Villanova Bracketology: Big East Tournament Seeds Locked In

Although both teams suffered home losses to a top ten ranked UConn team last week, Villanova men’s and women’s Basketball’s NCAA Tournament projections remained the same in the ESPN Bracketology assessments published on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

The men’s team (21-6, 12-4 Big East) checked in as a No. 7 seed expected to begin their run in St. Louis in Joe Lunardi’s predicted field; they briefly jumped up to the six seed line ahead of the Huskies’ matchup, giving them a tentative place as the No. 24 overall team, but the loss limited their ceiling.

With the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament locked up — Villanova is safe from Seton Hall but can’t catch UConn or St. John’s — the Wildcats still have March seeding to play for. Dropping the Red Storm on the road this weekend could provide a boost in the NCAA Tournament field, as could their conference tournament performance.

The women’s team remained as a No. 9 seed in Charlie Creme’s assessment of the women’s field. The Wildcats (22-6, 15-4 Big East) went 1-1 last week, giving No. 1 UConn their toughest task of the season: no other team held a halftime lead over the Huskies until Villanova did. While they eventually lost to UConn, the Wildcats locked up the No. 2 seed in the Big East with a dominant home win over Marquette.

They also received their first national recognition, earning votes in the AP Poll on Monday, Feb. 23: a strong performance in the conference tournament could help them climb up the bracket further or even sneak into the Top 25. Right now, Creme predicts Villanova will travel to the Columbia, S.C. regional as a guest of the No. 1 seeded South Carolina Gamecocks and their coach Dawn Staley, a native of North Philadelphia.