VILLANOVA, Pa.—After winning 24 regular season games and finishing near the top of the BIG EAST standings, the Villanova men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. The field of 68 teams was announced on Sunday evening and the Wildcats earned an at-large bid to the 'Big Dance' as the #8 seed in the West Region. Villanova will play a first round game against #9 seed Utah State (28-6) this coming Friday, March 20, in San Diego, Calif. Game time and other details will be announced later Sunday night.
In the first year of
Kevin Willard's head coaching tenure, the Wildcats will make their 42
nd all-time appearance in the tournament and their 17
th this century. Villanova (24-8) has already tallied its highest win total in a head coach's first season with the program, and it rolled through the regular season with a 15-5 record and third place finish in the BIG EAST standings. Along the way, the Wildcats were battle-tested against top competition, including Michigan during the non-conference schedule and Connecticut in BIG EAST play when each of those teams were ranked No. 2 in the nation.
The winner of Friday's first round game between Villanova and Utah State will advance to the second round on Saturday, March 21, and play the winner of a first round game between #1 seed Arizona (32-2) and #16 seed LIU (24-10). One of the four teams from those first and second round games will advance to play in the West Regional in San Jose, Calif., on March 26 and 28.
Villanova has a record of 71-39 (.645) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has historically been one of the tournament's top-performing teams with seven Final Four appearances and three national championships. The 71 tournament wins by the Wildcats ranks in the top 10 of all teams since the tournament was first held in 1939.
This year's Villanova team is led by a trio of All-BIG EAST honorees in freshman guard
Acaden Lewis, junior guard
Tyler Perkins and senior center
Duke Brennan. Lewis was named to the All-BIG EAST second team and the All-Freshman Team, while Perkins and Brennan each appeared on the All-BIG EAST third team. Perkins was additionally named the BIG EAST Most Improved Player and
Devin Askew was voted the winner of the league's Sixth Man Award.
Villanova and Utah State have met on just one previous occasion, and it was also in the postseason. On March 12, 1960, the teams faced each other in an NIT game at Madison Square Garden which Utah State won by a 73-72 score.
The Aggies are 28-6 this season and, like Villanova, tallied a 15-5 conference record. Utah State plays in the Mountain West Conference and won its conference tournament with a 73-62 win over San Diego State. Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year this season, while junior guard Mason Falslev was the Player of the Year and junior forward Karson Templin was the Sixth Man of the Year.
