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03-10-2018, 11:54 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. â A 19-0 burst to open the game helped lift No. 2 seed Villanova to an 87-68 victory over No. 6 seed Butler (20-13 overall) in a BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep semifinal game Friday evening at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats were locked in from the outset and delivered an impressive wire-to-wire effort.
The win earns VU a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game for the fourth consecutive season. It will face Providence, which rallied to defeat No. 1 seed Xavier in overtime in Fridayâs first game. Pittsburgh is the only other team in BIG EAST Tournament history to reach four straight finals.
Redshirt junior Mikal Bridges paced a balanced VU attack with 18 points. Junior Jalen Brunson added 17 points and three assists while Phil Booth helped the Wildcats get off to the fast start by scoring 12 of his 14 points before intermission.
Kelan Martin led Butler with 13 points.
The biggest run of the night turned out to be the first one.
âI really didnât notice the score until they called timeout and I looked up,â stated Booth. âWe were just trying to get stops.â
The Wildcats held the Bulldogs â who blistered the nets to the tune of 60 percent shooting in the first matchup between these teams back on Dec. 30 in Indianapolis â in check for most of the evening. Butler was 25-of-52 (.481) but never got its high-powered offense going as it did in that 101-90 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
âI thought we actually did a good job defensively even though they shot 48 percent,â stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. âThis is the most efficient offensive league in the country. We limited their threes and did a good job on Martin and (Kamar) Baldwin. Thatâs just our league.
âIt might have been one of our best defensive games. Weâve got to play that way (Saturday) night.â
The first 10 minutes of Villanovaâs quarterfinal round win over Marquette included a slow start at the offensive end. On Friday evening, however, it was an entirely different story as the Wildcats reeled off the first 19 points of the contest before the Bulldogs could get on the scoreboard.
Indeed, the Wildcats dropped in 10-of-12 field goal attempts to claim a 28-8 lead with 10:15 to play in the first half. Butler did begin to get its potent offense moving midway through the period, draining 6-of-8 from the field at one point to cut into the margin, shaving it to 37-23 with 2:23 to play in the first half.
However, Villanova ended the first half as it began it â on a roll. It closed the period on a 7-2 burst, capped by a Booth 3-pointer with two seconds to play in the period to take a 44-25 lead over the Bulldogs into the locker room.
The Wildcats prospered in the period despite being without Jalen Brunson for a stretch for the final seven minutes. Booth stepped forward with 12 points to lead VU in the first period while Eric Paschall added eight points â including his 1,000th collegiate point â in the 20 minutes.
One key for Villanova in the period was its 18-8 advantage on the backboards. It would go on to post a 37-25 edge on the glass for the full 40 minutes.
The Wildcats misfired on their first three attempts from the floor in the second half while the Bulldogs converted each of their first three shots of the period. That helped Butler cut the gap to 46-31 after two minutes of play in the period. Yet Villanova dropped in its next eight attempts from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers from both Brunson and Bridges to build a 68-42 lead after eight minutes of the half.
The âCats cruised home from there. No Villanova player logged more than Boothâs 29 minutes as the team begins to set its sights on a Friars unit that has gone to overtime in both of its BIG EAST Tournament clashes.
The 2017-18 Villanova Menâs Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.
http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl...18aaa.html
The win earns VU a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game for the fourth consecutive season. It will face Providence, which rallied to defeat No. 1 seed Xavier in overtime in Fridayâs first game. Pittsburgh is the only other team in BIG EAST Tournament history to reach four straight finals.
Redshirt junior Mikal Bridges paced a balanced VU attack with 18 points. Junior Jalen Brunson added 17 points and three assists while Phil Booth helped the Wildcats get off to the fast start by scoring 12 of his 14 points before intermission.
Kelan Martin led Butler with 13 points.
The biggest run of the night turned out to be the first one.
âI really didnât notice the score until they called timeout and I looked up,â stated Booth. âWe were just trying to get stops.â
The Wildcats held the Bulldogs â who blistered the nets to the tune of 60 percent shooting in the first matchup between these teams back on Dec. 30 in Indianapolis â in check for most of the evening. Butler was 25-of-52 (.481) but never got its high-powered offense going as it did in that 101-90 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
âI thought we actually did a good job defensively even though they shot 48 percent,â stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. âThis is the most efficient offensive league in the country. We limited their threes and did a good job on Martin and (Kamar) Baldwin. Thatâs just our league.
âIt might have been one of our best defensive games. Weâve got to play that way (Saturday) night.â
The first 10 minutes of Villanovaâs quarterfinal round win over Marquette included a slow start at the offensive end. On Friday evening, however, it was an entirely different story as the Wildcats reeled off the first 19 points of the contest before the Bulldogs could get on the scoreboard.
Indeed, the Wildcats dropped in 10-of-12 field goal attempts to claim a 28-8 lead with 10:15 to play in the first half. Butler did begin to get its potent offense moving midway through the period, draining 6-of-8 from the field at one point to cut into the margin, shaving it to 37-23 with 2:23 to play in the first half.
However, Villanova ended the first half as it began it â on a roll. It closed the period on a 7-2 burst, capped by a Booth 3-pointer with two seconds to play in the period to take a 44-25 lead over the Bulldogs into the locker room.
The Wildcats prospered in the period despite being without Jalen Brunson for a stretch for the final seven minutes. Booth stepped forward with 12 points to lead VU in the first period while Eric Paschall added eight points â including his 1,000th collegiate point â in the 20 minutes.
One key for Villanova in the period was its 18-8 advantage on the backboards. It would go on to post a 37-25 edge on the glass for the full 40 minutes.
The Wildcats misfired on their first three attempts from the floor in the second half while the Bulldogs converted each of their first three shots of the period. That helped Butler cut the gap to 46-31 after two minutes of play in the period. Yet Villanova dropped in its next eight attempts from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers from both Brunson and Bridges to build a 68-42 lead after eight minutes of the half.
The âCats cruised home from there. No Villanova player logged more than Boothâs 29 minutes as the team begins to set its sights on a Friars unit that has gone to overtime in both of its BIG EAST Tournament clashes.
The 2017-18 Villanova Menâs Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.
http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl...18aaa.html
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