Butler used an 11-0 spurt late in the first half to grab control and then held off No. 8 Villanova for a 73-61 victory Sunday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Wildcats struggled to find an offensive flow all day, connecting on just 2-of-27 from beyond the 3-point arc on the day, including 1-of-18 after intermission.
 
Sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl delivered his fourth double-double of 2020-21 with 16 points and 16 rebounds. The Wildcats six assists on their 24 made field-goals. Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 20 points while Jair Bolden added 15 points.
 
"They were outstanding," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "Their guards just dominated the game. A lot of the damage came from Bolden and Harris. We just couldn't control them and I thought their guards did a great job defensively too. Teams that get up in us and are physical have bothered us. It affected us."
 
The Wildcats got four early points from Robinson-Earl to take a 6-5 lead at the first official timeout of the day. The game remained tight as the teams traded leads through the next 10 minutes with Butler up 18-17 at the 5:47 mark of the period thanks mostly to 13 points from freshman guard Harris.
 
An 11-0 Butler run late in the period helped the Bulldogs build a 31-20 lead. The Wildcats struggled to find any kind of offensive flow in that stretch and were just 1-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half as Butler seldom allowed clean looks at the basket.
 
"They just played us 1-on-1 and said, go ahead, try and beat us," said Wright. "They didn't bring help and we weren't physical or aggressive enough to beat them 1-on-1 or force help. I give their physicalness a lot of credit.
 
"I thought we did get some good looks. When you're a really good team you find other ways on those nights when the shots aren't falling – you get to the foul line, get some offensive rebounds, play good defense. We just haven't gotten there yet as a team. I think we can."
 
Part of the reason the Bulldogs gained the upper hand was rebounding. Butler owned a 23-13 edge on the glass in the first half. After 20 minutes, Butler led Villanova 34-24. Gillespie (10) and Robinson-Earl accounted for 18 of Nova's 24 points in the period.
 
Butler maintained its momentum into the early minutes of the second half. The Bulldogs drained 3-of-4 field goal attempts and three free throws to extend its advantage to 42-28 two minutes into the period.
 
"We made a little adjustment at halftime and came out, first play, and they get an and one," said Wright. "It was a matter of us not being on our game, to make those adjustments and then not execute them. Adjustments all sound great but sometimes adjustments can confuse your own team if you're not on top of it.
 
"I thought the first play of the second half was a big play. We were just a step behind."
 
Villanova (15-4 overall, 10-3 BIG EAST) bounced back with a 7-0 burst capped by a Cole Swider 3-pointer to cut that deficit in half, 42-35, with 15:49 to play in the period. The Wildcats got to within 45-39 before the Bulldogs reeled off a 9-0 spurt to grab their biggest lead of the afternoon at 54-39 with 10:37 to play. At that point, Butler was 8-of-12 from the field in the period, including 6-of-7 from inside the arc.
 
"We put some good possessions together, cut it back to five or seven and then broke down," stated Wright.
 
The Wildcats kept coming and a series of misses at the free throw line opened the door a crack in the final minutes. Yet each time, Villanova seemed poised to put the serious heat on, Butler got a big play at the offensive end. The Bulldogs finished the day 10-of-24 from beyond the arc (.417) and sank 4-of-8 from there in the second half.
 
The final count was 73-61.
 
Villanova is set to welcome Creighton to Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night (8:30 p.m./FS1 and 95.7 Ben FM). Prior to the game there will be recognition of seniors Kevin Hoehn, Gillespie, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Jermaine Samuels.