Last month, Villanova dominated Butler in the second half on the way to a comfortable road victory.
The Bulldogs are out for revenge Wednesday when they visit the Wildcats in Big East action.
In the first meeting between the teams this season, Villanova (21-6, 12-4 Big East) trailed 33-30 at halftime before outscoring Butler 55-34 in the second half. All five Wildcats starters scored in double figures, led by Bryce Lindsay (18 points) and Matt Hodge (17).
A 17-2 second-half run was the big key for Villanova, which has won four straight meetings with Butler (15-13, 6-11).
“I just thought we came out a little bit too casual to start,” Villanova coach Kevin Willlard said after pushing past Butler. “The (11) turnovers kind of let us get down, but I felt we came out with a much better purpose in the second half.”
More recently, the Wildcats had won six games in a row before falling to No. 5 UConn 73-63 on Saturday. They shot poorly from the field (40.7%), the 3-point line (25%) and the foul line (64.3%) and will look to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
“We just didn’t come out with enough urgency (after halftime),” Vilanova guard Tyler Perkins after scoring a team-high 15 points. “They just set the tone in the second half.”
Butler has won two straight games following a six-game skid.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs topped Xavier 80-75 behind Michael Ajayi’s 24 points, while Yohan Traore added 21. Ajayi’s point total was his highest since mid-December, while Traore’s mark was his best on the season.
Butler has won only one game this season when scoring fewer than 77 points.
“(This season) is not the way we designed it,” Bulldogs coach Thad Matta said. “It’s not the way we thought it was going to go — nobody cares. We just (have to) keep trying to figure things out. We got another quick turnaround to get ready to go for Villanova.”
