Villanova Bracketology: Wildcats On the Bubble

After starting the season 2-3 with miserable Quad 3 losses to Columbia and St. Joe’s, the Villanova Wildcats continue to inch their way into the NCAA Tournament picture.

Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East) knocked off No. 9 UConn at the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 8, showing the spotlight wasn’t too bright in the biggest game of the Kyle Neptune era and, as he promised, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi now includes the Wildcats as one of the teams “on the bubble” of the March Madness bracket.

As the first team listed in the “Next Four Out” category, Villanova occupies the No. 73 spot in the 68 team field: they’ve got some climbing to do yet. The NET rankings like the Wildcats a bit better, listing them at No. 49, while Villanova climbs all the way to No. 42 in the KenPom ratings.

The NCAA Tournament isn’t as simple as the best 68 teams qualifying, however, as automatic bids for conference champions give teams of lesser standing a bid to the Big Dance. Villanova likely needs to sit in the mid-40s of the NET rankings in order to feel good about the chance of an at-large bid, assuming they don’t win the Big East outright.

Their next major chance at improving their résumé will come at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan 11 in a road date with an excellent St. John’s squad that spent two weeks in the AP Top 25 earlier this season. As Villanova’s results improve, the pressure they face increases as well, with each successive big game looking like the biggest of Neptune’s tenure.