Villanova Bracketology: Wildcats Wavering on Bracket’s Edge

Villanova continues to bounce on and off the edge of the NCAA Tournament picture, at least according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi. Lunardi ranked the Wildcats (8-2) as his “First Team Out” of the 68-team field in his weekly bracket assessment published on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Four Big East teams, UConn, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Butler, made the cut. While mid-major conferences like the Mountain West have enjoyed a disproportionate amount of success in recent years, this season looks like a top heavy one. Per Lunardi’s projection, the Big Ten and Big 12 will sent ten teams apiece to the Big Dance. The SEC will add nine and the ACC will add eight, eating up the vast majority of at-large bids for teams like Villanova to take advantage of.

Currently ranked at No. 35 in both the KenPom and NET rankings, metrics look at the Wildcats as a likely tournament team. With all seven of their wins landing in the Quadrant 4 tier, however, they’ll need to do more in order to win the respect of voters and pundits, especially with the Big East expected to slump outside of teams like the Huskies and the Red Storm.

Villanova will return to action on Friday, Dec. 19 against Wisconsin, their last tune-up before conference play begins.