Butler coach Thad Matta on late-game collapse against Villanova
Butler coach Thad Matta on late-game collapse against Villanova
Butler suffered a complete meltdown, squandering a 13-point second-half lead, losing to Villanova 73-65.
The loss is the Bulldogs‘ sixth in a row.
Jahmyl Telfort led Butler with 25 points.
Butler suffers complete meltdown in second half
Butler (7-7, 0-3) led 64-51 with 6:03 left in the game. The Bulldogs didn’t hit another field goal for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs missed their last nine shots, finishing 1-for-11 over the final 6 minutes, 3 seconds of game time.
Villanova (9-5, 2-1) finished the game on a 22-1 run. The Bulldogs seemed to go into cruise control, and the Wildcats never stopped fighting. The Wildcats kept Telfort out of the paint, and the Bulldogs’ offense went completely dormant.
Jahmyl Telfort takes over second half, not enough for win.
In a game featuring one of the most prolific scorers in the nation in Villanova’s Eric Dixon, Butler forward Jahmyl Telfort’s second-half scoring display was almost enough for Butler to end its losing skid.
Telfort scored 11 straight points in the second half, and there wasn’t anything flashy about them. The fifth-year forward used brute strength to force his way into the paint, finishing through Wildcat defenders and regularly drawing trips to the free throw line.
Telfort’s first points of the 11-point barrage put Butler up two. Dixon answered with two before Telfort put Butler back up two with two free throws. Jordan Longino split a pair of free throws, and Telfort responded with seven consecutive points, putting the Dawgs up eight. Consecutive 3-pointers from Boden Kapke put Butler up 10, before Telfort scored four in a row, moving the Dawgs lead to 11.
Butler sticks to the plan when guarding Eric Dixon
Villanova forward Eric Dixon came into Wednesday’s game leading the nation in scoring at 25.8 points per game. The 6-8, 265-pound forward is a versatile inside-outside scorer and stopping him is an entire-team effort.
Butler had a plan every time Dixon got the ball. The Dawgs kept Jahmyl Telfort on Dixon, having Telfort fight over screen without switching. Dixon needs very little daylight to get off his shot, he got free a couple of times, but Butler did a good job keeping a hand in his face. When Dixon got the ball in the post, Andre Screen rotated over to provide help, forcing Dixon to pass out to the perimeter.
Dixon finished with 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting.
