After a slow start, Villanova puts away Butler at home

RADNOR >> As Villanova stumbled in its latest slow start — the usual Big East blowouts have been absent this season — coach Jay Wright wondered if a more divine pregame report had been ignored.

“Father Rob’s pregame prayers are not working,” Wright cracked.

Rev. Rob Hagan, the team chaplain, might leave the pep talk to Wright, though even the two-time national championship coach has about thrown up his hands trying to solve another early deficit.

“I don’t know what it is,” Wright said. “I feel like we’re ready. I feel like we’re fired up.”

But the Wildcats get going eventually, and proved the conference title still runs through the Main Line.

Saddiq Bey hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Jermaine Samuels had 20 points to lead No. 9 Villanova to a 76-61 win over No. 13 Butler on Tuesday night.

“That’s a team that can break you,” Wright said.

The Wildcats (15-3, 5-1 Big East) methodically pulled away in the second half in a game in which neither team shot particularly well. Villanova led by 11 late in the game despite a 1-for-7 shooting slump; still enough to protect the lead with the Bulldogs on a 1 of 10 slump.

The anticipated matchup between two of the supposed best in the Big East lost a bit of luster when the Bulldogs (15-4, 3-3) dropped consecutive games to Seton Hall and DePaul. Except for a couple of brief pockets, the Bulldogs couldn’t score against a Villanova defense that had tightened up of late and had held teams to 63.3 points over the last seven games.

The Wildcats have won five straight and 11 of 12, again a tough out, especially at the Pavilion, where they improved to 27-1 in Big East games since 2013.

“Just the culture of it,” Bey said. “Just being proud of the past players that were here. That’s the motivation every day.”

Kamar Baldwin led the fading Bulldogs with 21 points. Butler missed 15 of 20 3-pointers.