NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Villanova’s return to prominence after three seasons of mediocrity following coach Jay Wright’s retirement will be official when its name gets selected for the NCAA Tournament.
Until the selection show on Sunday, Villanova (24-7) will attempt to improve its seeding for the NCAAs on Thursday night when the third-seeded Wildcats face 11th-seeded Georgetown (15-17) in a quarterfinal game of the Big East tournament.
After Wright retired following a Final Four appearance in 2022, assistant Kyle Neptune was promoted to the top job, and the Wildcats went a pedestrian 54-47. Following a 21-15 finish that included a 17-point loss to UConn in the quarterfinal in last year’s conference tournament, Villanova hired Kevin Willard from Maryland.
In his return to the Big East, former Seton Hall coach Willard and Villanova enter the Big East tournament with a NET rating of 33 through Wednesday. The Wildcats won 12 of their first 14 games and won six straight from Jan. 30 to Feb. 17 before winning three of their final four games and ending the regular season with double-digit wins over DePaul and Xavier.
Villanova is among the more physical teams in the league, with Duke Brennan totaling 20 points and 13 rebounds in the regular-season finale. Brennan had 14 double-doubles after transferring from Grand Canyon and grabbed a combined 23 rebounds in wins over Georgetown on Jan. 21 and Feb. 7.
“I mean, it’s a fun time of the year,” said Brennan, who made the NCAA Tournament in his previous four seasons with Arizona State and Grand Canyon. “March Madness is the best tournament ever put on. It feels good to be back, so I’m really proud of myself. But it’ll be great for those guys, especially our freshmen, younger-class guys that haven’t made it.”
Among those freshmen is guard Acaden Lewis, who averages 12.5 points a game this season and totaled 41 points on 18-of-28 shooting from the field against the Hoyas.
The Hoyas shot 34% in a 15-point loss at Villanova on Jan. 21 and 40% in an 80-73 home loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 7. The second meeting is among 15 games decided by seven points or less for the Hoyas, who improved to 4-11 in those games by earning a 63-56 victory Wednesday over sixth-seeded DePaul in the opening round of the Big East tournament.
“We didn’t have our best showing at Villanova, and we are aware of that,” Georgetown guard Jeremiah Williams said. “They played a great game when they played us, and then they got the sweep. So we’re excited to get another opportunity out of them, and we’re confident in ourselves and our approach.”
Williams scored 17 points against DePaul, but reserve forward Vincent Iwuchukwu willed the Hoyas to the win by recording 17 points and 14 rebounds. He scored 14 in the second half, including nine in the final three-plus minutes after Georgetown let a 10-point lead slip to two.
– By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media