Villanova Bracketology: Little Impact From Providence Loss

Two steps forward, two steps back: the mantra of the 2024-25 Villanova Wildcats’ season. Every time they’ve managed to put themselves in a position to mix things up, an untimely loss to a team they possess more than enough talent to beat will rear its ugly head.

Despite that seesaw of a season, the Wildcats have displayed an uncanny ability to keep themselves in the mix. Their 1-5 losing skid following the win over UConn should’ve had them dead in the water, but a three game winning streak capped with a top ten home win over St. John’s gave fans a reason to dream again… queuing the most recent blow, a crushing loss to Providence.

No matter how horrendous the optics of losing to a team with four key players out due to injury, upcoming Quad 1 matchups against UConn and Marquette could put the Wildcats right back in it. That’s because Villanova fell just one spot in the NET rankings the morning after the loss, from No. 52 to No. 53. The KenPom ratings gave them harsher treatment, demoting the Wildcats from No. 52 to No. 55.

What did take a substantial hit, however, was Villanova’s chance of making the NCAA Tournament. Per teamrankings.com, the Wildcats had an 11 percent chance of qualifying for the Big Dance ahead of the start of play on Saturday, Feb. 15. In the wake of the loss, those chances dwindled down to 6.7 percent, including a miniscule 1.8 percent chance of securing an at-large bid.