The Bulldogs travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday afternoon tip with Villanova. Villanova won the first match-up between the two teams Jan. 1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse by a score of 73-65. Jahmyl Telfort led Butler with 25 points and 10 rebounds in that New Year's Day loss to Villanova; in three career games against the Wildcats, Telfort is averaging 22 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
 
Butler (13-15, 6-11 BIG EAST) at Villanova (17-12, 10-8)
Saturday, March 1 • 12PM
Finneran Pavilion • Philadelphia, Pa.
 
TV: FOX • Tim Brando & Donny Marshall
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• Butler enters the game off a 76-70 loss to No. 7 St. John's Wednesday night at Hinkle; it was the eighth game of the season for Butler against a Top 25 team.
• Butler went 4-2 during the month of February.
• Telfort led Butler with 13 points Wednesday against St. John's; he now has 2,001 career points. Telfort is one of 18 actives players who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Division I schools to surpass 2,000 career points. 
• The Bulldogs went 16-for-18 (89 percent) from the free throw line against St. John's, Butler's third-best performance of the season. Butler's season average of 16.3 made free throws is 44th nationally.
• Butler limited St. John's to 4-for-15 shooting from three-point range Wednesday night. Butler is allowing opponents to shoot only 30.3 percent from three-point range, a defensive effort that leads the BIG EAST and is 29th nationally. 
• Butler out-rebounded St. John's, 39-32, Wednesday. The Bulldogs have only been out-rebounded once in the team's last 11 games (Butler has eight games in that stretch with a rebounding advantage and there are two games where the teams have tied on the glass).
• The Bulldogs shot a season-worst 22 percent (6-for-27) from three-point range in the loss to St. John's.
• Butler is shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range on the season, a mark that is 47th nationally. The Bulldogs have seven games this season making at least 10 three-pointers.
• Butler is committing only 13.9 fouls per game, which is the 17th-fewest nationally.
• Butler has led at the half in 11 of the team's 17 BIG EAST games (and was tied in one of the other six games).
• Butler is 9-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, including all six of their BIG EAST wins.
• The Bulldogs shot 52 percent from the field in Saturday's win at DePaul; Butler has shot at least 50 percent from the field in each of its six BIG EAST wins.
• Butler tied a season-low by committing only four turnovers in the win at DePaul.
• Boden Kapke scored 12 points against St. John's Wednesday night, one shy of his career-high. 
• Pierre Brooks II has eight 20-point games on the season, most recently leading Butler with 24 points in Saturday's win at DePaul.
• Finley Bizjack is shooting 27-for-54 (50 percent) from three-point range over the last 10 games; he is averaging 13.9 points per game during that stretch.
• Telfort handed out six assists at DePaul Saturday, his ninth game this season with five or more assists. He has ten 20-point games this season.
• Kolby King came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down six rebounds against St. John's; it marked his best scoring performance since 11 points in the Jan. 15 win over Seton Hall.
• Patrick McCaffery has hit multiple three-pointers in 17 games this season.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
 
BIG in the BIG EAST
• In BIG EAST games only, Butler offensively ranks second in points scored (75.1 points per game) and second in field goal percentage (making 47.0 percent of attempts from the field).
• On the defensive end, Butler's three-point percentage defense in BIG EAST games only leads the conference as Bulldog opponents are hitting only 30.4 percent of their attempts from behind the arc.
 
First Time Around
• Villanova closed the game on a 22-1 run to take a 73-65 win over Butler New Year's Day at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• Eric Dixon led the Wildcats with 28 points.
• Jahmyl Telfort paced Butler with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He handed out a game-high six assists.
• Butler uncharacteristically shot only 52 percent from the free throw line (12-23).
• Villanova held a 43-30 rebounding edge, led by Wooga Poplar's 15 and Enoch Boakye adding 14.
 
Noting Nova
• Eric Dixon leads the nation at 23.3 points per game; he's in the Top 10 nationally in both field goals made (214) and attempted (467). His 42.6-percent shooting from behind the arc is 16th nationally.
• The Wildcats are third nationally in three-point percentage (40.2) and their average of 9.7 three-pointers made per game is 31st nationally.
• Villanova is second nationally in free throw percentage (81.4).
 
The Series with the Wildcats
• The Bulldogs and Villanova first met in the 1996 Puerto Rico Shootout; the other 24 meetings in the series have come since Butler joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• Butler's only win at Villanova came Feb. 22, 2017 when the Bulldogs knocked off No. 2 Villanova, 74-66.
 
Series: Villanova Leads, 18-7
Streak: Villanova, W2
In Philly: Villanova Leads, 10-1
First Meeting: Nov. 30, 1996; Villanova, 62-54 (Puerto Rico Shootout)
Last Meeting: Jan. 1, 2025; Villanova, 73-65 (at BU)