Senior center Yohan Traore logged a season-high 21 points vs. Xavier on Feb. 21. Photo by Andrew Buckley.
DAVID JACOBS | MANAGING EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
After picking up consecutive wins against Georgetown and Xavier, the men’s basketball team hits the road to take on Villanova.
Here is what you need to know:
Who: Villanova vs. Butler
When: Feb. 25, 7 p.m.
Where: Finneran Pavilion
How to watch: FS1
To be, or NIT
The tournament hopes for the Dawgs are bleak, to put it lightly. Even in a scenario where the Bulldogs can rally together and enter the Big East Tournament on a five-game heater, it would likely take a trip to the title game just for a chance at an at-large bid. However, the fun about an all-bid league is that there is always hope that an automatic bid can be won.
In 2024, NC State won the ACC Tournament after rattling off five wins in five days as the 10-seed before streaking all the way to the Final Four. As for the Big East, in 2021, Georgetown won four games in four days and earned the automatic bid after entering the conference tourney at a lowly 9-12.
However, unless Cinderella’s shoe fits, the Dawgs are a projected three-seed in the NIT and will be watching the Big Dance from afar.
Nonetheless, a win against Villanova is crucial to help firm up any postseason plans, NIT or otherwise.
Scouting the Wildcats
Sitting at 21-6, Villanova is just outside the Top-25 and is all but locked into an at-large bid, currently projected as a seven-seed.
The Wildcats are led by a group of six scorers averaging between 9.5 and 14 points per game, led by junior guard Tyler Perkins. In the first match-up against Butler, Perkins went 0-for-5 from deep and logged 12 points. However, redshirt-sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay and redshirt-first-year forward Matt Hodge combined for 35 points and seven threes en route to an 18-point win.
Such a showing against the Dawgs displays the impressive top-end talent that Villanova has in its rotation, which makes the ‘Cats difficult to prepare for. Yet, with a shortened bench by choice, Butler’s injuries should not skew its odds for victory too much.
To achieve the upset, the Dawgs will need to continue to make their open shots and limit the turnovers against a Villanova squad that forced 14 in the first match-up.
