Villanova Bracketology: Lunardi Keeps the ‘Cats Steady

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi continued his series of monthly offseason projections for the 2027 NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, July 14, keeping Villanova steady as a No. 7 seed in the Sacramento regional. Lunardi has listed the Wildcats as a No. 7 seed since May when his first way-too-early projection came out: the addition of 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo did nothing to improve their standing, but that might be because pundits assumed Suigo would commit to Villanova starting well before he made his official announcement.

The NCAA Tournament will expand to 76 teams next season, stretching the opening play-in round from eight teams to 16; as such, Lunardi expects seven of the Big East’s 11 teams to make the field, including UConn (No. 3 seed), St. John’s (No. 6), Creighton (No. 10) Providence (No. 10), Xavier (No. 11) and Marquette (No. 12). The latter three would need to make it through the initial round in order to punch their ticket to the Round of 64.

Charlie Creme, who handles the women’s bracketology for ESPN, hasn’t updated his projections since April 28, when he listed Villanova Women’s Basketball as a No. 7 seed. Both the men’s and women’s teams endured three-year tournament droughts before making it back to the Big Dance last season and are looking to continue that momentum.