The No. 4 seed Villanova Wildcats open-up play in the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Finneran Pavilion. Villanova will take on the No. 13 seed Cleveland State Vikings at 5 p.m. The game can be seen live on ESPNU. Villanova enters play with a 28-6 overall record, while Cleveland State is 30-4 on the season.
 
Villanova is making its 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. In their 21 NCAA Tournament games, the Wildcats have tallied a 9-12 record. Last year, the Wildcats defeated Brigham Young in the first round, before falling to Michigan in round two.
 
When Villanova plays Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, it will have been 12 days since the Wildcats last played. Villanova's last outing came in the champi­onship game of the Big East Tournament on Monday, March 6. In that  contest, the Wildcats lost to the Connecticut Huskies by a score of 67-56.
 
The Wildcats tallied an 8-6 record this year against teams that are playing in the NCAA Tournament. The 8-6 includes 2-0 vs. Marquette, 2-0 vs. St. John's, 2-1 vs. Creighton, 1-0 vs. USF, 1-0 vs. Prince­ton, 0-3 vs. UConn, 0-1 vs. Iowa State and 0-1 vs. Baylor.
 
This is the third time in program history that Vil­lanova has hosted an NCAA Tournament game. The Wildcats hosted in 1987 and 1988, losing to North Carolina State (68-67) in 1987 and losing to Wake Forest in 1988 (53-51).
 
The Wildcats have won 22 of their last 24 home games. Villanova captured 11 straight home contests to finish the 2021-22 season and are 11-2 at home this year. Under third-year head coach Denise Dillon, the Wildcats are 31-7 (.815) in games played at the Finneran Pavilion.
 
Villanova enters play on Saturday versus Cleveland State with a 28-6 overall record. With one more victory, Villanova will tie the school record for wins in a season with 29. The 1981-82 Wildcat team went 29-4 and advanced to the AIAW Final Four.
 
The winner of the Cleveland State/Villanova game will advance to the second round on Monday evening to take on the winner of the Washington State/Florida Gulf Coast game.

 
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