Villanova Bracketology: Mixed Reviews for the Wildcats

Villanova Men’s Basketball landed as a No. 7 seed in ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest projection for the NCAA Tournament field, published on Tuesday, March 3. The Wildcats (22-7, 13-5 Big East) moved up to the No. 24 overall spot in a pair of Lunardi’s recent posts, but ranked losses to UConn and St. John’s — losses that never looked close — damaged their ceiling.

Lunardi pegs Villanova as likely to begin their tournament run in Buffalo, N.Y., facing No. 10 seed TCU, which would set them up to play on Thursday, March 19 in the round of 64. Other bracketologists view the Wildcats less favorably: Bart Torvik dropped them from the seven seed line to a nine seed line following the St. John’s loss. Evan Miyakowa rates them as the No. 41 team overall, well below both the NET (No. 33) and KenPom (No. 34) assessments, but his bracket simulations still give the Wildcats a No. 7 seed.

Teamrankings.com sees a No. 7 seed as the most likely outcome (29.5 percent) for Villanova, but they’re within reach of the six seed line (24.4 percent) and dropping to an eight (20.2 percent chance). While they’re a tournament lock, losing forward Matt Hodge to an ACL tear means they’ll need to adjust in a hurry with the regular season wrapping up.

Charlie Creme last updated the women’s bracketology on March 2 and slotted Villanova in as a No. 9 seed in the Austin regional, predicting them to play No. 8 USC in the first round. The Wildcats (23-6, 16-4 Big East) locked up the No. 2 seed in the conference and are inching closer to the AP Top 25, so a strong run in the Big East tournament could boost their standing further even with the juggernaut of No. 1 UConn lurking.