinson-Earl said.

As Wright noted, it was Jair Bolden that had the most success for the Bulldogs in the last meeting, scoring 18 points. But only three of those points came in the second half. Aaron Thompson contributed 14 points and six assists before getting injured, while Chuck Harris had 12 points and Bryce Nze had nine points and eight rebounds.

Interestingly, Butler shot the ball well above its season average in the first meeting between the teams, hitting 48.9% overall and 46.7% from 3. Even so, ‘Nova managed a nine-point advantage from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats also won points off turnovers 21-7, second-chance points 16-3, and points in the paint 30-24.

Villanova also built a big advantage in the turnover department in the last meeting between the teams, committing only six while forcing 15. That, along with offensive rebounding, should be areas the ‘Cats can take advantage of again on Sunday. With Butler already having posted an above average shooting performance against Villanova, and now playing at home where it has played better offensively this season, it will be interesting to see how the Butler offense looks. Adding to the intrigue here is the fact that Villanova is coming off a pair of strong defensive performances.

While Butler’s season hasn’t gone the way it had hoped, the team has kept at it and has shown it can hang with some of the better teams in the Big East. The Bulldogs have also played better at home and have been known to give Villanova some tough games at Hinkle. On the other hand, Villanova has started to get rolling a bit once again, so it will be interesting to see how things play out.

“Always a tough game for us out there,” Wright said. “Butler is really tough and fundamentally sound. Their style of play is difficult to play against, especially in Hinkle Fieldhouse.”