Latest news with #VillanovaWildcats
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wisconsin basketball announces neutral site game against a Big East powerhouse
The Wisconsin Badgers are quietly putting together a phenomenal non-conference schedule for the 2025-2026 season. Earlier this week, the program announced a home-and-home series with BYU starting this winter in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a return game in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2026-2027. Today, the Badgers announced yet another neutral-site non-conference game, this one against the Villanova Wildcats at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on December 19th. CBS' Jon Rothstein reports a return matchup at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2026-27. This matchup would be the first time the Badgers have faced the Wildcats since Wisconsin's upset win in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The No. 8-seed Badgers defeated the No. 1-seed and reigning national champion Wildcats on a last-second basket from forward Nigel Hayes. Advertisement 2025-26 will be Kevin Willard's first season as the head coach of the Wildcats after leaving Big Ten rival Maryland after the 2024-25 season. Willard went 2-3 against Wisconsin while coaching at Maryland, most recently defeating the Badgers 76-68 in College Park this past January. With games against BYU, Marquette, Kansas/Florida/Providence (Rady's Children's Invitational), and now Villanova, Wisconsin's non-conference schedule has become extremely competitive for this upcoming season. It should provide the team a golden opportunity to stack quality wins early in the season. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball 2025-26 schedule game Villanova Wildcats
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 NBA Draft scouting report: Eric Dixon, F, Villanova
LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 05: Eric Dixon #43 of the Villanova Wildcats looks on during the semifinal round of the Crown College Basketball Championship against the UCF Knights at the T-Mobile Arena on April 05, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) For a two-round mock draft and a big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide. Eric Dixon, F, Villanova Height: 6-8 • Weight: 265 • Class: Senior • Age: 24 Summary: Dixon is a burly forward who brings a toughness and physicality to the game. As Villanova's all-time leading scorer, he showed versatile scoring skills but in the NBA his lack of athleticism will put a limit on the type of usage he can receive. Advertisement Comparisons: Julius Randle, Glen Davis Strengths Shooting: Dixon always had touch throughout college, and it finally translated beyond the arc as a super senior, making 40.7% of his 7.2 attempts per game. For NBA purposes, he'll play off-ball a lot and he made 43.2% of catch-and-shoot 3s, per Synergy. Drive game: Attacks closeouts with patience and a good handle. He uses his massive frame to plow through opponents and draw contact inside the paint. Or he can turn around and post up. Add in his seasoned screening ability, and he could be a weapon in ball screens. Offensive versatility: Villanova used Dixon all over the floor. He'd go from a primary creator one play to using off-ball screens on the next to posting up down low. Though he won't be such a high-usage player in the NBA, he could plug into different roles for his team. Concerns Defensive versatility: He's not all too quick defending on the perimeter, and he lacks explosiveness protecting the rim and crashing the boards. He'll need to dramatically improve his lateral ability so he can be a switchy defender, but early in his career he'll be targeted. Advertisement Athleticism: Despite standing at 6-foot-8, Dixon logged only five dunk attempts in his final season with Villanova. He made only three. He's a below-the-rim guy who relies on strength to plow through defenders, which is no guarantee to translate against NBA athletes. Playmaking: He had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in all five years at Villanova. He isn't too aware of double teams, so NBA speed could be an issue. For a two-round mock draft and a big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide.
