INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Villanova went through a spirited early afternoon practice at fabled Hinkle Field House today as it zeroed in on a Friday night match up with Butler (10-8 overall, 2-5 BIG EAST). The Wildcats and Bulldogs will tip off here just after 7 p.m. on Friday night.
 
The national television broadcast will air on FS1. Brandon Gaudin and Nick Bahe will describe the action. The Nova Nation radio call will be handled by Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby, in their 25^th season working together on the Villanova Sports Network (Sirius XM channel 370 and channel 970 on the Sirius XM app).
 
The Wildcats hope to rebound from consecutive losses to No. 12 Xavier at Finneran Pavilion last Saturday (88-80) and at DePaul on Tuesday night (75-65). The Wildcats were hurt by a 19-8 disparity in the turnover department. Villanova committed 14 miscues against the Blue Demons.
 
"I think we just need to put together a full 40 minutes," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune about what he saw after re-watching the game on video. "I thought we did a lot of good things. I give DePaul a lot of credit. They played a full 40 minutes.
 
"If we want to be the best basketball team we can be by the end of the season, we've got to play a full 40 minutes."
 
Both the Musketeers and Blue Demons were able to push the tempo. The Wildcats are 8-2 this season (.800) when holding opponents to less than 70 points but were unable to do so in their two most recent outings.
 
On the offensive side, the 'Cats are hoping to enhance their efficiency from long range. In January, VU is 25-of-84 (.298) from beyond the 3-point arc. It ranks ninth in the conference in 3-point accuracy in BIG EAST games.
 
Villanova will again be without sophomore guard Jordan Longino (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy), one of the team's top perimeter defenders. Longino suffered a strained left hamstring in the win at Georgetown on Jan. 4 and has missed the last two contests. He'll be re-evaluated later this month.
 
"Basketball is a contact sport," noted Neptune. "Injuries are a part of every single athletic match, whether it's basketball, football, baseball or anything. Guys get hurt. Other guys have to step up."
 
The Wildcats (8-9 overall, 2-4 BIG EAST) have seen the evolution of the interior tandem of forwards Eric Dixon and Cam Whitmore. Dixon has been Villanova's steadiest scorer, recording double figures in all 17 games this season. The Willow Grove, Pa., native posted his third double-double of 2022-23 at DePaul (22 points and 10 rebounds).
 
Whitmore, meanwhile, continues to flash the skill that helped earn him a spot on the 2022 McDonald's All-American team. On Tuesday night, Whitmore scored 16 points to raise his season scoring average to 13.2 points per game since returning from a seven-week absence owed to right (shooting) thumb surgery on Dec. 3.
 
Villanova swept both meetings between these two squads last season, including a 78-59 triumph here sparked by 16 points from Justin Moore and 10 points and seven rebounds from Longino. Butler, too, will be looking to rebound from a Tuesday loss at St. John's.
 
"It's a Big East game on the road," said Neptune. "Butler is extremely well-coached, it's a tough environment in here and they've got great players. We've got to bring it."
 
Next up for Nova is a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against Georgetown at Finneran Pavilion (Noon, Fox and the Villanova Sports Network).