Villanova Surging Up NCAA Tournament Projections

Villanova Men’s Basketball played dominant defense in their road win over Seton Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 23, a statement that will likely help propel them into the top 25 when the AP Poll resumes on Monday, Jan. 5.

That win also boosted them off the bubble and safely into the NCAA Tournament field for the first time this season, at least according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who listed the Wildcats (10-2, 1-0 Big East) as a No. 7 seed in his most recent projections published on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

Villanova currently holds the No. 21 spot in the NET Rankings and the No. 25 spot on the KenPom Ratings. They’ll next take the court at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 against DePaul in their Big East home opener.

Lunardi has four other Big East programs in his bracket projection: UConn (1 seed), St. John’s (7 seed), Seton Hall (9 seed) and Butler (11 seed). While the conference has faced accusations of becoming top heavy this season, especially as conferences like the Big Ten and SEC (10 projected tournament qualifiers apiece) and even the ACC and Big 12 (eight apiece) begin to eat up space, having five of 11 teams in line to qualify for the Big Dance is a respectable showing.