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VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Kelan Martin had 22 points and eight rebounds, Kamar Baldwin added 15 and No. 22 Butler upset second-ranked Villanova, 74-66, Wednesday night at The Pavilion, snapping the Wildcats' 48-game home winning streak. Avery Woodson contributed 13 points for the Bulldogs (22-6, 11-5 Big East), who swept Villanova this season. Andrew Chrabascz also had a terrific all-around game with four points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
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The victory also temporarily halted the Wildcats' chance of clinching a fourth consecutive Big East championship, at least temporarily.
Butler won its third game in a row and also was victorious for the first time in four career attempts at The Pavilion.
Jalen Brunson led Villanova (26-3, 13-3) with 24 points while Josh Hart scored 18. Villanova played without senior forward Darryl Reynolds, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a rib injury. Senior sharpshooter Kris Jenkins was held to eight points on 1-of-8 from the field.
The senior class of Hart, Jenkins and Reynolds had never lost in this arena until now.
The Wildcats went with a six-man rotation for the most part with deep reserve Dylan Painter playing sparingly.
Villanova had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
Villanova pulled ahead 46-39 on a layup by Mikal Bridges with 12:08 remaining.
The Bulldogs battled back in a large way to take a 51-49 advantage on a layup by Savage with 7:14 left. On their next possession, Chrabascz hit a short bank shot for a 53-49 lead.
After Donte DiVincenzo missed a layup, Nate Fowler's basket then extended the lead to six and Martin followed with a layup for a 57-49 advantage. Martin would hit a long 3-pointer to cap an amazing 18-0 run for a 60-49 lead.
It was enough to propel Butler to the stunning road win despite a late flurry from the Wildcats to make it close.
Villanova started slow, missed its first six shots and trailed 8-0. Even after misfiring on 11 of their first 13 shots, the Wildcats only fell behind, 11-7.
As it has all season, Villanova played strong defense and managed to tie the game at 24 on a putback by DiVincenzo.
Brunson's driving layup in the waning seconds actually gave the Wildcats a 29-28 lead heading into the locker room. Brunson led all scorers with 14 points while Baldwin paced Butler with 11.
Villanova led at halftime even without Jenkins or Bridges scoring and 10 costly turnovers.
NOTES: Butler had never defeated Villanova until this season. ... The Wildcats can still capture the Big East title with a win over Creighton on Saturday at The Pavilion. ... Butler will remain on the road with another difficult matchup Sunday at Xavier. ... The Bulldogs improved to 6-2 against ranked teams this season.
