Quad 4 Win Over Pitt Boosts Villanova in NET, KenPom

Strength of schedule is a point of concern for Villanova this season, as each of their eight wins have come against Quadrant 4 opponents: the Wildcats are 0-2 in their two Quad 1 matchups, losing a tough neutral site matchup to BYU and in a blowout at No. 2 Michigan.

While their 79-61 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, Dec. 13 fell into Quad 4, the Wildcats still received a résumé boost because of it, climbing from No. 37 to No. 33 in both the NET and KenPom metrics. Teams in the top 40 have a strong chance of making the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid: college basketball analyst and correspondent Andy Katz ranks the Top 37 teams, judging that as the cutoff.

Per teamrankings.com, Villanova currently holds a 76.7 percent chance of making it back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2022, a significant improvement to their standing at the end of nonconference play last season. If they win 22 games this season, those odds will jump to 98.8 percent. With the Big East Conference amidst an expected down year outside of top teams like UConn and St. John’s, however, the Wildcats will need to stack wins in order to feel confident about their chances.