Butler Basketball: Keys to success in road battle with Villanova

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Paul Jorgensen #5 of the Butler Bulldogs tries to drive past Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats in the first half during semifinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 10: Butler Bulldogs point. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. Win the perimeter shooting battle.

Villanova, perhaps more than anyone in the country, is extremely vulnerable when they shoot the ball poorly from deep but is also unbeatable when they are shooting with confidence. In the first meeting between these two teams, Villanova got out to an early lead thanks to Eric Paschall consistently hitting contested trifectas. The Wildcats ended that game shooting 12-for-26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc and the Dawgs were not quite able to match that.

With this said, though, Villanova has struggled from distance in recent contests. Over their past eight games, the ‘Cats are just 77-for-258 (29.8%) from beyond the arc and they dropped four of those games. For the season, Coach Wright’s team is an undefeated 11-0 when shooting better than 35% from distance (10-8 in all other games). Because of this, it is vital that the Dawgs stay active in defending the perimeter throughout the night.

Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt if the Dawgs light up from the perimeter. Although not quite to the extent of Villanova, Butler also relies on the 3-point shot to win games as they seemingly go as the trio of McDermott/Jorgensen/Tucker goes from distance. Head coach LaVall Jordan’s team is just 1-9 when shooting below 33.3% from beyond the arc. Butler will need to actively seek out open looks for their best shooters throughout the day and hope they knock them down.