NCAA Basketball: Best games from 2019-20 season – Butler vs. Villanova

The Big East matchup between Butler and Villanova paid off bigtime; let’s remember how it went down.

There are great and memorable moments in each NCAA Basketball season, though this most recent one certainly suffered as the national pandemic eliminated most of postseason play. Still, especially in conference play, there were plenty of memories made. Our top 40 games of the 2019-20 season reaches the top 10 and focuses on one of those big conference matchups late in the season.

10. #19 Butler 79, #10 Villanova 76

February 5, 2020, Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

Since the last major conference realignment just under a decade ago, the Big East has been a different conference, but still one of the best in the nation. While Villanova gets plenty of worthy praise, the other teams in the league have really stepped up recently. We’ve seen great play from programs like Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, and Xavier, not to mention the great decade Villanova’s opponent had just finished.

Butler was several recruiting cycles past the mid-major darling that marched to back-to-back title games and now developed into a regular contender in the Big East. They had actually sat in the top 5 earlier in the season after a 15-1 start, though entered play at 17-5 and needing a big win to get back on track. They had lost at Villanova just two weeks earlier and certainly had revenge on the mind.

Those Wildcats remained a top team in the nation, even if they might not have been as potent as in previous years. Villanova had Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey on a talented young roster and had already pulled off a win over top-ranked Kansas back in December. These Wildcats certainly looked poised to win another Big East crown, but every game in this conference is a battle, as this game showed.

Gillespie hit a 3-pointer on the first possession and Villanova grabbed the early lead. The first few minutes became a back and forth affair, but an 8-0 Butler run gave the Bulldogs a sizeable lead early. A Sean McDermott 3-pointer extended the lead to 7, but Villanova quickly fought back on the road. A few minutes later, they went on their own 8-0 run, with three straight baskets coming from Bey, giving the Wildcats the 27-22 advantage.

But the Bulldogs had the response after a timeout, scoring the game’s next 11 points. Both offenses put up points in bunches in the final minutes of the first half, though Butler was able to maintain that lead. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s layup cut that led to 42-38 at the half.

Butler scored the second half’s first six points, though it was Gillespie and Bey keeping Villanova in the game again. Bey’s 3-pointer and layup pulled the Wildcats back to within a possession, but the second half was only getting started.

The game was tight moving forward, though Villanova could never quite get over the hump and retake the lead, even tying the game on multiple occasions. They were still within one possession with eight minutes left, but a 6-point spurt from Butler put them in a sizeable hole. That was compounded minutes later by a clutch 3-pointer from Kamar Baldwin, giving Butler a 10-point lead with just under six minutes to go.

Villanova’s long-range offense woke up in the final minutes, getting necessary 3-pointers from several players, including Justin Moore to make this a 3-point game again. In the final minute, Bey hit a pair of 3-pointers after Butler made their free throws, and the game was tied at 76 with less than half a minute left. With the shot clock off, it was Butler’s time.

Kamar Baldwin connected on the 3-pointer at the buzzer to knock off Villanova and send the Butler crowd into a frenzy. The Bulldogs shot 57% as a team, but none of them were as important as that final shot from Baldwin. A 21-point effort from McDermott, who shot well, was nearly matched by Bryce Golden’s 18 points. Villanova fought hard all game long and got 29 points from Bey and 28 from Gillespie, but it just wasn’t enough in the end.

Butler lost a few more Big East games but wrapped up with the 5-seed in this talented conference. They had the opportunity to do something in the postseason but instead watched Baldwin’s career end without that chance. Villanova nabbed the 2-seed and certainly would have been seeded pretty highly had the NCAA Tournament taken place.

This Wildcats roster is built for the future and should contend for a national title this upcoming season, but again it’s a shame neither team got their chance to showcase their talents in 2020.