Metrics Place Villanova in Top 25 After Seton Hall Win

Villanova Men’s Basketball’s stock continues to skyrocket after their first Big East game of the season, with the Wildcats cracking the top 25 in both the NET and the KenPom metric systems on Dec. 23.

The NET rankings place Villanova (10-2, 1-0 Big East) at No. 20, the second-best mark in the Big East behind UConn; KenPom holds them in slightly lower esteem at No. 24. The Wildcats beat Seton Hall on the road on Tuesday, Dec. 23, picking up their first Quadrant 1 win of the season, and fans and media alike are starting to rave about their performance under Kevin Willard.

Even before the win over the Pirates, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi listed Villanova as the No. 62 team in his weekly NCAA Tournament projection, slating them to dodge the First Four on the way to a No. 10 seed. With 19 games left in the regular season, the Wildcats have plenty of work to do, but after the struggles of the Kyle Neptune era, winning the games they’re supposed to win marks a welcome improvement.

While they didn’t pick up any votes in this week’s AP Poll, that will almost certainly change next week.

Following a week off for Christmas, Villanova will return to action at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31 for their Big East home opener against DePaul (8-5, 0-2 Big East).