Villanova Men's Basketball

Villanova MBB’s Season in Review: Promising Steps in Year 1

Published

2 months ago

March 23, 2026

David Hague/PSN

Villanova Men’s Basketball’s 2025-26 season came to an end on Friday, March 20, a 9-0 run from Utah State in the last four minutes quashing their hopes of a deep tournament run. Thus ended a year-long journey that began when the Wildcats hired new head coach Kevin Willard on March 30, 2025, scrambling to build a roster after getting a late start on the transfer portal.

Willard managed to keep one of Villanova’s top assistants, recruiting guru Ash Howard, but lost program mainstay Mike Nardi to UConn. He also managed to put together a three player freshman class, earning the commitment of Acaden Lewis after the Top 100 point guard backed out of his commitment to Kentucky. Willard built his roster with an eye toward multi-year commitments, hoping to avoid the portal circus as this offseason begins.

Picked to finish seventh in the Big East in a preseason coaches’ poll, the Wildcats looked like they might end up in hot water early as Devin Askew and Zion Stanford suffered preseason injuries, limiting Willard’s young team’s ability to practice and prepare at the level they needed.

Early Successes… and Warning Signs

After an opening night loss to a top ten BYU team — a game that saw redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay erupt for 21 points — Villanova reeled off seven straight wins, Lindsay’s scoring carrying them as they learned to play defense as a cohesive unit under Willard. The Wildcats claimed their first Philadelphia Big 5 title since the rivalry switched to its current pod format, breezing past Penn 90-63, then suffered a lopsided road loss to a Michigan team that spent much of the season in the top five, their struggles against the Wolverines’ size a sign of things to come.

Villanova returned to their winning ways, taking down former Big East rival Pitt and outlasting Wisconsin in Milwaukee, then stifled Seton Hall on their home court on the way into Christmas break, their first of three straight conference wins.

The Wildcats flirted with disaster against up-and-down DePaul and Butler teams, needing a red-hot second half to escape with a win on both occasions, then Creighton broke through to hand them their first conference loss a day after senior forward Tafara Gapare, one of three players to follow Willard from Maryland, departed the program. Lindsay entered a protracted slump against the Blue Jays, scoring just four points, and managed no more than 11 over the next five weeks after ranking toward the top of the nation in scoring during the out-of-conference schedule.

Settling in at No. 3

Villanova struggled against Saint John’s in a home loss at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena, their lack of size rearing its head once again, but managed to go on the road to Hartford, Conn. and lead then-No. 2 UConn for the majority of regulation before ultimately succumbing in overtime, a tantalizing hint of the team’s potential.

The Wildcats continued to take care of business in a down year for the Big East, winning their next six conference games. Lewis poured it on against Georgetown in his return to his hometown, then the Wildcats dropped Marquette 77-74 at the Finn with former 76er Boban Marjanović in attendance… and during that game, news broke that Villanova men’s and women’s basketball are expected to begin next season in Rome against Notre Dame, pitting two of the nation’s foremost Catholic institutions — and the pope’s alma mater — against each other.

Lindsay snapped out of his slump against Xavier, powering the Wildcats to an overtime win, but again they failed their major test, dropping games to UConn and St. John’s that never looked close.

Even worse, freshman starter Matt Hodge went down with a season-ending ACL tear during the loss to the Red Storm, further exacerbating the Wildcats’ lack of size.

Back to the Promised Land

With the No. 3 seed in the Big East locked up with a week to play, Villanova managed to win their final two regular season games without Hodge, getting former walk-on Wade Chiddick onto the court during the home finale against Xavier. They also played without Stanford, who departed the program after never managing to catch on.

No. 11 Georgetown stunned them in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament, however, continuing a four year streak without a semifinal appearance.

They also added their first freshman commit for the upcoming season when ESPN Top 100 player Adam Oumiddoch, a former St. John’s pledge, flipped to Villanova.

The Wildcats punched their ticket to the Big Dance for the first time since 2022, earning an at-large bid and a No. 7 seed, and drew Mountain West champion Utah State in their Round of 64 matchup in San Diego. Villanova held a double digit lead early in the second half but couldn’t hang on against the experienced Aggies, ending an overachieving season that will bring on high expectations for year two of the Willard regime.

Linked below are stories centering on key Wildcats throughout the season: departing seniors, developing freshmen, and everything in between.