Upset Special: Butler stuns No. 1 Villanova

Kelan Martin scored 24 points and Paul Jorgensen added 23 to propel Butler to a 101-93 upset of No. 1 Villanova in Big East action on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (12-3, 2-0 Big East), who led by as many as 23 points in the second half, held off a late rally by the Wildcats.

Kamar Baldwin added 19 points and seven assists for the Bulldogs, whose fans stormed the Hinkle Fieldhouse court after the victory.

Jalen Brunson was high for Villanova (13-1, 1-1) with 31 points on 12 of 21 shooting. Mikal Bridges chipped in with 21 for the Wildcats.

The Bulldogs made 15 of 22 3-point shots and shot 60 percent (36 of 60) overall. The Wildcats shot 53.5 percent.

Butler shot 57.1 percent (20 of 35) in the first half to take a 53-45 lead at intermission. Butler's Henry Baddley hit a short jumper with two seconds left in half.

Butler opened the second half with an 11-3 run to boost the lead to 64-48 in the first five minutes of the second half. After a 3-pointer by Brunson, the Bulldogs answered with a 9-2 run to push the lead to 73-53 with 11:50 to go.

The margin increased to 23 points with 10:24 remaining.

With Butler leading 84-62, the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 84-76 with 5:05 left. Butler suffered five turnovers in that stretch against the Wildcats' pressure. Martin finally ended the scoreless streak with two free throws to push the lead to 86-76 with 4:13 to go.

Trailing 93-87, Brunson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:21 to go. Martin came back with a short jumper in the lane to give Butler a 95-87 lead. With 53 seconds left, Brunson hit the second of two free throws to trim the lead to 95-88. Martin effectively sealed it with two free throws with 41.5 left.

The host Bulldogs upset then-No. 1 Villanova 74-66 Jan. 4 last season and then followed it up by beating then-No. 2 Villanova 74-66 on Feb. 22.

Butler sank 10 of 17 first-half 3-pointers, including three each by Baldwin and Jorgensen, in the opening half.

The Wildcats made just one less shot than the Bulldogs in the first half, finishing 19 of 35 for 54.3 percent. The difference was the Wildcats were 7 of 19 from 3-point range.

The two teams traded the lead nine times in the first half.

NOTES: Villanova F Jermaine Samuels, a freshman who had a career-high 11 points in Wednesday's victory over DePaul, will be out indefinitely with a broken bone in his left hand. Samuels, who was averaging 6.5 minutes per game, likely suffered the injury late in the game. ... Butler G Paul Jorgensen has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games. ... Butler F Kelan Martin has scored 20 points or more in seven of Butler's last nine games... Jay Wright, who entered the game with 399 coaching victories at Villanova, goes for No. 400 against Marquette Jan. 6. ... Butler is 9-0 at home this season.