New Headline: Wildcats Just One Step Away from Championship Dreams!
It was a long road back to the NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats.
Villanova is officially back in the NCAA Tournament — and it was not an easy road. It all began shortly after the 2024-25 season when it was announced that Kyle Neptune would not be back after three failed years with the Wildcats. The university proceeded with a hiring process to find a new coach and landed on Kevin Willard.
After leading Maryland to the Sweet 16, Willard made his controversial exit and entered Villanova. The next step was to reload the roster. Willard hit the transfer portal hard to land players like Bryce Lindsay and Duke Brennan.
Acaden Lewis flipped from Kentucky and came over as well. The season began with low expectations and that did not change early. Despite a competitive showing against BYU in the season opener, the Wildcats had not yet earned widespread respect.
Villanova won seven games in a row through its non-conference slate before facing Michigan. A non-competitive performance against the Wolverines was expected early, but two wins followed that might have made you change expectations slightly. Villanova defeated Wisconsin in a pseudo-neutral site game played in Milwaukee.