How Villanova HC Kevin Willard Broke Lindsay, Askew Out of Slump

After three years without an NCAA Tournament bid and in their first year under head coach Kevin Willard, just making it back to the Big Dance marks an important milestone for Villanova. If the Wildcats (22-6, 13-4 Big East) want to be more than a participant in March, however, they’re going to need contributions from across their roster.

Their Wednesday, Feb. 25 win over Butler marked a step in the right direction. Guard Bryce Lindsay dropped 19 points, snapping out of a two-month slump with his best scoring performance of 2026. Sixth man Devin Askew, who struggled mightily against No. 6 UConn, scored 16 second half points against the Bulldogs, helping Villanova survive a furious comeback bid.

With three regular season games remaining, the Wildcats are almost out of tune-up opportunities: if Lindsay and Askew can maintain their play, they’re breaking out of their slumps at the perfect time.  After the win over Butler, Lindsay described how Willard and his teammates helped him navigate a brutal shooting stretch: after leading Villanova in scoring through the first two months of the season, Lindsay hit double figures just three times in an 11-game span.

Doubling Down on Defense

“My coaching staff and my teammates have the utmost confidence in me, so just keep playing,” Lindsay said. “Just focusing on other things. My defense, my rebounding. Those things are gonna come if I just focus on everything.”

Willard said he helped Askew break out of his slump in similar fashion, describing the veteran guard as a ‘thinker’ who can get caught up thinking about the shots he misses. Instead, Willard nudged Askew in a positive direction, pointing to how he helps Villanova on both ends of the court. 

“Dev can really get into his brain a little bit, he’s a thinker out there. I was trying to get them to focus a little bit away from the offensive end, and focus a little bit more on the defensive end. And talking to their teammates, I thought they both did a great job, they were talking in the huddles,” Willard said.

“Sometimes when you’re a shooter and you’re not shooting good, you’re just standing on the court and you’re thinking about it, it’s like the worst thing you can do. So just trying to get them to focus a little bit on all the positive stuff that they’re doing, because they’re both doing positive things on the court. They just weren’t making shots, so that can be a little deflating.”

Willard continued to describe how he encourages Askew to appreciate the contributions he makes away from the stat sheet.

“Getting him to realize that there’s times on the floor where he’s plus eight, plus nine, but he’s 0-for-4,” Willard said. “And so you can see his body language, you can see everything going down… but your team’s playing well when you’re on the court.”

Attitude, the Villanova Refrain

When Lindsay’s slump drew questions from the media earlier in February, Willard reaffirmed his faith in the young guard. Willard gave another look into his thought process after beating Butler, saying Lindsay’s attitude and attention to detail earned his confidence. 

“This group, they come in and they work and they have a great attitude. And I always say if you have kids that want to put work in and get extra work — I’ve been on him [Lindsay] and I’ve been on him [Askew], they haven’t been shooting well, but they still come in with a great attitude, they put work in,” Willard said. “I think that’s why this team is as good as we are, it’s their attitude. They’re fun to be in there [with], I look forward to getting in the gym, I look forward to coaching them, so I think that’s a huge part.”

While discussing the way his guards rebounded, Willard described Askew as the best practice player he’s ever had. It’s an interesting distinction for the former five-star recruit, ranked as the No. 26 recruit in the Class of 2020. Askew’s college journey hasn’t proceeded as one might expect for a player of that caliber: injuries derailed two of his seasons, and he rebooted his career at Long Beach State last season, a gulf away from his beginning as a Calipari recruit at Kentucky.

Askew said he learned to focus on himself as he evolved into the Wildcats’ sixth man.

“I’m just grateful and thankful throughout this whole journey, I’m just running my own race, not looking at anyone else and just staying grounded,” Askew said. “I have great teammates around me to help me do that. So just staying humble throughout the whole process.”