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Big East Basketball: Five takeaways from Butler’s win over Villanova

By Lukas Harkins

Jan 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler University guard Avery Woodson (0) celebrates defeating Villanova University 66-58 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler University guard Avery Woodson (0) celebrates defeating Villanova University 66-58 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Villanova University guard Josh Hart (3) walks off the court after loosing to Butler University, 66-58, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Villanova University guard Josh Hart (3) walks off the court after loosing to Butler University, 66-58, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /

Villanova is vulnerable, albeit great

There is no question about the talent that Villanova has. They’re an outstanding team that will definitely be among the elite programs when March rolls around. The Wildcats lost their chance at an undefeated season in this one, but that doesn’t mean that their No. 1 overall ranking wasn’t warranted, because it was.

The Wildcats went into Hinkle Fieldhouse against a very talented Butler team, and they were unable to come away with the victory in a hard fought game. After receiving a technical foul in the first half, Villanova coach Jay Wright had nothing but good things to say about Butler in postgame.

But how was Butler able to come away with this win? Defense. Villanova is not an awesome offensive team, but they’re very good.

They average just under 80 points per contest. In this one, however, Butler held Nova to a measly 58 points, a season low. This was, in large part, due to their overall team defense, but also was a result of a poor outing from Player of the Year candidate Josh Hart.

The team’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, Villanova runs their offense through Hart. And he was not on his game in this one. He was just 3-for-11 from the field for 13 points, his second-lowest output of the year.

What this means is that both Hart and’Nova can have rough nights shooting the ball. And when the shots aren’t falling, Villanova can be beaten, even if it is still a very difficult 40 minutes to do so.