Villanova Surges Up NET Rankings After Crushing DePaul

Villanova Men’s Basketball picked up one of their biggest wins of the season to date on Saturday, Jan. 4, lambasting the DePaul Blue Demons 100-56 at the Finneran Pavilion.

While the blowout, which ties Villanova’s largest margin of victory this season (their Thursday, Nov. 19 win over Penn), only counts as a Quad 3 matchup because DePaul hovers around No. 100 in the NET rankings, margin of victory plays a role in the final calculation, and the Wildcats surged up ten spots to No. 51 as a result.

The KenPom Ratings, meanwhile, put Villanova in the No. 38 slot, crediting the Wildcats with the seventh-best offensive efficiency in the nation despite their poor strength of schedule.

Making the Wildcats’ Case

Right now, Villanova (10-5, 3-1 Big East) sits amidst an 8-2 streak dating back to Mid-November, turning their season around starting with that win over Penn. The Wildcats possess an 0-2 record in Quad 1 games (their ranked win over Cincinnati dropping down to Quad 2 as the Bearcats slipped out of the top 30), a 2-1 record in Quad 2, a 2-2 record in Quad 3 (their loss to Virginia dropping from Quad 2 as the Cavaliers begin to struggle) and a 6-0 mark in Quad 4 games.

It doesn’t help the Wildcats that some of their uglier losses are starting to drop into lower quadrants… and this coming week marks one of their toughest tests this season. Villanova will host UConn (No. 17 in NET) and hit the road to take on St. John’s (No. 39). Both currently sit as Quad 1 matchups, giving the Wildcats a chance to boost their résumé with a strong showing. Per teamrankings.com, Villanova’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament shot up from 21.9 percent to 33.3 percent following the win over DePaul: still not great, but they’re moving in the right direction.