Villanova aims to worsen Butler’s Big East woes

After closing the calendar year with a bang, Villanova hopes to begin 2026 with a win Saturday when it visits Butler in Big East Conference action from Indianapolis.

The Wildcats (11-2, 2-0 Big East) have won four games in a row, the most recent a 71-66 victory over DePaul on New Year's Eve. Villanova outscored DePaul by 15 points over the final 10:42 with Bryce Lindsay and Tyler Perkins (19 points apiece) doing much of the heavy lifting.

The Wildcats won despite shooting just 34.5% from the floor, including disappointing efforts from Matt Hodge (0 of 7) and Acaden Lewis (3 of 9).

"I thought we did a good job of battling and still playing hard while not playing well," Villanova coach Kevin Willard said. "When you have a young team, that can be a little frustrating when you're not playing well offensively. It kind of affects your defense. I thought we hung in there while not playing overly well offensively."

The Wildcats have won 11 of 12 since falling to BYU in their season opener.

"Every time you win in this league, it's important. No matter how you win," Willard said.

Butler (10-4, 1-2) just absorbed an 89-85 defeat Big East defeat at Creighton on Tuesday. Yohan Traore scored 20 points for the Bulldogs, while Michael Ajayi contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds, although he shot just 5 of 13 from the field and fouled out with 4:42 remaining.

"They did a good job crowding the floor (against Ajayi)," Butler coach Thad Matta said. "They went after him on some (double teams). His fifth foul was really, really, really unfortunate, given the juncture of the game and what caliber of game it was."

Ajayi is aiming for his fourth straight double-double and enters as the nation's top rebounder at 12.3 per game. Villanova's Duke Brennan isn't far behind at 11.4 boards per contest.

The Wildcats won both meetings between the teams last season.

--Field Level Media