Villanova takes out Butler in last regular-season game, 78-59

An early Villanova defensive lockdown decided things Saturday as the Wildcats closed out their regular season with a 78-59 takedown of Butler inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, traditionally a tough Big East stop for Villanova.

Next stop, the Big East tournament, with Villanova (23-7, 16-4 Big East) in strong contention for a No. 2 NCAA seed if the Wildcats are able to run the table at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m happy, mostly, that we’re healthy, and we actually got a couple of days of practice in,’' Jay Wright said afterward about his team, which has won seven of its last eight. “Every team is going through it. We’ve just had a crazy year with injuries and illness and diseases -- foot and mouth disease, whoever heard of that [stuff}? It’s just one of those years. Finally we got a couple of days of practice with everybody in there, and getting Justin [Moore] and Collin [Gillespie] healthy again. ... I feel like we’ve got our depth and our health together going into the Big East tournament.”

“I think it’s really team defense,’’ Moore said of keeping Butler off the scoreboard early. “Tough contesting them in the paint. Trying to get stops, we stayed together and stayed focused and got it done.”

Actually, an immediate 23-4 Villanova runout decided it. Three Villanova reserves -- Caleb Daniels, Jordan Longino, and Chris Arcidiacono -- had combined for five field goals before Butler had its second basket from the field. Among Villanova starters, Jermaine Samuels got going quickly and had 11 points by halftime.

“We needed them today and they delivered,” Wright said of getting more minutes for Longino and Arcidiacono.

Longino made two straight threes to extend the lead to 23-4, while Butler (13-18, 6-14) didn’t score on two straight possessions until the last two minutes of the half, when the Bulldogs gave up on shooting threes to score on four straight possessions, cutting the halftime lead down to 38-24.

A couple of Super Bowl-winning coaches got to Hinkle Fieldhouse during the NFL Combine. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid got to know Jay Wright a bit during his time with the Eagles. He was in attendance Saturday, as was Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who sat with Villanova athletic director Mark Jackson, who had worked for the Patriots during Carroll’s time there.

Villanova made 6 of 13 threes, while Butler made just 2 of 14.

Villanova had seven first-half turnovers.

Villanova had lost the previous season against Butler at Hinkle, and four of its past five trips there.

And Brandon Slater drove for a couple of scores and Moore hit a couple of jumpers, pushing Villanova’s lead back out to 47-28. By the time Gillespie connected on a three to give Villanova a 60-32 lead with 9 1/2 minutes left, his team had made 9 of 17 threes while Butler had made just 2 of 21. Moore led Villanova with 16 points.

Villanova will be the No. 2 seed behind Providence in the Big East tournament. That means a 7 p.m. quarterfinal game Thursday at Madison Square Garden against the winner of Wednesday’s 7-10 seed game, which could be No. 7 St. John’s. Villanova won their MSG regular-season meeting, 75-69.