Getty The Villanova Wildcats take on the Butler Bulldogs Wednesday. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The No. 10 Villanova Wildcats (17-4, 7-2 Big East) will head to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to face the No. 19 Butler Bulldogs (17-5, 5-4 Big East) in a Big East Conference showdown Wednesday.
The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
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FuboTV
Fox Sports 1 is one of the 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch a live stream of Villanova vs Butler on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which will allow you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include Fox Sports 1. The “Plus” and “Max” packages come with a free seven-day trial:
Start Your AT&T TV Now Free Trial
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch a live stream of Villanova vs Butler on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Sling TV
Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” package comes with 47 channels, including Fox Sports 1. It costs $20 for the first month ($30 per month after that), which makes Sling by far the cheapest streaming service with FS1 if you plan on keeping it long term:
Or, as part of a special deal that Sling is currently offering, you can get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick if you prepay for two months:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Villanova vs Butler live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage for an additional $5 per month.
Hulu With Live TV
Fox Sports 1 is included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch a live stream of Villanova vs Butler on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Villanova vs Butler Preview
The Wildcats are coming off their fourth loss of the season, a 76-61 disappointment against Creighton. Villanova head coach Jay Wright gave credit where credit was due after the game. “Creighton deserves a lot of credit,” Wright said. “They came in here and played a better basketball game. We weren’t that bad; they just played a better all-around game. They did a great job defensively, hit big shots and handled our pressure.”
The loss to Creighton snapped the Wildcats’ 16-game home winning streak against their fellow Big East teams, but bouncing back from that loss shouldn’t be a tall task for the team. Nova has a balanced attack, with five players averaging in double figures. Led by center Collin Gillespie (15.3 points a game), the Wildcats are averaging 73.9 points a game, which is second in the conference.
As for the Bulldogs, they’re currently last in the conference in points per game, scoring just 69 points per contest. They are the better shooting team in this one, however, hitting 46.3 percent of their field goals compared to Villanova’s 44.1 percent.
Butler is coming off a 65-61 loss to Providence, and they have hit a few roadblocks on the way lately, going 2-4 in their last six games. The Bulldogs don’t have as balanced of an attack as Nova does, though, and that could come back to bite them. Kamar Baldwin leads the team in scoring, averaging 16 points a game. Baldwin, along with forwards Sean McDermott and Bryce Nze, are responsible for 54 percent of the team’s scoring this season, so if the Wildcats can shut one or more of them down, Butler could be in for a long night.
The key to this one could be who best cleans up the boards, however. Neither team has been a stellar rebounding squad, with Nova snagging 36.4 rebounds a game and Butler hauling in 35.5 per contest, which is last in the Big East.
Nova has won five straight against Butler, and they have won three straight on the road.