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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; Butler University fans celebrate a three pointer during their game against Villanova University at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler University fans celebrate a three pointer during their game against Villanova University at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /

The top of the Big East is very good

If Villanova was to defeat Butler in this game, they would’ve definitely had a stronghold over the top of the conference. But it did not play out that way.

And because of the Butler’s victory, the Big East is still very wide open, with four very good teams at the top: Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Xavier.

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But for how the two teams from this game move forward, both are in very good shape.

Villanova lost their first game of the season and will likely lose their No. 1 ranking in the country. However, this should be no cause for concern. In a difficult conference, it was highly unlikely that Villanova was going to finish the year undefeated, and losing on the road to a very good Butler team is nothing to be ashamed of.

And it’s not as though Villanova got embarrassed on the road. They played a very tough game that was close throughout, even though the end result was not what they had wanted when entering the arena. The Wildcats are most definitely one of the best teams in the nation, and will be competitive for a one seed as the season progresses.

Up next for Nova is a home battle with Marquette on January 7th. The Golden Eagles are 10-4 on the season, but will likely pose little threat to the Wildcats, who will surely be hungry to return to their winning ways in front of their home crowd. Following that game, Nova stays on their home court to face off against another top Big East team in Xavier. If they win that one, the team will finish their first stretch against the rest of the top four at 2-1, a very respectable record.

As for the Dawgs, Butler’s next two games both come on the road: Georgetown and Creighton. The Hoyas are in a bit of a down year, but as Butler has already seen in their loss to St. John’s, it is never easy to play on the road in conference play. Creighton will then be an immense challenge for the Bulldogs.

Butler has played great when tested against top teams this season, but winning that one on the road would move them to 2-0 against the top of the Big East before battling Xavier at home on January 14th.

The Bulldogs fell to No. 18 in the polls this past week, but with a home win over the top-ranked team in the country, they will surely rise back up. They do, however, have to deal with Georgetown on the road before the next polls come out, which the team cannot overlook.

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Chris Holtmann has already led his squad to a very surprising start to the year, and with wins over Georgetown and Creighton, his Bulldogs could find themselves steadily moving up the polls and near the top-10. In the end, this was an incredible win for the Butler Bulldogs, as they showed once again the determination and experience that comes with great basketball.