March 7, 2026; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Villanova Wildcats forward Duke Brennan (24) and Xavier Musketeers forward Filip Vorovikanin (4) battle for the ball in the first half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Image NEW YORK — After three seasons of mediocrity following the retirement of coach Jay Wright, Villanova’s return to prominence will become official when its name is selected for the NCAA Tournament.
Until Sunday’s selection show, Villanova (24-7) will attempt to improve its seeding for the NCAA on Thursday night when the third-seeded Wildcats face 11th-seeded Georgetown (15-17) in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.
After Wright retired after a Final Four appearance in 2022, assistant Kyle Neptune was promoted to the top position and the Wildcats finished a pedestrian 54-47. After finishing 21-15, including a 17-point loss to UConn in last year’s conference tournament quarterfinals, Villanova hired Kevin Willard from Maryland.
Former Seton Hall coach Willard, who returns to the Big East, and Villanova enter the Big East tournament with a NET rating of 33 through Wednesday. The Wildcats won 12 of their first 14 games, won six straight from January 30 to February 17, won three of their last four games, and closed out the regular season with double-digit wins over DePaul and Xavier.
Villanova is one of the more physical teams in the league, with Duke Brennan totaling 20 points and 13 rebounds in the regular season finale. Since transferring from Grand Canyon, Brennan has recorded 14 double-doubles and totaled 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 has made NCAA Tournament appearances at Arizona State and Grand Canyon the past four seasons. “March Madness is the best tournament ever. It feels great to be back and I’m really proud of myself, but it’s going to be really great for those guys, especially our freshmen and underclassmen who haven’t made it yet.”
Among the freshmen is guard Arkaden Lewis, who is averaging 12.5 points per game this season and totaled 41 points on 18-of-28 shooting from the field against the Hoyas.
The Hoyas shot 34 percent in a 15-point loss at Villanova on Jan. 21 and 40 percent in an 80-73 home loss to the Wildcats on Feb. 7. The second meeting is one of 15 games decided by seven points or fewer for the Hoyas. The Hoyas improved to 4-11 in those games with a 63-56 win over sixth-seeded DePaul in the opening round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday.
“We weren’t at our best at Villanova and we know that,” Georgetown guard Jeremiah Williams said. “They played great against us and won the sweep, so we are delighted to get another chance against them and confident in ourselves and our approach.”
Williams scored 17 points against DePaul, but reserve forward Vincent Iwuchukwu had 17 points and 14 rebounds to help the Hoyas to the win. He had 14 points in the second half, nine of them in the final three minutes or so after Georgetown cut a 10-point lead to two.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
