In a win over Butler, Villanova’s once-murky NCAA Tournament chances got a little clearer

When Villanova played Butler in late January, the Wildcats had led comfortably all game. They appeared to be cruising to a Big East road win when the Bulldogs got hot, pushed the game to double overtime, and handed Villanova a fourth straight loss. It seemingly plunged the Main Line into chaos.

The Wildcats were doing much of the same Tuesday night at Finneran Pavilion, seemingly leading comfortably even when it was by single digits. There was no collapse this time.

Villanova held Butler without a field goal for the final 3 minutes, 48 seconds to win, 72-62. The win, Villanova’s fourth in its last five, kept what was once seen as slim hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid alive and well. The Wildcats will still need good showings at Seton Hall and Providence in early March, but by beating a fellow bubble team, a once-murky path is considerably clearer.

For 20 minutes, the defense that has carried Villanova (15-11, 8-7 Big East) to its recent success was near nonexistent.

Butler guard Posh Alexander, who played three years at St. John’s, was 4-for-4 on three-pointers in the opening 10-plus minutes. The Bulldogs (16-11, 7-9) ended the half shooting 52% from the field and 58% from three, though Villanova led behind its own solid shooting, 44-35.

There were some noticeable improvements, though. After Alexander’s hot start, Villanova did not allow him to shoot for the rest of the first half. The Wildcats were picked on in the pick-and-roll early, but forced the Bulldogs to move away from it later in the period.

Villanova’s defense returned in the second half, when the Bulldogs shot 33%, including 4-for-17 from three. Butler did not make a field goal in the final 3:48.

“We didn’t do anything different. We just kept coming,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “... Luckily, they missed a couple down the stretch.”

When the teams met in Indianapolis last month, Butler’s DJ Davis torched the Wildcats with 28 points in the second half and overtime. This time, Villanova held him to just four points.

Two of Eric Dixon’s best games this season have come against Butler. After scoring 28 in the first matchup, Dixon had a game-high 22 points Tuesday. A corner three with just over a minute left extended Villanova’s lead to 10 and proved to be the dagger.

They came from different places. Dixon hit four threes in the first meeting but got the bulk of his points Tuesday by getting to the free-throw line. Dixon drew a game-high six fouls and made all eight of his attempts from the line.

“Dixon is a monster, in the most complimentary way,” Butler coach Thad Matta said after the game. “He’s so hard to stop, from inside, outside. That three he hit in the corner was huge for them.”

Though his scoring was key, Dixon’s rebounding was the bigger contributor. Villanova outrebounded Butler, 37-20.

“It’s not just his rebounding, it’s his body,” Neptune said. “Just mixing it up down there, clearing space for other guys to get rebounds as well. We’re a team rebounding, strategy-wise … I think our guys do a great job of that. They did a great job tonight, for sure.”

After being held below 10 points in eight consecutive games, Justin Moore has found some success in his past two. Moore had 13 Tuesday after scoring 10 Friday against Georgetown.

Much of Moore’s season was derailed by a knee sprain in early December, but he said his confidence never wavered even when his shooting struggled.

“Confidence is always going to be there, that’s one thing that’s never going to go away,” Moore said. “I know I can get buckets.”

Brendan Hausen was Villanova’s other offensive leader, also scoring 13. He’s now scored in double figures in five consecutive games.

Villanova has done what it needed to do against fellow bubble teams Butler, Providence, and Seton Hall. It did enough to beat strugglers Georgetown.

It now gets a shot at the reigning national champ.

The Wildcats lost by one, 64-63, to No. 1 UConn at the Wells Fargo Center in January. It now must travel to Storrs and face the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion on Saturday (8 p.m., Fox). UConn (24-3, 14-2) will be out to bounce back from its 85-66 loss to No. 15 Creighton Tuesday night in Omaha, Neb.

It’s a tough task, but the Wildcats believe they’re up for it.