VILLANOVA, Pa. _ Butler came into the Pavilion Wednesday night determined to show that its victory last month over Villanova was no fluke, and to make a little Big East history.
And the Bulldogs did it in a way that shocked the sellout crowd of 6,500, outscoring the second-ranked Wildcats by 18-0 over a 6{-minute period of the second half to take an 11-point lead, and holding on for a 74-66 victory that broke 'Nova's 48-game winning streak in its campus arena.
The loss broke the seven-game winning streak for the Wildcats (26-3, 13-3) and kept them from clinching outright their fourth straight Big East regular-season championship.
The No. 22 Bulldogs (22-6, 11-5) became only the second team to sweep the Cats in a season series in the reconfigured Big East since Creighton did it in the 2013-14 season. Butler defeated Villanova, 66-58, on Jan. 4 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Jalen Brunson scored 24 points and Josh Hart added 18 for the Wildcats. Kelen Martin paced Butler with 22 points.
Villanova led by 29-28 at halftime and, after the game was tied at 36 early in the second half, went on an 8-0 run that was fueled by five points from Hart and gave the Cats a 44-36 lead with 13 minutes, 8 seconds to play. The Wildcats led by seven twice after that, the second time on Hart's 3-pointer with 10:36 remaining.
But Hart's basket was the final points the Wildcats would put on the scoreboard for 6:32 as the Bulldogs mounted their crushing run of 18 consecutive points. Martin sparked the spurt with nine points, knocking down a 3-pointer at the start and finishing it with a trey that gave Butler a 60-49 lead with 4:21 to play.
Villanova then ended its drought on a layup and subsequent free throw by Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup to cut the Wildcats' deficit to 60-54 with 3:50 remaining.
But the 'Nova comeback was short-circuited by poor free-throw shooting. The second-best free-throw shooting team in the country at 80.6 percent starting the night, Villanova converted only 10 of 16 free throws. Hart and Brunson each missed the front end of 1-and-1's.
Butler got its lead back to 10, 64-54, on a reverse layup by Kamar Baldwin with 1:33 remaining, and helped its cause as Martin and Avery Woodson each hit two free throws. The Wildcats got to within four, 70-66, on Hart's 3-point basket with 12 seconds left, but Woodson iced the game with a pair of free throws.
The first half was basically a continuation of the Jan. 4 game between the two teams, a grueling defensive duel in which they combined for 17 turnovers _ 10 committed by Villanova. Each team went through a dry spell of more than three minutes.
But the Wildcats received another fine offensive performance from Brunson _ 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting _ and took a 29-28 lead. Brunson scored seven of the team's last nine points in the period, including a driving layup with 5 seconds to play that gave 'Nova only its second lead of the night.
The Cats made nine of their last 12 shots and finished the half hitting at a 46.4 percent clip. Butler connected on 42.9 percent of its attempts, with Baldwin going 5 of 9 to lead the Bulldogs with 11 points.
Villanova missed an opportunity in the first half when Butler picked up its seventh team foul a little more than seven minutes in, but the Cats wound up shooting only one bonus free throw _ a miss by Hart.
The game was tied at 36 five minutes into the second half before Brunson and Hart led the Wildcats on an 8-0 run. Brunson began the spurt with a conventional three-point play and Hart followed with a dunk off a steal from Mikal Bridges.
Hart was fouled on 'Nova's next trip downcourt but missed both free throws. The Wildcats tipped the rebound back to DiVincenzo, who fed Hart for a 3-point basket from the left wing that gave them a 44-36 lead with 13 minutes, 8 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats went more than 4{ minutes before scoring their first points of the game, with Butler racing out to an 8-0 lead with the help of Avery Woodson's 3-point basket and a conventional three-point play by Tyler Wideman.
Brunson scored seven of Villanova's first nine points as the Cats got to within two at the 11:48 mark. The Bulldogs increased their advantage to seven, 18-11, on Baldwin's 3-pointer with 9:47 remaining.
The Wildcats drew to within two at 20-18 and 22-20 with the help of seven straight points from Hart. They drew into their initial tie of the game, 24-24, when DiVincenzo followed up Hart's miss with 1:34 left to play, and grabbed their first lead, 27-26, on a 3-ball by Brunson.
Kelen Martin answered with a running hook to give the Bulldogs the lead once again, but Brunson closed the half with a bucket to put 'Nova in the lead at the buzzer.
