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The No. 8 Villanova Wildcats won’t have a single digit in front of their team name tomorrow, as the lowly Butler Bulldogs pulled off a stunner with a 73-61 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Butler (9-13, 8-11 Big East) has struggled offensively all season, but shot 50% from the floor and were 10-24 from three-point range. Point guard Chuck Harris shined with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists for the home team, who will need to win the Big East Tournament to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs were just 9-20 from the free throw line, but did enough by holding the sixth-best adjusted offense in college basketball to just .924 points per possession.
Villanova (15-4, 10-3 Big East) were projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but this Quad 3 loss will drop them significantly. VU shot just 2-27 from deep, and missed their last 15 three-pointers while getting outrebounded 37-35. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the losing effort.