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Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright

Opening Remarks

"What a good Big East game' is what I say every time we play Butler. If I didn't have to coach against them I would be a fan of them. I love how they play, they're tough and execute extremely well. I thought in the first half they executed a little better than us, played a little harder than us. I thought in the second half we were really good defensively. It is a simple thing; going into halftime with leaders like this you don't have to yell. You tell them this is what they are doing wrong and leaders like JayVaugh (Pinkston), (Ryan) Arcidiacono and Darrun (Hilliard) it is pretty simple. The executed better in the first half, we executed harder in the second."

On the second half

"Things they do well, they were getting done in the first half. We saw it coming and we were prepared but they were just doing it better than we were defending it. In the second half we defended it a little better than how they ran it. When you play them, you're not going to be able to take them out of what they do you have to defend what they do. They adjust and they are a challenge."

On losing the offensive rebounding battle

"In the first half they pounded us. That was the difference. They are very well schooled. They know what shots their taking and they know who is going to get the offensive rebound and you do to but you have to stop both ... That is something we weren't able to do in the first half and did a much better job of in the second."

On 13-0 start to the season (the best in program history)

"Anything we do to match `bests' in this program mean the world to me. Us compared to other programs is something I am not as interested in. We take great pride in this program and we know there are a lot of great players, a lot of great teams and a lot of great coaches and to match that means a lot to us."

On the differences between the `old Big East' and the current one

" I will let everyone else decide for themselves if this league is under-valued or not but I would say this: Coming into this game, you could feel an excitement around here about Butler coming in and the respect people around here have for Butler basketball. The excitement of just really good basketball here is something that I sensed ... Tickets are always crazy but they were really crazy for this game. Like I said, I don't like playing them but if I didn't have to play them I would be a fan. The guys are classy the coaches are classy and they are tough to play against. I love all the rivalries and this one is going to be a good one ... I like this league a lot, it is just pure basketball. Everybody else today is talking about the bowl games, but everyone around here has been pumped up about this game."

On upcoming road game against Seton Hall

"These guys have played in so many different venues and high level games that (traveling) is something you don't have to worry about. We have struggled against Seton Hall. Last year they got us in the tournment and a couple years ago they got us up there so we have struggled with them in the past. I honestly have not seen them a lot, I know their personel but we need to get to work tonight ... I have probably seen everyone else in the league but haven't seen them."

Ryan Arcidiacono

On halftime adjustments

"I think we knew in the first half that we got killed on the offensive glass. We were giving them open shots but we were focusing on Kellen Dunham so that's kind of what we expected. But they were making shots so in the second half we tightened up on everyone else. So they only got off one shot a player instead of the two or three that they got in the first half."

On whether or not his wrist felt right for a few games

"I've done the same thing I've done all year. I do the same workouts with my coaches; I do the same pre-game routine. The tape was a little annoying but I'm not going to use it as an excuse. I've done everything the same as I have for the past two and a half years here so it's not anything different. I might just be finding a rhythm."

On difference between old and new BIG EAST

"Like coach said Butler is one of the tougher teams in our league. But every team is tough; it's not like we're going in there expecting to win big in a pretty game. It's going to be ugly. That's what today's game was about. It was tough and scrappy, it didn't look pretty, but that's just the way we want to play and make it like a Villanova basketball game."

On other players having success besides him

"We were winning so I don't even care. If I was scoring, that would be just another positive, but I have been just finding everyone. Like coach said, my wrist was hurting a little bit for probably a five or six game span so I didn't shoot the ball very well. There were certain spots in the game where I can pick and choose but other than that I can find my teammates. My wright feels better now so hopefully I can start shooting better.

On whether last year's buzzer beater affects this upcoming game

"Not at all, I think they have an entirely new team. We just have to go with an open mindset, it's a tough game, we've lost there before but the buzzer beater won't specifically be on any of our guys' minds."

JayVaughn Pinkston

On halftime adjustments

"Experience is huge. Having Darrun, Dylan, Ryan, Daniel and I out there and having everyone feed off of us; just basically togetherness. That's what coach preaches all the time, for everyone to connect with one another."

On being a part of a 13-0 team

"It means a lot but we just can't get complacent. We have to keep getting better each and every day and go into practice with an open mindset and feeding off each other."

Butler Head Coach Chris Holtmann

Opening Statement

"Well you have to give Villanova a lot of credit. They were exceptional defensively, as we thought they would be. [Villanova head coach] Jay [Wright] has a really good team and they are good on both ends; all their numbers would back that up. They were physical, as we expected them to be; more physical than we were tonight. I give our guys credit that we were able to stay within reach but we certainly need to do some things better to win on the road against an elite team and that's what Villanova is; clearly one of the elite teams in the country. Certainly a learning experience for our guys, but I don't want to take anything away from Villanova; those guys played together, played well and it just kind of deliberately pulled away one possession at a time and kept it out of reach."

On halftime adjustments and Villanova's quick start to the second half

"We did not start the second half well at all. We needed to start better than we did. They have a lot of weapons obviously. They have a lot of different guys that can pop up and make threes. This is not a team where you can key in on one or two guys, where you can neutralize them in a particular game. One of the strengths of their team is balance. Just look at their numbers, they're incredibly balanced. And they are balanced in how they attack you inside and out. That's why they're elite, because they have great balance and great depth. [Villanova senior Darrun Hilliard's] threes were important. That run in the second half were it went from [a four-point lead] to double figures certainly hurt us. And we couldn't get over the hump at that point."

On holding Villanova to three offensive rebounds

"It was an emphasis going into the game. They are good at it. Now in the first half they didn't miss a ton of shots, so that helped. They got one of their 11 [misses] back. We met our goals there in terms of defensive rebounding. That needs to be something we are about. Our defensive rebounding percentage needs to be really good this year. Having said that, I never thought we were as good as we needed to be in the halfcourt; particularly in the first half, and second half as well. If there is maybe something good we did, it was defensive rebounding. We'll have to check the tape to get more on that. But that was the one good thing we did on that end."

On the Butler bench playing strong in the first half

"They have had good moments in practice and to their credit, they have stayed ready. I thought [Butler forward] Austin [Etherington] played as hard as he did all year last game. There are going to be nights were he makes a few shots like he did that day. The key for him is to play exceptionally hard and he did. So that was good to see; those guys getting rewarded. No question that we have to get more out of our bench and the fact that they came in and made some shots was a good thing. We definitely need that; I don't think we can go through an entire conference season and log the minutes that our guys have logged in the non-conference."