Facing their toughest road trip in conference yet, Villanova beat Butler 60-55 on Sunday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the help of a stingy defensive effort and the brilliance of junior guard Josh Hart. With the win, the Wildcats went from one of the Big East favorites, to the conference’s juggernaut.
Hart finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the win, as the Wildcats struggled to get any kind of production out of Ryan Arcidiacono, Daniel Ochefu, and Jalen Brunson, as the latter two dealt with foul trouble all night. Arcidiacono finished with 11 points but shot just 3-for-14 from the field and 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. In the end, Hart made 10 of his team’s 22 field goals.
Butler, who has been one of the most explosive offensive units in the country through much of the season, finished with their lowest point total of the season, as seniors Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham were the only Bulldogs to find any space. The two combined to make 12 of the team’s 19 field goals, with Jones finishing the game with 20 points and five rebounds.
Since losing at Virginia just under a month ago, Jay Wright’s program has rattled off six straight wins and opened Big East play 4-0. After many were ready to count them out following their dismantling at the hands of Oklahoma and a performance that never saw them truly challenge the Cavaliers, this team has galvanized themselves and pronounced themselves the team to beat in the Big East. With wins over Xavier and Butler, one at home and one on the road, Villanova now only has two road games left against ranked teams, February 6 at Providence and February 24 when they visit Xavier. Looking at their schedule, if home court serves and they take care of business against the conference’s lesser teams, the Wildcats could be 10-0 by the time they visit the Friars–not to mention, playing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
There are, as usual, a few key reasons for Villanova’s resurgence.
First, these Wildcats are defending like crazy. Their points per game defense ranks ninth in the country, a statistic that has held them over despite barely being in the top 100 for points per game. This program is generally known for their offensive efficiency and the ability to spread things out, but while shooting just 31.5-percent from deep as a team, their defense has stemmed the tide. That shooting clip is tied for No. 281 in the country.
However, and this is the second transformation they’ve made, that percentage is actually on the way up. Just a few weeks ago, the Wildcats were under 28-percent as a team from three-point land. As a team that’s in the top 50 of assists per game, that number is slowly creeping up. What should scare the rest of the conference is the idea that a team this good defensively hasn’t even found their stroke yet. As Villanova beat Butler, they showed that they don’t even need to be hitting from deep to beat high level teams.
There is still plenty of season to go, and judging by early returns, we haven’t seen anything yet. But if current projections hold, we could be talking about Villanova as a top-seed in March Madness once again. After the start they had, it would be one of coach Wright’s best jobs as the man in charge, which is saying something for someone with his resume.
