Villanova cruises by Butler in regular-season finale
Justin Moore and No. 11 Villanova got defensive in their tune-up for the Big East Tournament.
Moore scored 16 points, Jermaine Samuels added 15 and the Wildcats broke away early to beat Butler 78-59 Saturday in their regular-season finale at Indianapolis.
Villanova (23-7, 16-4 Big East) will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
“We came in and wanted to take pride in defense, playing tough and being physical, rebounding and contesting shots in the paint,” Moore said. “We knew it would be tough coming in this environment and trying to get stops. We were stayed together and stayed focused and got it done.”
The Bulldogs (13-18, 6-14) take a five-game losing streak into the tourney.
Villanova scored 11 straight points during a 20-1 run that made it 23-4. The Wildcats were up by 28 midway through the second half.
“That was important to get off to a good start here,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I don’t think we shot well here many times because usually because we are playing against a team that’s a great defensive team. The 3s we hit early were some tough ones. Justin hit a couple of step-back 3s, that’s what you need on the road, you need big-time players to make big-time shots.”
Caleb Daniels and Collin Gillespie each scored 11 points and Jordan Longino had 10 for Villanova. The Wildcats shot 49% while holding the Bulldogs to 36%, including a 1-for-11 start.
“We got a couple days of practice with everyone in there,” Wright said. “We got Justin and Collin healthy again. It helped we got Jordan and Chris (Arcidiacono) some minutes. I feel like we got our depth and our health together going into the tournament.”
Chuck Harris led Butler with 19 points. Bo Hodges had 12 points and six rebounds. Butler’s Bryce Nze had a team-high nine rebounds but was slowed by four fouls.
“We had some competitive minutes, but just not enough for a full 40 minutes,” Butler coach LaVall Jordan said. “Credit to Villanova, they came out with a lot of energy and made shots early. “
Villanova routed visiting Butler 82-42 on Jan. 16. That was the Bulldogs’ worst loss since No. 4 North Carolina beat them 104-64 in 1994.
Seton Hall 65, Creighton 60: At Omaha, Neb., Jared Rhoden scored 19 points, Alexis Yetna had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season and Seton Hall beat Creighton in a regular-season finale.
Seton Hall (20-9, 11-8 Big East Conference) won its fifth straight game. Jamir Harris added 14 points. Tyrese Samuel had 13 points.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 17 points and three blocks for the Bluejays (20-10, 12-7) and Ryan Hawkins had 17 points and seven rebounds. Alex O’Connell had six rebounds.
Seton Hall also defeated Creighton 74-55 on Feb. 4.