For the third time in program history, Butler knocked off the No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs went a sizzling 15-of-22 from three-point range to beat top-ranked Villanova, 101-93, Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous, sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd.
 
With the win, Butler is now 12-3 and 2-0 in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs hand Villanova its first loss of the season (13-1, 1-1 BIG EAST).
 
"That was a lot of fun," said Butler coach LaVall Jordan. "I'm proud of our guys; they brought a level of focus that was our best of the season. They kept connected throughout the entire game. You know Villanova would keep fighting, but we have some fight in us too. Hinkle was absolutely amazing today."
 
Butler is now 3-5 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the country; in addition to a 2012 win over Indiana, two of those wins have come against Villanova during the 2017 calendar year. Butler has now won three straight meetings against the Wildcats. According to ESPN, Butler's three wins over No. 1-ranked teams since the beginning of the 2012-13 season are the most of any team in the nation during that span.
 
Senior Kelan Martin led the Butler charge with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He hit all four of his three-point attempts and added eight rebounds.
 
Paul Jorgensen had a career-high 23 points, with 16 coming in the first half. Three first-half bombs came during the final 3:19 of the first half as Butler hit five three-pointers and all six of its field goal attempts to close the half and take a 53-45 advantage.
 
Butler hit 10 of 17 three-point attempts in the first half, and followed that effort with a 5-of-5 performance from deep in the second half. Overall, Butler shot 60 percent (36-of-60) Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs' lead grew to 23 at 81-58 with 10:23 to play. After trading baskets, Villanova went on a 14-0 run to pull within eight at 84-76 with 5:05 to play. The visitors would get no closer than six down the stretch as Butler hit all eight of its free throws in the closing minutes. Martin had nine points in that closing 5:05 to take the win.
 
Kamar Baldwin had 19 points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven assists for the Bulldogs. Butler assisted on 20 of its 36 makes. Sean McDermott (10), Nate Fowler (eight) and Henry Baddley (eight) came off the bench and combined for 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs.
 
Villanova committed only four turnovers in the game and shot 54 percent from the field. Jalen Brunson led the Wildcats with 31 points and five assists. Mikal Bridges added 21 points.
 
Saturday was Martin's ninth 20-point game of the season and his ninth time leading the Bulldogs in scoring.
 
Butler honored the late Andrew Smith around this game. The former Butler standout passed away from cancer nearly two years ago and his wife, Samantha, has spearheaded an effort called Project 44 (which is Andrew's jersey number from his time at Butler). In partnership with national not-for-profit Be The Match, the goal of the program is to save 44 lives through increasing registrations in the Be The Match national bone marrow registry. Samantha Smith joined Andrew's college teammate Chase Stigall on the court during the game. Stigall entered the registry and was matched with a young boy in Ohio last year, helping to save his life with a bone marrow donation.
 
Butler returns to action and opens the 2018 portion of the schedule Tuesday, traveling to Xavier for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will air nationally on FS1.