Short-handed Villanova falls to Butler for third-straight loss

INDIANAPOLIS — Villanova beat Butler, 82-42, 362 days ago in Philadelphia.

A lot has changed in 362 days.

Both teams feature new head coaches. The top three Villanova scorers from last year’s game watch on from either the NBA or injured from the bench. Butler had eight players graduate and brought in five to replace them.

Nearly a year after the demolition, Butler showed its progress and just how far Villanova has fallen, beating the Wildcats, 79-71, in front of a raucous Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Wildcats dropped to 8-10 (2-5 in the Big East) with their third consecutive loss.

“We just got to keep committed to our core values,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “We gotta play harder than the team that we’re playing against. We got to try to play for a full 40 minutes.”

The Wildcats were led by Eric Dixon. The big man scored 22 points, 14 in the second half. Caleb Daniels had a similar stat line, finishing with 21 points, 12 in the final 20 minutes.

However, Villanova never found someone who could slow down Simas Lukosius. Lukosius scored a game-high 28 points, continuously swinging momentum back in Butler’s favor with three-pointers. After several big threes, Lukosius egged on the student section, raising noise levels in Hinkle even higher.

» READ MORE: Can Villanova still make the NCAA Tournament? We asked bracket expert Joe Lunardi.

Villanova’s defense was lacking in the first half, allowing the Bulldogs (11-8, 3-5) to shoot nearly 60% from the field. The Wildcats struggled with turnovers, losing the ball eight times in the half. They even were bullied in the paint, scoring just 12 points to Butler’s 24.

Everything changed at halftime. Villanova came out with renewed defensive energy, which sparked a 14-0 run. Villanova held Butler off the board for the first 6 minutes, 44 seconds, only allowing a field goal after 7:48. The turnaround was led by targeting the paint, driving in, and finding offensive success against the Bulldogs.

“I thought we played a little bit harder,” Neptune said of the second-half spurt. “I thought we played a little more inspired. That first couple of minutes of the [second] half was amazing. That’s how we’ve got to play for a full 40 minutes.”

However, it wasn’t enough to pick up the road win. The Wildcats reverted to their first-half defense, allowing 38 points in the final 12 minutes.

The three-game skid is the Wildcats’ second-longest of the season. They lost four consecutive games in November.

The Wildcats’ rotation was even shorter than usual. Freshman guard Mark Armstriong battled foul trouble all night, picking up four fouls in just five minutes to cut Villanova’s eight-man rotation to seven.

Down Justin Moore, Jordan Longino, and departed guard Angelo Brizzi, freshman Brendan Hausen played the bulk of the minutes in Armstrong’s place. Hausen scored nine points in 13 minutes.

“I thought that, actually, defensively, he was a plus for us today,” Neptune said. “He played with a lot of energy. He was a big spark for us.”

In the final seconds, Armstrong and Daniels fouled out. The Butler student section began chanting “We want Collin,” hoping walk-on Collin O’Toole would enter the game.

Villanova returns home, taking on Georgetown on Monday (noon, Fox). The Hoyas (5-13, 0-7) have lost a conference-record 27 consecutive Big East games, including a 73-57 decision to the Wildcats last week.