Villanova Bracketology: Lunardi Promotes the Wildcats

While they haven’t taken the court since their Friday, Feb. 21 upset of the then No. 16 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles, the Villanova Wildcats jumped up a spot in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest rankings.

Right now, Lunardi lists Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) in the third spot of his “Next Four Out” category, the equivalent of the No. 75 spot in the NCAA Tournament’s field of 68. They have a good deal of climbing to do to feel strongly about the chance of an at-large bid with just four remaining guaranteed games in their schedule: road dates against Seton Hall and Georgetown along with their home finale against Butler. The Wildcats currently occupy the No. 6 seed in the Big East, which means they’d have to play in the first round of the conference tournament if the season ended today, but if they win out as they likely need to. they could climb as high as the No. 3 seed —however unlikely that is — earning a first round bye but losing an easy win against a team in the conference basement.

The Wildcats hold the No. 50 spot in the NET rankings with a 2-6 record in Quadrant 1 matchups, 4-3 in Quad 2, and potentially devastating 4-2 and 6-1 records in Quadrants 3 and 4, respectively. It feels crazy to say after all the games they’ve blown this season, but a path remains, however narrow, for Villanova to make their way back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

Georgia, the team in the spot immediately ahead of Villanova, plays tonight, as do four teams behind them rounding out Lunardi’s Top 80: Pitt, Cincinnati, Santa Clara and TCU. Expect plenty of shakeup in the hours to come.