Butler Basketball: Takeaways from thrilling win over Villanova

Butler basketball prevailed in a crazy battle of ranked teams from the Big East. What were the main takeaways from the Dawgs victory over Villanova?

Butler basketball needed a lot of things to happen in order to take down Villanova during its recent game. Aaron Thompson returned to action, Sean McDermott found his form, bigs dominated, and even a bucket was needed to prevent water from falling onto the court. Yet, in the end, it came down to one man with the ball in his hands and the game clock trickling to zero in a tie game.

Kamar Baldwin. Onions. Again.

The senior guard that has carried Butler on so many occasions throughout his career once again buried the huge shot to further his status as perhaps the most clutch player in the entire country. When asked if he thought that shot was going in when he released it, the soft-spoken Baldwin simply said “Yes sir.” A cold-blooded killer on the court with the confidence needed to a star.

With this win, Butler moves to 18-5 (6-4 BE) on the season and has quietly won three of its last four games. The Dawgs have put together one of the nation’s best resumes en route to reaching this record and beating Villanova at home gave them another Quadrant 1 win for the year. Hinkle Magic came up big again in this one and pushed Butler to a huge win.

Sean McDermott led the Dawgs in scoring on the night as he dropped in 21 points despite only attempting eight shots. He also recorded eight rebounds. Bryce Golden then chipped in a career-high 18 points (and some emphatic ones) while Kamar Baldwin and Bryce Nze also scored in double figures with 17 points and 12 points, respectively. Aaron Thompson scored nine in his return.

Villanova did not exhibit the same balanced attack that Butler did but its stars certainly came to play. Collin Gillespie was superb from the opening tip of the contest as he drove to the basket at will. He finished the game with 28 points while his partner-in-crime Saddiq Bey added 29 on five 3-pointers.

Now the final buzzer has sounded and the Fieldhouse has been cleared out, let’s dive into some of the biggest takeaways for Butler following the win.