Villanova Falls to the Edge of AP Voting

Villanova Men’s Basketball picked up just three points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll published on Monday, Jan. 19, placing them as the No. 37 team in the country in terms of total votes.

The Wildcats (14-4, 5-2 Big East) fell 86-79 to St. John’s on Saturday, Jan. 17 in a game that put their flaws on full display: they don’t have the size that most contenders do. While they can cover that up with their youthful talent at times, their young stars need time to develop that potential to its fullest. Veteran talents like Devin Askew, who earned a spot on the weekly Big East honor roll after averaging 20.5 points and four assists off the bench, can only do so much to balance out that disadvantage.

Villanova holds the No. 32 spot in the NET Rankings and the No. 27 spot in the KenPom ratings, so metrics like the Wildcats more than the voters do. They’re still a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament, with teamrankings.com giving them a 98.3 percent chance of qualifying for the Big Dance, but this team will need to go through some growing pains in order to recognize their ceiling.

Villanova Women’s Basketball, meanwhile, still hasn’t earned any votes in the AP Poll this season. They currently hold the No. 37 spot in the NET rankings after a 1-1 week that saw a blowout loss at UConn and a home win over Butler; they also have a ranked win this season, as West Virginia made it back into the top 25.