It took some time for Villanova to find its defensive footing but the No. 7/6 did so in plenty of time to record an 82-63 BIG EAST victory over Butler in its home opener Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion. The win was the 600th of Jay Wright‘s coaching career, which began in 1994 at Hofstra.
Senior Collin Gillespie and sophomore Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led the Wildcats with 18 points each. Villanova (6-1 overall, 2-0 BIG EAST) connected on 29-of-58 shots from the field on the night (.500) and forced 15 Bulldog turnovers, which led to a 21-7 edge in points off of turnovers.
“That’s a good BIG EAST win for us,” stated Wright, who now has 478 Villanova victories to go with 122 registered at Hofstra. “It was a really good team effort.”
Wright said he was unaware of the personal milestone until informed by Villanova President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A. immediately after the game.
“It just means that I have a really good job,” said Wright. “Every coach who has been here has won a lot of games. We’ve been blessed.”
Butler showed no early rust from its lengthy layoff – its only prior action came on Nov. 25 – due to a COVID-19 pause. Jai Bolden scored seven early points and the Bulldogs claimed an 11-8 lead after the first 4:08 of action. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 17-10 after another Bolden 3-pointer.
“There are going to be a lot of challenges this season,” noted Wright of a pattern of slow starts that has revealed itself in the early going. “This is one of those challenges. I have some thoughts about it. With Bryan Antoine and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree out, our practices aren’t as competitive as I would like. I think maybe at the start of the game we are not prepared for the quickness and then we settle in.
“At least that’s what I’m hoping it is.”
The Wildcats, though, were nearly as efficient at the offensive end, however, draining 8-of-10 to begin the game and it saved them. Villanova regained the lead at 22-21 and then began to gain a defensive foothold, limiting the Bulldogs (1-1 overall, 0-1 BIG EAST) “to 2-of-10 shooting in one stretch. That helped the Wildcats grow their lead to nine points before a last second bucket by Aaron Thompson ahead of the buzzer made it 41-34 at halftime.
Robinson-Earl led a balanced Wildcats attack with nine first half points while Gillespie added seven points. Villanova generated eight assists on its 15 field goals over the first 20 minutes. Both teams were 4-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line in the period.
Butler held the Wildcats to 2-of-9 shooting over the first 4:32 of the second half, which allowed it to narrow its deficit to 45-41. But Villanova re-ignited its offense with Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore playing pivotal roles and slowly stretched its lead. It pulled away to the 85-66 victory.
“This was their first game after a pause,” Wright noted. “That’s a tough spot to be in. There’s no way to prepare for that.”
Prior to the game, Villanova and Virginia announced that Saturday night’s game between the two teams at Madison Square Garden will not take place. The game will not be rescheduled in 2020-21.
“We’ve worked closely with Virginia on this,” stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “Both schools tried to make this game happen. Due to COVID-19 issues, we will not be able to play.”
Jay Wright Wins No.600
