I know how easy it is to get caught up in the moment and to have a short-term memory. I am a fan, after all. But in this situation, it would be best to have the memory of both a goldfish and a dolphin.
Why a goldfish? Well, goldfish have no memory. Let’s move on to the day that we have all been deprived of as Villanova fans since 2022: Selection Sunday. As a reminder, most of us would have been ecstatic if we were told that an eight seed was in the Wildcats’ 2026 future.
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And why a dolphin? Well, dolphins have amazing memories. So let’s remember where this team was the past three seasons, and where the expectations were coming into this one. The team was selected to finish seventh in the Big East, after all.
When Kevin Willard was hired on March 30, 2025, the transfer portal had been open for nearly a week (and as we all know, teams were talking to players well before then). Coming in at that late stage, combined with the school suffering some damage to its image the prior three years, set Willard behind the eightball from the jump.
After a few weeks, it became apparent that Willard was not going to just try to get a roster full of seniors to be a contender right away. He had a plan, and that plan involved mostly younger players to try to build with down the road (while still winning this season). Willard has passed that test with flying colors.
We can pick apart the roster, of course. None of the theoretically-returning players are immune to criticism, and none of them aren’t in need of improvement. We all see the warts. The frontcourt, even with the injury to Matt Hodge and the two departures from the program, was in need of an upgrade going into 2026-27. We all love Duke Brennan, but having a more athletic and rim-protecting big would do wonders (especially if the backcourt remains largely/fully intact).
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The aforementioned backcourt is undersized (and losing its biggest player in Devin Askew). Acaden Lewis, while he is having an incredible freshman season, needs to improve his strength and his shooting. Tyler Perkins wholeheartedly deserved to be named the Big East’s Most Improved Player, but asking him to battle in the paint as much as Villanova does isn’t a recipe for increased success down the road.
Willard has acknowledged that he got a late start to the transfer portal, and that he was trying to establish a foundation to build upon. I believe that foundation has been laid. And all the while, the fans got to watch a team that played good basketball for the majority of the season. They played “Villanova Basketball.” Sharing the ball, hustle, grit. “Attitude.”
It feels preemptive to publish this article today, but I think it’s important to keep that perspective. Villanova has won 24 games this year. Villanova has eight players on the roster with eligibility remaining (along with Adam Oumiddoch committed). Villanova will have its named called on Sunday (and in all likelihood, will be wearing home whites on Thursday/Friday).
Was last night a tough watch? Of course it was. Did last night put a spotlight on the issues that have plagued this team all season. Of course! But this team hadn’t laid an egg against a subpar opponent all year. This team lost one game below Quad-2 (Creighton). We as fans had become numb to losses like last night over the past three seasons, and we had to wait until March 12 to have one of those this year.
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My last plea: take the next 48 hours to recharge your batteries. Take a break if you need to (I probably will). But be excited about Sunday when it comes. Be excited about the future that this program has. Be excited that Villanova is back enough to leave us feeling this way in March.
