SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Friday marks just the third meeting between Wisconsin and Villanova. The Badgers won their last meeting in a 2017 Round of 32 thriller, bouncing the defending national champions and No. 1 seed Wildcats 65-62 from the Big Dance.
Villanova comes into Friday’s contest at 8-2 in their first season under Kevin Willard. The former Maryland head coach went 2-3 against UW in his three seasons with the Terps from 2022-2025. The Wildcats only losses have come at the hands of top-10 opponents Michigan and BYU, while they’ve scored one high-major win this year, coming against Pittsburgh last Saturday. Villanova is led by a prolific backcourt of Bryce Lindsay and Acaden Lewis. Lindsay, a transfer from JMU, is averaging 17.2 points per game. Lewis, a true freshman, has taken on the playmaking role with 12.4 points a team-high 5.6 assists per game this season.