Overview
 
With Butler feeling the momentum after a full-force rally in the first 11 minutes of the second half that shaved the VU lead to 55-54, the Wildcats needed a lift.
 
They got just that from their guard corps. A Devin Askew steal led to a Bryce Lindsay basket. Acaden Lewis, on the night when he established a new Villanova freshman record for assists (146, surpassing Kenny Wilson's 145 in 1985-86) followed that with a short jumper. Then, with 6:54 on the clock, Askew sank a 3-pointer from the right side to extend the VU margin to 62-57.
 
A short while later he added a jumper and another 3-pointer to restore some breathing room before a delighted sellout crowd of 6,501 at Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats would go on to sweep the season series from the Bulldogs, 82-73.
 
Lewis (20 points), Lindsay (19 points) and Askew (16 points) combined for 55 points as the Wildcats bounced back from Saturday's 73-63 loss to No. 6 Connecticut, winning for the seventh time in eight games.
 
"It's conference play," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard. "They've won two in a row. They scored a lot of points the last two games against Xavier and Georgetown.
 
"I thought our guys did a really good job of bouncing back. We had two really good days of practice after struggling in the second half (against UConn). We're not coming out in the second halves overly well. That's something I've still got to try to figure out. It hurt us against UConn, hurt us against St. John's and could have really hurt us tonight."
 
A Fast Response
 
Butler scored the first five points of the evening before Villanova found its footing with sharp defense. A Tyler Perkins steal and score was part of an 8-0 surge that gave the 'Cats an 8-5 edge after four minutes of action. The Bulldogs answered with four straight points but 3-pointers from Lewis and Bryce Lindsay helped Villanova grab a 16-13 lead with 11:28 left in the half.
 
Another Lewis deep ball helped Villanova push the margin to 21-13 but the Bulldogs notched the next four to keep it tight at 21-17 with 7:26 to play in the first half. Forwards Michael Ajayi and Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor combined for 14 of Butler's points, connecting on 7-of-10 field goal attempts, in that span.
 
Guards Were Good
 
The Wildcats finished the period on a 21-11 run with much of the scoring damage being done by their starting trio of guards. Lewis ended the first half with 14 points while Lindsay made the signature play of the burst with a steal near mid-court followed by a corner 3-pointer.
 
Along the way Perkins recorded his 1,000^th career college point and added a 3-pointer on Nova's final offensive possession of the half to make it a 42-28 lead at halftime.
 
Key to that success was a defensive effort that limited the Bulldogs to 11-of-27 shooting over the first 20 minutes (.407). The Wildcats, meanwhile, were 17-of-35 from the floor (.486) and knocked down 6-of-17 from distance (.353).
 
Half Number Two
 
Butler opened the second half on a 7-0 run in 1:49 to quickly cut the margin in half, 42-35. Five minutes into the period it was back to within 48-42.
 
By the 11:24 mark of the period, Villanova's lead was 55-51. The Bulldogs damage came at the offensive end where they were 7-of-10 from the field and 8-of-9 at the free throw line in the first 8:36 of the half. At that juncture Villanova had committed eight fouls while Butler had been whistled for one.
 
The Bulldogs continued to chip away and were down 59-57 when Askew generated eight straight points. That created a 67-57 lead with 6:02 left to play.
 
Butler continued to press but Lindsay sank four clutch free throws – both as part of a 1-and-1 opportunity – and the Wildcats were able to maintain the lead on their way to posting win No. 22. That pushed Willard past Jack Kraft for the most wins by a coach in his first season at Villanova (21-7, 1961-62).
 
What They Said
 
Askew on the offensive outburst in the second half that helped the Wildcats hold off the charging Bulldogs: "I don't ever feel like it's a moment where I need to make a shot. It's just playing basketball. My teammates put me in the position where I was able to make plays. All credit to them."


Willard on the team's success in 2025-26: "I've said this a lot. These are a great group of guys to coach. I was lucky last year I had a great group that was fun to be around. This group comes to work and they have a great attitude."