Villanova Bracketology: ‘Cats Climbing Toward No. 6 Seed

Villanova Men’s Basketball carries a six game winning streak into their Saturday, Feb. 21 home duel with No. 5 UConn, and the Wildcats (21-5, 12-3 Big East) have a legitimate chance of moving up in the NCAA Tournament field with a win.

Already considered a lock to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2022, the Wildcats entered Saturday with ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi moving them up to the six seed line, listed at No. 24 overall. That’s one spot from dropping back down to a No. 7 seed — and one bracketologist’s take — but a strong performance against a top ten team could solidify their hold on that position.

Teamrankings.com sees the Wildcats as most likely to occupy a No. 7 seed (27.2 percent) but a No. 6 seed is their next most likely at 22.6 percent. Villanova currently holds the No. 29 spot in the NET rankings and the No. 27 spot in the KenPom ratings, so a win would almost certainly propel them into the top 25. They’ve inched closer toward an AP Poll spot in recent weeks… but a win against Dan Hurley’s squad is easier said than done.