Villanova MBB Inching Up Voting; WBB Debuts

Villanova Men’s Basketball continues to inch toward the Associated Press Top 25, picking up 15 points in the poll released on Monday, Feb. 23. That’s good for No. 28 overall and, although they picked up 29 points last week, the field ahead of them thinned out, giving them room to move up despite a home loss to now-No. 6 UConn.

Vanderbilt, who holds the No. 25 spot, earned 171 points, so the Wildcats (21-6, 12-4 Big East) have plenty of work to do if they want to work their way into the poll this season. Points are awarded on an inverse basis, with a No. 1 vote giving 25 points and a No. 25 vote issuing one point.

Villanova Women’s Basketball clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big East with their senior day win over Marquette on Sunday, Feb. 22. As a result, they picked up national recognition for the first time this season, earning six points in the poll. That’s good for the No. 33 spot overall; Princeton, ranked No. 25, earned 30 points.

The Wildcats (22-6, 15-4 Big East) hold the No. 35 spot in the NET rankings and have a first round bye locked up in the conference tournament. Forward Denae Carter landed on the Big East’s weekly honor roll after averaging 17.5 points, including a 21 point, 8-of-9 shooting performance against No. 1 UConn as the Wildcats made an upset bid.