Overview
 
Villanova unleashed a 55-point second half attack to lift it to its second BIG EAST road victory of 2025-26 Saturday afternoon at Butler. The Wildcats trailed 33-30 at halftime before scoring the first seven points of the second half to grab a lead they never surrendered.
 
All five Villanova starters ended the game in double figures, led by Bryce Lindsay with 18 points. Freshman standout Acaden Lewis was dynamic in the second half, finishing with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Classmate Matt Hodge added 17 points while Duke Brennan contributed a double-double (15 points, 10 boards).
 
"Sometimes, when you have a young team, getting them to be more purposeful at the start of games is (tough)," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard, whose team won its fifth consecutive game. "The turnovers helped get us down.
 
"I thought we came out with a much better purpose in the second half."
 
Bulldogs capitalized on steals
 
The ball changed hands often in the first 5:41, with each team registering four steals. Butler connected on 5-of-7 field goal attempts in that stretch, including a pair of 3-pointers, to take a 12-5 lead. Lindsay scored all five of the Wildcats' points to open the contest.
 
A Finley Bizjack basket extended the Butler run to 9-0, with seven of those points courtesy of the junior. Lewis scored on a nifty drive to the goal to end the surge but the Bulldogs retained a 14-7 lead with 11:59 to play in the period.
 
Villanova responded with a 6-0 burst to close the deficit to 16-15 with 8:41 on the first half clock. At that point Nova was 7-of-10 from inside the 3-point arc and 0-of-7 from beyond it.
 
Matt Makes a Difference
 
Hodge provided the Wildcats a lift at both ends of the court midway through the period. The native of Limburg, Belgium dropped in five points, including VU's first deep ball of the day, and collected three rebounds to narrow the Butler margin to 23-21.
 
Bizjack scored on a traditional 3-point play on the Bulldogs' next possession.
 
Villanova, meanwhile, was unable to find a groove from long range. Hodge had the only successful attempt from deep (1-of-11) in the first 16:46 of the half. The Wildcats were within 30-23 thanks to their work at the defensive end.
 
Perkins picked up his second foul at the 2:38 mark, allowing Butler to earn a point at the line to move the margin to 31-23.
 
The Wildcats locked down defensively late in the period, helping to spark a 7-0 burst that pulled them to within 31-30. The nation's leading rebounder, Michael Ajayi, scored on a drive on the Bulldogs final offensive possession of the half to make it 33-30 at the break.
 
The contrast between the interior and exterior was stark for the Wildcats over the first 20 minutes. Villanova was 12-of-19 inside the arc and 1-of-12 from beyond it (overall field goal percentage of .419). Duke Brennan's nine points paced Nova.
 
Coming Alive
 
A 7-0 burst to open the second half began with a Perkins jumper and ended with a Lindsay triple from the right wing. That start, over the first 1:50 of the period, gave VU a 37-33 lead.
 
The Wildcats' offense kicked into high gear, sinking 13-of-17 from the field over the first 10:30 of the half, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. When Devin Askew scored on a spinning drive, the lead was 63-51.
 
At the other end, Villanova clamped down on Bizjack, who scored only five points in the second half and ended the day 6-of-16 from the field. The Bulldogs were
 
The Bulldogs were just 12-of-34 from the floor in the final 20 minutes, including 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.
 
What They Said
 
Willard: "We're a big personnel team. We watched film at halftime and saw how (Bizjack) was getting open. We just made those adjustments about how we were going to defend him.
 
Willard on defending the nation's top rebounder, Michael Ajayi: "I think they're one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. You have to make sure you have size on the court. You can't just put Duke out there. I thought Matt Hodge did a great job of just being big out there."