Villanova Women’s Basketball Accepts WBIT Bid

While Villanova Women’s Basketball missed out on the NCAA Tournament after an up and down season, they will end up with a postseason berth after all thanks to a selection to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.

32 teams make the WBIT each year, with the higher seed hosting each matchup on their home campus until the final four, played in the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

After upsetting Marquette in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, Villanova saw their hopes of a tournament bid end with a blowout loss to UConn. Entering the WBIT bracket as a No. 4 seed, the Wildcats (18-14) will host Boston College at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion in the opening round of the tournament, set for Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. Fans will have a chance to watch postseason basketball from the comfort of their home arena, and there’s a decent chance that the Wildcats’ following game will take place nearby as well.

Should they advance, Villanova will likely face No. 1 seed St. Joseph’s at Hawk Hill in the second round, setting up a Big Five rematch with postseason glory on the line. While the Hawks went 23-9 this season and ranked ahead of the Wildcats in the NET, No. 56 to No. 70, Villanova picked up an 81-65 road win over St. Joseph’s back in December.

The Hawks, meanwhile, will host the University of Albany on March 20 in their opening round matchup after receiving an automatic WBIT bid as one of the first four out of the women’s bracket as a result of their loss to George Mason in the A-10 championship.

Click here for the full WBIT bracket.