Villanova Bracketology: Five Big East Teams Make Initial Ranking

The 2025-26 college basketball season won’t begin for another six months, but it’s never too early to begin predicting how it will play out for Villanova Men’s Basketball.

With the transfer portal phase of the offseason starting to wrap up, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi posted his first prediction for next year’s NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, April 29, choosing four Big East programs among the field of 68: St. John’s (a No. 1 seed), UConn (a No. 2 seed), Marquette and Creighton (both No. 10 seeds). Villanova did not make the cut, nor were they included on the bubble; Georgetown was the only other Big East program featured, sneaking in at No. 76 as the last team included in Lunardi’s field. Maryland, new Villanova head coach Kevin Willard’s former team, made the cut as a No. 10 seed, expected to play at the Philadelphia host site during the opening weekend.

The last time Villanova missed the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive seasons was at the beginning of the Jay Wright era, when they suffered a postseason drought from 2000 through 2004. We all know how Wright’s tenure played out — building a successful foundation can take time — but expectations are higher than ever after the example his teams set, turnarounds potentially faster during the free-wheeling era of the transfer portal and NIL deals.

Lunardi will update his bracketology assessment monthly throughout the offseason. Impending developments like the commitment of Top 35 recruit Acaden Lewis, expected to choose between Villanova and Miami in the coming days, could help improve the Wildcats’ standing. At the end of the day, though, Villanova needs to regain the trust of the selection committee and media pundits alike after three seasons in the wilderness. That’s why they play the games.