Villanova Bracketology: Boost for Wildcats Before Big East Tourney

While Villanova Men’s Basketball hasn’t taken the court in more than a week — they’ll be back in action against Seton Hall in the first round of the Big East Tournament at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 — that didn’t stop them from improving by one spot in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest rankings.

The Wildcats are up to the No. 77 spot, still on the very edge of the NCAA Tournament bubble… but any improvement they can get helps as they fight for their postseason lives. Following their March 4 loss to Georgetown, they slumped down to No. 78 on Lunardi’s list, their chances of an at-large bid dwindling close to zero.

At 18-13 on the season (11-9 Big East) and No. 53 in the NET rankings, Villanova will need a strong showing in the conference tournament in order to feel even remotely confident about the prospect of earning an at-large bid. A trip to the championship game would put them at 21 wins on the season, a solid record but far from a tournament lock.

For the Wildcats to leapfrog the eight teams between them and the 68 team tournament field in Lunardi’s rankings (and those of the tournament selection committee), they’ll probably need some help from the rest of the NCAA. Bid stealers like St. Francis (Pa.) didn’t do them any favors, while a March 8 SMU loss to Florida State gave their stock a slight boost.

Right now, the Wildcats’ tournament odds sit at 5.8 percent, largely thanks to their 5.4 percent chance of winning the Big East Tournament… but with each successive win they manage to pick up, their odds will continue to improve.