USA Today
05-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Villanova Wildcats vs. UCF Knights live stream, TV channel, start time, odds
Villanova Wildcats vs. UCF Knights live stream, TV channel, start time, odds | April 5, 2025 The Villanova Wildcats (21-14) hope to build on a six-game home winning streak when hosting the UCF Knights (19-16) on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 4 p.m. ET. In its previous game, Villanova beat USC, 60-59, on the road. Its top scorers were Eric Dixon (28 PTS, 41.67 FG%, 5-11 from 3PT) and Wooga Poplar (16 PTS, 7 REB, 31.25 FG%, 2-7 from 3PT). In its previous game, UCF beat Cincinnati 88-80 on the road, with Darius Johnson (31 PTS, 7 AST, 2 STL, 47.83 FG%, 5-13 from 3PT) and Tyler Hendricks (14 PTS, 60 FG%) the standout performers. Here is what you need to prepare for Saturday's college basketball action. Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Watch college basketball on Fubo! Villanova Wildcats vs. UCF Knights Game day: Saturday, April 5, 2025 Saturday, April 5, 2025 Game time: 4 p.m. ET 4 p.m. ET TV: FOX NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines Spread: Villanova -3.5 Villanova -3.5 Total: 156.5 College basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Watch college basketball on Fubo! Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
Washington Post
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
USC and Villanova play in CBC matchup
Villanova Wildcats (20-14, 12-10 Big East) vs. USC Trojans (17-17, 8-14 Big Ten) Las Vegas; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -5.5; over/under is 152.5 BOTTOM LINE: USC and Villanova meet in the College Basketball Crown. The Trojans are 8-14 against Big Ten opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play. USC has a 1-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
NBC Sports
13-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
March Madness' biggest upsets and deepest runs in the NCAA tournament by Cinderella teams
Upsets are the essence of the NCAA March Madness tournament. Whether it's the 1985 Villanova Wildcats or the 2018 Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, the lore of 'Cinderella' stories are the lure for many to the NCAA tournament. Though they invariably lead to college basketball fans' brackets being busted, upsets hold a mass appeal that can turn players into folk heroes and teams into America's darlings. Here's a rundown on the underdogs and upsets of the NCAA tournament since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985: What does an upset mean in March Madness? The simplest way to explain it is when a lower-seeded team wins over a higher seed, but there are many ways to define an underdog — whether by betting odds or the first through 16th seedings of each region. Since the 1985 expansion of the NCAA tournament to 64 teams, the NCAA has defined upsets as 'when the winning team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines worse than the losing team.' What is the average number of upsets in March Madness? By the NCAA's definition above, the annual average is about 8.5 upsets per tournament with as few as three in 2007 and as many as 14 in 2021. According to the NCAA, there have been at least 10 upsets in 15 of the past 39 tournaments (and nine in the past 13 years, indicating a trend in favor of the underdog). There were nine uspets last season. Has a No. 16 seed ever beaten a No. 1? It's happened twice. On March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina, University of Maryland-Baltimore Country stunned top-ranked Virginia 74-54 in a game that never was close despite the Retrievers being 20-point underdogs. (The Cavaliers would rebound to win the national championship in 2019.) On March 17, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio, Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue 63-58. It was the second consecutive victory for the Knights, who won 84-61 over fellow No. 16 seed Texas Southern in the First Four. Has a No. 15 seed ever beaten a No. 2? It's happened 11 times: Richmond over Syracuse in 1991; Santa Clara over Arizona in 1993; Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997; Hampton over Iowa State in 2001; Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012; Lehigh over Duke in 2012; Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown in 2013; Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State in 2016; Oral Roberts over Ohio State in 2021; Saint Peter's over Kentucky in 2022; Princeton over Arizona in 2023. What is a Cinderella team in March Madness? It's a lower-seeded team that makes a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The term is probably most associated with the eighth-seeded Villanova team that won the national championship in 1985 (beating heavily favored archrival Georgetown in the title game). Among the other Cinderella runs of note: Eighth-seeded Butler reaching the championship game (for the second consecutive year) in 2011, No. 15 Saint Peter's making the Elite Eight in 2022, and 10th-seeded Davidson (led by a then-unheralded) Steph Curry making the Elite Eight in 2008. Has a double-digit seed ever made the Final Four? It's happened seven times, most recently last year with 11th-seeded North Carolina State, which tied the mark for the lowest seed to reach the NCAA tournament semifinals. The other 11 seeds to reach the Final Four: LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and UCLA (2021). Syracuse made the 2016 Final Four as a No. 10 seed. What's the lowest-seeded team to ever win the national championship? Villanova won as an eighth seed in 1985, followed by Connecticut as a No. 7 seed in 2014 and Kansas (led by Danny Manning) as a sixth seed in 1988. North Carolina State's 1983 team, which is considered among the original Cinderella teams, won the national title as a sixth seed but before the field was expanded from 32 to 64 teams in 1985. What are the biggest upsets in March Madness history? All of the above wins by No. 16 and No. 15 seeds would fall in this category. According to the point spreads, the four biggest upsets by underdogs expected to lose by at least 20 points: Farleigh Dickinson in 2023, Norfolk State in 2012, UMBC in 2018 and Santa Clara in 1993. Why is the NCAA tournament called March Madness? According to the NCAA, the term originated with Illinois high school basketball in 1939. Its widespread connection to the NCAA tournament started with announcer Brent Musberger during the 1982 tournament.
