In the second semifinal of the night for the Big East, the Villanova Wildcats and the Butler Bulldogs squared off in what looked to be a excellent game as the two teams have become more familiar with one another. However, the night belonged to Nova.
The game started with the Wildcats on a 19-0 run and the bulldogs went scoreless for the first 5:31 of the game. Butler was able to pull within 14 in the first half but were no match for the Wildcats as they led from start to finish.
All of the starters for Nova scored in double figures with Mikal Bridges leading the way with 18 and Brunson added 17. The Wildcats also were able to pull down 12 offensive rebounds allowing them to out rebounded Butler 36-22 while shooting 41% from three knocking down 14 total 3’s.
Butler’s stars got off to a slow start and Nova was able to hold Baldwin and Martin scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the game. The two stars for the Bulldogs finished with a combined 25 points. The deficit was too much to overcome and Butler never saw any glimmer of hopes as they were unable to string together any type of run to put pressure on the Wildcats. Butler will now await their fate as they hope for an at-large bid and Villanova will move on to play in another Big East Championship game as they will play Providence.