Villanova implodes late, falls to Butler in double overtime

Villanova has struggled with slow starts this season but not Saturday at Butler, when it jumped to an 11-0 start in 5 minutes, 39 seconds.

The Wildcats maintained that lead for most of the game, but it took just 2:30 for it to collapse, blowing an eight-point lead in regulation before falling, 88-81, in double overtime.

The loss, Villanova’s fourth in a row, drops the Wildcats (11-9, 4-5 Big East) below .500 in conference play. A team that once appeared destined for March now has a much murkier destiny.

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For 35 minutes, Villanova looked to be cruising to a rare win at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Riding the hot start and stellar defense, the Wildcats seldom led by less than eight. Villanova led Butler (14-7, 5-5) by nine at halftime and by 11 with under five minutes to go.

Senior forward Eric Dixon scored nine of the first 11 points and finished with 28 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Graduate forward Tyler Burton had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard TJ Bamba scored 14.

Villanova coach Kyle Neptune preaches defense and rebounding, and both were there for his team, especially early on. Butler missed its first 10 shots, and, at one point, were out-rebounding the Bulldogs, 11-1. Neptune changed up the starting lineup for the first time all season by starting Hakim Hart for Mark Armstrong, and Hart’s defense was key to the start. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

For much of the game, the offense was improved, too. The Wildcats generally attacked the rim and shot 48% from the field, with 44 points coming in the paint. Villanova finished with 17 assists, its third-highest total of the season. Armstrong, who provided a spark off the bench, had four in 24 minutes, while Dixon had a team-high five assists.

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In the end, it wasn’t enough. Villanova fell victim to “Hinkle Magic” for the fourth time in the last five trips to Indianapolis.

Neptune was asked postgame if he could identify a segment where the game turned.

“No, I can’t,” Neptune said, before hesitating. “No, no segment, right now.”

Butler ended regulation on a 10-2 run, erasing what Villanova had built over the first 38 minutes. The Bulldogs won by finishing the second overtime on a 14-3 run.

At the end of regulation and the first overtime period, the Wildcats led by two and needed a defensive stand to win the game. Twice, Butler players blew past defenders and finished contested at the rim, the first on a dunk, the second on a driving layup.

“They got really good players over there who made a good play,” Neptune said.

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Villanova held Butler’s most explosive scorer, senior guard DJ Davis, scoreless in the first half. Davis finished with 28 points, making five threes.

Finally, an offense that had functioned best by operating through Dixon, ignored him on the game’s most important plays. Villanova had four chances to either ice the game or win it outright, twice before each of Butler’s tying layups and twice after. Each time, a clearly hobbled Justin Moore took the final shot. Three fell short, off the front of the rim. The fourth, a desperate half-court heave to end regulation, was offline.

Moore, who missed more than a month with a right knee sprain, finished with five points on 2-for-12 shooting, 0-for-5 from three.

The Big East, which Neptune referred to as “the best basketball conference in the country,” provides no easy games, but it also provides plenty of opportunities. The four-game skid puts Villanova on the bubble, but the Battle 4 Atlantis title in November and the road win at Creighton mean the Wildcats are still in the conversation, even with the current struggles.

The Wildcats welcome No. 14 Marquette (15-5, 6-3) to the Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday night (7 p.m., FS1), the first of several Quad One games left. Still, those games mean little without winning them, and the Wildcats let a much-needed win slip away on Saturday.

“This is what it takes. This is the season,” Dixon said. “Nothing’s given to you. … You’re not just going to wake up and [have it] happen for you.”