’Nova, Creighton: Unbeatens clash

Dating to last year’s national championship, Villanova has won 19 games in a row. But that streak will be seriously tested when the top-ranked Wildcats visit No. 10 Creighton in a New Year’s Eve special in Omaha, Neb.

Both teams are 13-0 and 1-0 in the Big East. A crowd of more than 18,000 is expected.

“It is one of the best atmospheres in the country,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

After a 20-15 season in which the Bluejays were bounced in the quarterfinals of the NIT, they have rebounded well. Creighton and Villanova are among five unbeaten teams, joining Gonzaga, Baylor and USC.

This will be a contrast in styles.

Creighton leads the Big East in scoring (89.8 ppg), while Villanova tops the league in scoring defense (61.5). Creighton is the top field-goal percentage team in the league (.540), while Villanova has the No. 1 field-goal percentage defense (.414). The Bluejays are also the Big East’s best three-point shooting team (.445), while Villanova is No. 1 in three-point percentage defense (.281).

The game marks only the second time in Big East history that two unbeaten teams have met in league play. The first took place Jan. 3, 1989, when Georgetown visited Seton Hall. Butler’s scary night: As Butler was flying home after Thursday night’s loss to St. John’s in New York, the lights on the plane went out about 40 minutes into the flight. Oxygen masks deployed and tears flowed as the plane descended from 35,000 feet to 10,000 feet before an unscheduled landing in Pittsburgh.

Coach Chris Holtmann told ESPN the plane became “really cold.” Panicked players were yelling and staff members were texting their wives, worried they might not see them again, he said.

“I was shook,” Holtmann told ESPN. “It was scary. We had guys crying.

“As a coach, you are obviously thinking of your family, but you are also thinking about all the young men on the plane.”

As of Friday, Butler had received no explanation of what happened.