Villanova’s men’s and women’s basketball teams each have only a few games remaining before the Big East Tournament. Both teams sit outside the NCAA Tournament bubble looking in.
The men are eight spots away from being in the tournament. They must win their final three games if they want any opportunity at grabbing an at-large bid to March Madness.
As for the women, the recent loss to Providence knocked them out of the ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme’s next four out. While winning the last two regular season games would not hurt, winning the Big East Tournament looks to be the only path for the women to dance in March Madness with an automatic bid.
Men’s Team
Villanova men’s basketball (16-12, 9-8 Big East) is coming off a dominant, 81-66 win over No. 16 Marquette on Feb. 21. It was the first time the Wildcats beat the Golden Eagles under the direction of head coach Kyle Neptune.
Over the final stretch of games, redshirt freshman Jordann Dumont is one Wildcat to watch out for. In his breakout against Marquette, he scored a career-high 15 points, and shot 4-of-4 from three-point range.
Despite being 4-1 against ranked opponents, Villanova’s tournament hopes are slim as March Madness approaches. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Wildcats as one of his next four teams out, meaning they are currently eight spots out of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have no choice but to win the rest of their regular-season games for an opportunity at an at-large bid into the tournament. The only other option is an automatic bid by winning the Big East Tournament.
Villanova will visit Seton Hall (7-19, 2-13 Big East) on Wednesday, Feb. 26 (8:30 p.m., FS1). The Wildcats opened conference play against the Pirates with a 79-67 win on Dec. 17. Villanova leads the all-time series, 85-44.
The Pirates are second-to-last in the Big East, but their biggest threat is sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman. He averages a team-high 15.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. The Pirates only average 62.4 points per game.
Villanova will return home on Saturday, March 1 to host Butler (13-14, 6-10 Big East) (Noon, FOX). It will be graduate forward Eric Dixon and senior guard Jordan Longino’s final game in the Finneran Pavilion, along with several other Wildcats.
On Jan. 1, Villanova had a late run to come from behind and beat Butler, 73-65. Despite Dixon having a team-high 28 points, senior guard Wooga Poplar was the highlight of the lineup.
Poplar collected an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double in the win. He currently has five double-doubles this season.
The Bulldogs are a good three-point shooting team, averaging 37.4% from beyond the arc. That percentage ranks 32nd in the country. Senior guard leads the way, making 40.6% of his shots from three.
The final game of Villanova’s Big East slate will be against Georgetown (16-11, 7-9 Big East) on Tuesday, March 4 at Capital One Arena.
One player to watch for is Georgetown freshman forward Thomas Sorber. Sorber is averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Earlier in the season, when Sorber faced Villanova, he posted a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double in his return from an injury.

Women’s Team
Villanova’s women were battling for a possible March Madness appearance after winning eight of their last 10 games. However, a recent 63-56 loss to Providence has hurt the team’s tournament chances.
The only thing the Wildcats can control now is the future, and that begins with closing out the regular season strong, especially with a tough Big East opponent in Creighton.
Villanova returns home for its final home game of the regular season at the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 26, against Butler (6 p.m., FloSports). It marks the final home game for several Wildcats, including graduate forward Maddie Burke.
A huge second-half performance from sophomore guard Maddie Webber helped the Wildcats take down the Bulldogs, 63-59, earlier this season on the road. Webber scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half.
A big threat for Butler is senior guard Kylin McGuff. She averages 12.5 points and eight rebounds. Against Villanova, McGuff had a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double to mark one of her best performances of the season.
The Wildcats final Big East game of the season will be on the road in Omaha, NE to cap against Creighton (23-4, 15-1 Big East). The Bluejays are firmly the second-best team in the Big East behind UConn.
Creighton has two solid scorers in senior guard duo Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly. This season, Jensen has averaged 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Maly has put up similar numbers, averaging 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds. The duo is fourth and fifth respectively in Big East scoring.
Villanova freshman guard Jasmine Bascoe is playing like a veteran, averaging 15.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. Her assist total of 114 is only second to UConn senior Paige Bueckers (130).
Joe Keffer • Feb 27, 2025 at 8:34 pm
What does Villanova men’s basketball have to do to get a bye in the first round of the 2025 Big East Tournament?
Dylan Johnson • Feb 28, 2025 at 8:37 am
The men would have to win out the regular season (Butler and Georgetown) and have Xavier lose at least one game. Xavier’s remaining schedule is Creighton, Butler and Providence.