The Butler Bulldogs were flying high in their New Year’s Day matchup with the Villanova Wildcats. With 6:03 remaining on the clock, forward Patrick McCaffery knocked in a layup to put the Bulldogs up 64-51, capping a 23-10 run. Butler was playing tight defense, forcing the Wildcats into four turnovers over the first 14 minutes of the second half, and looked to be cruising to their first victory in nearly a month, ending a then five-game losing streak.
And then the Wildcats got a bucket. And then another. And another. Meanwhile, the Butler Bulldogs offense completely broke down, turning the ball over and missing shot after shot. When the clock hit zero, the scoreboard read Villanova 73, Butler 65. The Bulldogs’ losing streak was now up to six games, and they were still winless in Big East conference play.
It was a night that the Bulldogs will soon hope to forget. Coming into 2025 after a frustrating December that saw them lose their last five games of 2024, including four against ranked opponents, it appeared that the Bulldogs had turned a new leaf with the new year. Senior forward Jahmyl Telford was dominant, pouring in 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists on an efficient 57.1% shooting on the night, but a six-minute cold stretch to close out the game doomed the Bulldogs. Butler failed to make a field goal after the 6:03 mark of the second half and only managed to convert one of their four free throw attempts over that stretch.
Butler Bulldogs Coach Thad Matta On Collapse
Butler head coach Thad Matta spoke with the media after the game. One of his biggest takeaways is that Matt believed the Bulldogs panicked after a key sequence in the second half. Butler, leading 64-51, settled for jump shots on four out of five possessions, missing all four. Villanova responded with a three-minute hot-shooting streak that cut the lead from 13 down to 5 after a pair of Kris Parker free throws.
“Down the stretch, we played with panic, both offensively and defensively.”
The loss to Villanova marks the second time on this six-game losing streak that Butler has given up a late lead. The Bulldogs hosted the North Dakota State Bison on December 10th and led 67-62 with 2:39 remaining. The team went ice-cold from that point on, missing their final six field goals and losing 71-68.
Scoring Masterclass From Villanova Wildcats’ Eric Dixon
Senior forward Eric Dixon once again led the Wildcats. Dixon, the leading scorer in Division I at 26.0 points per game, put on a scoring masterclass in 38 minutes of gameplay Wednesday night. Dixon notched 28 points on 10/20 shooting from the field and 5/10 from beyond the arc. It was Dixon’s sixth consecutive game topping the 20-point mark.
Now in his fifth season with the Wildcats, Dixon has become a lethal scorer at all three levels of the court, shooting 53.5% from the field and 50.0% from beyond the three-point arc. He also provides 5.0 and 2.4 assists per game.
Villanova Wildcats Defense Shuts Bulldogs Down
A key component of the Wildcats’ second-half run was their lock-down defense. Speaking to the media after the game, head coach Kevin Neptune, in his third season leading the Wildcats, heaped praise upon his team’s efforts on that side of the court:
“I think we got something like nine straight stops. This is the Big East. We knew it was going to be a dog fight on the road. I’m really proud of our guys.”
The Wildcats shut Butler out during the game’s final run, with the Bulldogs going 0/9 from the field and committing three turnovers in that pivotal stretch.
Villanova has a two-game home stretch coming up, first against DePaul on January 4 and then a meeting with reigning national champions UConn on January 8. The Butler Bulldogs will hope to get their first Big East win of the season at some point on an upcoming two-game road trip. They’ll visit the St. John’s Red Storm on January 4 before travelling to Rhode Island for a game against the Providence Friars on January 8.
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