Villanova Wing Zion Stanford Out Against DePaul

Villanova Men’s Basketball won’t have junior wing Zion Stanford on hand when they take on DePaul on Wednesday, March 4 in Chicago. The Wildcats (22-7, 13-5 Big East) listed him as ruled out for an undisclosed reason on the conference’s mandated pre-game availability report. Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Stanford did not travel with the team to the Windy City.

A Philadelphia native who transferred from Temple after a breakout season with the Cherry and White, Stanford got a late start to the 2025-26 campaign after an ankle injury in the preseason. He later dealt with knee soreness and has played just 10 games this season, averaging 5.1 minutes per night. Stanford last played on Feb. 4 against Seton Hall, logging two minutes.

Villanova lost freshman starter and forward Matt Hodge to a season-ending ACL tear during their Feb. 28 game against St. John’s, meaning the 6-foot-6 Stanford could’ve seen an uptick in minutes playing the four for the small-statured Wildcats. With just one game left in the regular season after DePaul, Stanford won’t have much time — if any — to ramp things up heading into the Big East and NCAA tournaments. Instead, sophomore Malachi Palmer will continue to take on an increased role.

The Wildcats will tip off against DePaul at 8 p.m. on Peacock. Click here for a preview of that matchup.