National Basketball Association
Butler 73, Villanova 61
When: 12:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2021
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
# Lamar Simpson, # John Gaffney, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
2203
By Field Level Media
Chuck Harris scored 20 points and host Butler upset No. 8 Villanova 73-61 in Big East action Sunday in Indianapolis.
Jair Bolden scored 15 points and Bryce Nze posted his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Bryce Golden added 13 points for the Bulldogs (9-13, 8-11).
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl led Villanova with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Collin Gillespie added 14 points while Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels had 10 each for the Wildcats (15-4, 10-3), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Villanova shot just 7.4 percent (2 of 27) from 3-point range, including 14 consecutive misses to finish the game.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent for the game and 41.7 percent (10 of 24) from behind the arc.
Harris had the hot hand early as he scored 13 straight points for Butler, which led 18-17 with 5:47 remaining in the first half.
Gillespie made all three free throws after being fouled on a trey to tie the game at 20-20, but Butler answered with an 11-0 run capped by Nze's dunk to make it 31-20 with 1:25 to go.
The Wildcats made only 1 of 9 shots from 3-point distance in the first half and trailed 34-24 at the break.
Butler pulled out to a 42-28 lead with 17:30 remaining in the second half when Harris hit a pair of free throws.
But Villanova came back with baskets by Robinson-Earl and Moore to close within 42-32.
Cole Swider's 3-pointer and Moore's layup pulled Villanova within 42-37 with about 14 minutes remaining.
A 12-2 Butler run stretched the lead to 54-39. Golden made three straight buckets and Bo Hodges knocked down a 3-pointer during that spurt.
Villanova crept within 57-50 after a dunk by Robinson-Earl with 6:13 left.
A 3-pointer by Harris with 3:07 to go extended Butler's advantage to 65-54. After a Villanova miss, Bolden dropped in a trey and the commanding lead swelled to 68-54.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Villanova |
|
Butler |
|
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 16 |
Scoring |
Chuck Harris 20 |
|
Collin Gillespie 2 |
Assists |
Bryce Nze 5 |
|
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 16 |
Rebounds |
Bryce Nze 11 |
|
Collin Gillespie 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Bryce Golden 3 |
|
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 1 |
Steals |
Myles Tate 2 |
|
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 1 |
Blocks |
Bryce Golden 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Villanova
|
61 |
36.9 |
2-27 |
11-12 |
6 |
32 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
| Butler
|
73 |
50.0 |
10-24 |
9-20 |
15 |
31 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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