PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Villanova raced out to a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back Sunday afternoon, posting an 82-42 BIG EAST victory over Butler before 17,009 at the Wells Fargo Center. The win is the sixth in a row for the No. 14 ranked Wildcats, who improved to 13-4 overall, 6-1 BIG EAST.
 
The Wildcats were sharp offensively throughout, featuring a balanced attack that included four in double figures. Villanova connected on 28-of-47 field goal attempts on the day (.596), including 12-of-19 from beyond the 3-point arc (.632). At the other end, Nova limited the Bulldogs (9-7 overall, 2-3 BIG EAST) to 16-of-52 (.308) shooting.
 
Collin Gillespie led Villanova with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. He also contributed five rebounds and three assists.
 
"I think what you saw out there was the great respect our guys have for the Butler program," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They've had to deal with a number of injuries and COVID. We just have great respect for how they play. They're tough and physical. We were ready.
 
"The last time we played them they really out-toughed and out-executed us. I was really pleased with our performance. We were able to extend our bench a little bit, keep Collin fresh. We've been playing Collin a lot of minutes so that was good for us."
 
The duo of Eric Dixon and Justin Moore helped the Wildcats engineer a 9-0 in the opening minutes to help Villanova build a 13-2 edge through the first 5:38. Villanova sank its first six field goal attempts of the day with Dixon (six points) and Moore (five points) doing the most damage.
 
"We have a lot of growth left in us as a team," noted Wright. "There is a lot of improvement still to make. Part of it is getting balance offensively. I think Eric is a big part of that. Getting Eric going early was huge. They were taking Collin and Justin away, blitzing ball screens. They were finding Eric and he was delivering."
 
Added Dixon: "I think it's just taking what the defense gives us. I try to be physical every play and to be solid."
 
Gillespie contributed eight points to the mix midway through the period to help Villanova craft a 31-16 lead. Butler's Chuck Harris answered with eight points of his own to shave the Wildcats' advantage to 33-20 at the 3:40 mark of the first half.
 
Villanova's final points of the half came on a 3-pointer from the left wing by junior Bryan Antoine. The Wildcats took a 39-23 lead into the locker room at intermission fueled by a 15-of-21 shooting display (.714).
 
Gillespie's 11 points led the Wildcats at halftime. Moore added nine points in the period while Dixon contributed eight. Harris led the Bulldogs with eight points over the first 20 minutes.
 
Villanova reeled off a 12-0 burst to open the second half, sparked by a pair of Moore 3-pointers and another from Gillespie. Meanwhile, Nova's defense held Butler without a field goal (0-of-7) in the first 5:16 of the period to stretch its lead to 51-23.
 
The lead would grow to 75-41 with four minutes to play in the contest. Ironically, that was the identical score to Villanova's most recent home court appearance, a win over Creighton on Jan. 5 at Finneran Pavilion. Freshman Trey Patterson added five points in the final minutes for the Wildcats, who ultimately posted the 82-42 win.
 
Villanova is now 6-0 at home this season, winning each of those games by no less than 13 points. Its average margin of victory at home is 31 ppg.
 
"We've been playing good defense," stated Wright, "but early in the year we would have lapses when we had leads. We're starting to be able to do this for 40 minutes. Some of it is our staters really being locked in and another part of it is developing some depth so we don't lose that focus. I thought the guys on the bench did a really good job today."
 
The Wildcats return to campus for their next home game, Wednesday evening at Finneran Pavilion. Villanova hosts Marquette in a BIG EAST clash set for 8:05 p.m. (CBS Sports Network and Vilanova IHeart Radio Network). At halftime, the jersey of former Wildcats first team All-American Josh Hart will be retired.