Rothstein: Villanova Can Compete for Big East Regular Season Title

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein included the Villanova Wildcats as one of five teams he expects to take a leap during the 2026-27 season, saying that they have the talent to compete with the two-headed monster of UConn and St. John’s atop the Big East in their second season under head coach Kevin Willard.

Rothstein praised the Wildcats for their new-look frontcourt of Luigi Suigo, Kwame Evans Jr. and Devin Royal; Evans and Royal started at Oregon and Ohio State, respectively, during the earlier stages of their careers. He also noted how Villanova added shooting with players like Jake Fiegen and Buddy Simmons II, and how their big man focused lineup looks quite different from the typical Wildcats’ guard-centric template over the past quarter century. Lastly, Rothstein shouted out returning guard Tyler Perkins as an all-conference caliber player in his third and final season on the Main Line.

The Wildcats’ improvements, in conjunction with the loss of mainstays like Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban at UConn and Zuby Ejiofor at St. John’s, lead Rothstein to view them as a legitimate contender. While the Big East won’t publish their preseason coaches poll until their media day in early October, teams like Marquette, Providence and Xavier are also expected to take a leap after missing the tournament last season.

Villanova was the only Big East team in Rothstein’s rankings, however: he also included USC, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma State.