After closing out the calendar year with a bang, Villanova hopes to start 2026 with a victory Saturday when it visits Butler in Big East Conference action from Indianapolis.
The Wildcats (11-2, 2-0 Big East) have won four straight, the most recent being a 71-66 victory over DePaul on New Year’s Eve. Villanova outscored DePaul by 15 points in the final 10:42, with Bryce Lindsay and Tyler Perkins (19 points each) doing the heavy lifting.
The Wildcats won despite shooting just 34.5 percent 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 fighting and continuing to play hard without playing well,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said. “When you have a young team, it can be a little frustrating not to play well offensively. It kind of affects your defense. I thought we held our own without playing too well offensively.”
The Wildcats have won 11 of 12 games since falling to BYU in their season opener.
“Any time you win in this league, it’s important. It doesn’t matter how you win,” Willard said.
Butler (10-4, 1-2) is coming off an 89-85 loss to Big East 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 filling the court (against Ajayi),” Butler coach Thad Matta said. “They chased him into some (double teams). His fifth foul was really, really, really unfortunate, given the timing of the game and his caliber.”
Ajayi is aiming for his fourth straight double-double and becomes the nation’s leading rebounder with 12.3 per game. Villanova’s Duke Brennan isn’t far behind with 11.4 boards per contest.
The Wildcats won both meetings between the teams last season.
–Field level media
