City of Basketball Love

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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After battling its way through non-conference play with a number of close contests and still escaping unscathed,  Villanova entered Big East play with an undefeated record and what looked to be a fairly easy game with DePaul to open up their conference slate on Dec. 28 at The Pavilion.

The Wildcats got the exact opposite, as DePaul took the host Villanova down to the wire with the No. 1 team in the country escaping the Blue Demons 68-65 to improve to 13-0 on the season.

Fast forward three days, to Saturday, when the top-ranked and still undefeated Wildcats traveled to Omaha, Neb. to take on fellow undefeated No. 10 Creighton in front of a capacity crowd at the CenturyLink Center, which seats more than two-and-a-half times the amount of people that Villanova’s home arena does.

Couple that difficult away atmosphere with Villanova’s inability to practice over the days in between the two games due to travel, and the Wildcats were faced with their toughest task to date.

But, as they have been known to do, Villanova rebounded from their out-of-character performance, played their brand of basketball and handed Creighton their first loss of the season by a score of 80-70, propelled by efforts from senior forward Kris Jenkins and sophomore guard Jalen Brunson.

After that difficult stretch of playing, traveling, and playing again, one would think that Villanova would have time to rest and take some time to regroup and prepare for their next game.

Not the case for the Wildcats, as Villanova had to travel home, have one day of practice, and be back on the road for their next game on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of the No. 18 Butler Bulldogs, could be Villanova’s most difficult task yet.

Hinkle, which was ranked by ESPN as the second toughest place to win in the Big East, was built in 1928 and will surely be packed to the brim with Butler faithful rooting for their Bulldogs to upset the reigning National Champions.

“It’s just our next game,” Brunson said. “There’s going to be a great atmosphere but we’re just going to see it as our next game.”

Jenkins finished with 21 points in the winning effort against Creighton, but it was Brunson’s game that really gave Villanova the extra push they needed.

Brunson poured in a career-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, while also reeling in four rebounds and dishing out five assists.

The 6-foot-2 Brunson, who hails from Lincolnshire, Ill., credits his career performance to the great play of his teammates.

“It’s a credit to my teammates,” Brunson said. “They set good screens, finding ways and getting opportunities to score and being aggressive. It was a team effort. I may have had a great game, but it was definitely a team effort.”

Brunson’s ability to show up when his team has needed it most, just like when he torched La Salle for 26 points as the Wildcats fought off the Explorers’ bid for an upset at the Palestra back on December 6th, has been crucial for Villanova, especially with senior guard Josh Hart receiving so much attention from other teams.

Hart, a frontrunner for National Player of the Year, still finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Creighton, but had to fight his way through double and triple teams every time he was on the court.

“It’s huge to have balance and to spread your scoring. No great teams have one guy that can just do it every night,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “We try to have all of our players be weapons and that did come into play with Kris and Jalen in the Creighton game.”

Having just played in front of another hostile crowd not in their favor, 'Nova will have an idea of what they are in for in Indiana.

“Hinkle can get chaotic at times, especially when Butler goes on one of their runs, that crowd gets very into it,” Hart said. “We know Hinkle is going to be crazy but we’re prepared for it. It’s something we just played in.”

Butler won’t be overwhelmed by the big stage when the undefeated Wildcats come to town either, as they have already been battle-tested and proven they can handle worthy opponents as they have already defeated No. 17 Arizona, No. 22 Cincinnati, and No. 25 Indiana this season.

“They’re a hard-nosed team,” Brunson said. “They grind it out. They’re such a tough team. They just find ways to win and we’re just going to have to go in there and play Villanova basketball and see what comes out of it.”

Butler has been known to give Villanova everything they can handle when the Wildcats travel out to Indianapolis as well, as their last three contests at Hinkle have all been decided by five points or less as the Wildcats escaped with a 60-55 win last season, a 68-65 triumph the year before that, and a 76-73 overtime victory in 2013-14.

“They are as physically tough and mentally tough as any team in the country and we try to be too,” Wright said. “Every game we’ve played out there has been a one point game so I think our guys know that and they’re used to it. Great crowds out there. Those guys never go away and they keep coming at you so we expect a hard-fought, tight game and I think our guys understand that.”

Butler will counter Villanova’s strong guard play by giving the Wildcats’ frontcourt all it can handle in the form of Kelan Martin.

Martin, the 6-foot-7 forward who was named to the All-Big East Second Team last season, is currently averaging 18.7 points per contest and has been at his best when the lights are brightest as he scored 20 when Butler topped Cincinnati and 28 in their triumph over Indiana.

Villanova’s schedule after Butler doesn’t get much easier, as the Wildcats will return home and be greeted by the 10-4 Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, and will then play host to No. 16 Xavier at the Pavilion on Tuesday.

Although their win over Creighton was a noteworthy triumph for the Wildcats, Villanova main focus now is what lies ahead on Wednesday night.

“That Creighton was big for us. It taught us a lot.” Wright said. “The fact that we could get it back (after DePaul) was really big for us and going to Butler, we’re going to need to be sharp.”

“We can’t look back at Creighton,” Brunson added. “It was a great win, yes, but we have to move on from it.”