GAME 29: BUTLER (15-13, 6-9 BIG EAST) AT VILLANOVA (21-8, 12-4 BIG EAST)
Saturday, March 2; 2PM ET
Wells Fargo Arena; Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: FOX - @Joe_Davis & Donny Marshall
RADIO: 107.5FM, 1070AM - @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
TuneIn Radio App, XM 385, SiriusXM Internet 976
@BUTLERMBB | BUTLERSPORTS.COM

Notes (PDF)

The Bulldogs travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday afternoon contest against Villanova. The game will be played downtown at the Wells Fargo Arena, home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.
 
The Butler duo of Mark Minner and Nick Gardner will have the radio call on 107.5FM, 1070AM and the TuneIn Radio app. The 2 p.m. tip will air nationally on FOX (Joe Davis and Donny Marshall).  
 
Butler enters the game with a 15-13 record, coming off an overtime loss to Providence at Hinkle Fieldhouse Tuesday night. The Bulldogs are 6-9 in BIG EAST play, currently tied for eighth in the conference standings. Villanova is 21-8, and after a Wednesday night home victory over BIG EAST-leading Marquette, the Wildcats are 12-4 in conference play and in the hunt for the regular season championship.
 
THE BULLDOG REVENGE TOUR: The Bulldogs' final three games (beginning Saturday) are against three teams that took the first match-up against Butler in the double round robin BIG EAST schedule. Villanova (80-72, Jan. 22 in Indianapolis), Xavier (70-69, Jan. 13, Cincinnati), and Providence (73-67, OT, Tuesday, Indianapolis) each got the better of the Bulldogs the first time around. Butler has swept the season series with DePaul, while BIG EAST-leading Marquette won both regular season match-ups against the Bulldogs. Butler has split the other four series with BIG EAST rivals Seton Hall, Creighton, Georgetown, and St. John's.
 
THE SERIES: Villanova owns a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs, but all three of Butler's wins have come in the last six match-ups. All but one of the games between the two programs have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season.
 
FIRST TIME AROUND: A key second-half spurt led No. 18 Villanova to an 80-72 win over Butler Jan. 22 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

With 17:31 remaining in the game, Butler took a 44-43 lead. It was the Bulldogs' first lead since midway through the first half. Villanova immediately countered with a 12-0 run keyed by a trio of three-pointers by Colin Gillespie. That run gave Villanova a 55-44 lead with 14:05 to play. Butler would trim the margin to five minutes later but could never string enough possessions together to get over the hump.

Eric Pascall (23) and Phil Booth (17) led five Wildcats in double figures. Villanova shot 49 percent for the game, including 12-of-26 from behind the arc.

Aaron Thompson paced the Bulldogs with 15 points and four assists. Sean McDermott had 14 points on four three-pointers to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.

Butler shot 48 percent and hit 11 three-pointers, but couldn't overcome the free throw line as Villanova attempted 18 free throws (making 16) compared to just five (3-5) for Butler.

LAST SEASON: Butler's most recent win against Villanova came Dec. 30, 2017 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Villanova was ranked No. 1 at the time, marking the second consecutive season that Butler had knocked off the No. 1-ranked Wildcats at home. Butler shot 15-of-22 from behind the arc in the 101-93 win, hitting a program-record 10 straight three-pointers. In a sign of how offensively-charged the game was, Villanova committed only four turnovers and shot 54 percent from the field in a losing effort.   
 
Before topping it with 27 points against Ole Miss Nov. 16, Paul Jorgensen's previous career-high was 23 points in the Dec. 30, 2017 win. 

BIG IN THE BIG EAST: Kamar Baldwin scored 27 points in Tuesday's overtime loss to Providence. It marked the sixth time in BIG EAST play this season that the junior has scored 20 or more points. Earlier in league contests, Baldwin scored 30 (vs. St. John's, Jan. 19) and 28 (vs. Creighton, Jan. 5).

Baldwin's 19.4 points per game in BIG EAST play are fifth in the conference rankings.

APPROACHING A GRAND: Redshirt senior Paul Jorgensen enters Saturday's game with 989 career points. That includes 677 in 63 career games at Butler in addition to 312 points in his two seasons at George Washington prior to transferring to Butler. After averaging 3.6 and 4.9 points per game, respectively, in his two seasons at GW, Jorgensen has averaged 10.7 points per game (while shooting 37 percent from three-point range) during his time at Butler.

ALMOST THERE: Butler overcame a 14-point first-half deficit and 32-percent shooting from the field to force overtime Tuesday night in a loss to Providence. The Butler heroics included Nate Fowler (22 seconds remaining) and Baldwin (11 seconds remaining) each hitting huge three-pointers sandwiched around two PC free throws in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime. Butler's 31.7-percent shooting was the team's third-worst performance from the field this season.

TO THE LINE: Against Providence, the Bulldogs had more than a third of their points come from the free throw line, where they went 23-of-29. Butler's 23 made free throws tied a season-best, which also occurred in the Nov. 16 win over Ole Miss (23-27). On the season, Butler is shooting 74 percent from the free throw line, which is second in the BIG EAST.

Baldwin's mark of .858 from the free throw line this season is fourth in the BIG EAST. Sean McDermott (.833) and Jordan Tucker (.825) are also shooting better than 80 percent at the line this season.  

HE'S 'SEAN' FIRE: Redshirt junior Sean McDermott had a career-high 27 points in the Feb. 20 loss at Marquette. McDermott made eight of his 13 attempts from the field, including a 4-of-5 performance from behind the arc. Both his seven made free throws and eight free throws attempts were career-highs.

For McDermott, the performance was his fourth 20-point game of the season and the sixth time he had led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2018-19. McDermott had a team-high eight rebounds in the game as well.

WEEKEND WARRIORS: In BIG EAST play, Butler is 5-1 in weekend games, including a 5-0 mark on Saturdays. Butler is only 1-7 in midweek games (all played on Tuesday or Wednesday). In addition to the Sunday loss (Jan. 13 at Xavier), but also has one Friday loss (Jan. 25 at Creighton).