Revenge Not On Villanova's Mind Ahead Of Rematch With Butler
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Butler is one of two teams that has beaten Villanova this season. The second-ranked Wildcats insist the loss won't be on their minds Wednesday night.
Villanova will play host to number 22 Butler at the Pavilion. The Wildcats are 26-2, with one of their defeats coming against the Bulldogs in Indiana earlier this season. Guard Josh Hart remembers walking off the court after that loss, but insists it won't serve as motivation in the rematch.
"I never played a game for revenge," said Hart. "The game's over. There's no revenge about it. It's not about revenge for a loss or anything like that. We're just playing and it's another step in our journey."
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Butler won by a score of 66-58 in the first meeting. Villanova had the lead throughout much of the contest, but the Cats were outscored by the Bulldogs, 39-27, in the final period. Many of the players such as Hart believe the Bulldogs won the same way the Wildcats have won many of their games over the past few seasons.
"We got out-Villanovaed," Hart said. "They were better with their habits in the Butler way than we were at Villanova Basketball. As long as we acknowledge that, we'll give them credit. It was a tough pill to swallow. We can lose a game but we got out-toughed over those last five, six, seven minutes."
Coach Jay Wright isn't planning on using the loss from earlier this season to ignite any extra anger from his team. Wright knows the defeat may still be in the back of the minds of his players, but has too much respect for Butler to focus on the revenge factor.
"You definitely remember getting beat," said Wright. "It's not revenge. It's just respect. You know they are capable of beating you. They're playing great basketball right now."
A win will give Villanova the regular season Big East title as well as the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. It will be one of three remaining regular season games for the Wildcats with selection Sunday now less than three weeks away. Wright is happy with how his team remains locked in to the task at hand despite a host of outside distractions.
"We know a lot will be going on around us," Wright said. "We try to stay focused on what we can do and that's prepare, work hard, and concentrate on what's going on on the court. That's what we try to do. We talk about it all year so at times like this it's not something new for us, but we're used to that."