Villanova Leaps Into NET Top 20 After Quad 1 Win at Butler

Villanova Men’s Basketball picked up their second Quadrant 1 win of the season when they took down the Butler Bulldogs 85-67 in Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 3.

The win powered them to the No. 17 spot in the NET rankings, their highest rank since the end of the Jay Wright era, and marks as good a guarantee as any that the Wildcats (12-2, 3-0 Big East) will appear in the AP Poll upon its Monday, Jan. 5 publication. Villanova now holds a 2-2 record in Quad 1 opportunities and is a perfect 10-0 in Quadrants 2 through 4: furthermore, both of their losses came away from home to teams currently ranked in the top ten, a remarkable turnaround in their first season under head coach Kevin Willard.

The Wildcats hold the No. 21 spot in the KenPom Ratings, and their chances of making the NCAA Tournament are up to 97.5 percent according to the predictions on teamrankings.com, which sees them as most likely to pick up a No. 5 seed. Villanova last made the Big Dance in 2022, the final season of the Jay Wright era, when they made a run to the Final Four.

They’ll return to action at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7 when they host the Creighton Blue Jays (9-5, 1-2 Big East), their second Quad 2 opportunity of the season.