Villanova moves up one spot to No. 14 in the latest NCAA Tournament top 16 reveal

At halftime of the South Carolina-Tennessee game on Thursday night, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee released its second early top 16 reveal for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Villanova received the No. 14 overall ranking, one higher than it was in the first reveal on Feb. 9.

Since the first reveal, Villanova (24-5, 15-3 Big East) has won three of four, with its lone loss coming to No. 6 UConn, which received a No. 7 overall ranking in Thursday’s reveal.

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Villanova currently would draw a No. 4 seed, and the top 16 teams will host the first weekend of the tournament, March 17-20. With this seed, the Wildcats would be guaranteed at least one home game in the first round and a second if they advance.

The Wildcats have only been ranked in the top 16 in the NCAA Tournament once before, in 2003, when it received a No. 2 seed. Because of a rule change in 2003 that resulted in predetermined sites, Villanova did not have the opportunity to host any games with its No. 2 seed.

In the second reveal, Villanova was projected in the Seattle Regional 3, which included No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Maryland, and No. 3 Duke, which were ranked third, sixth, and eleventh overall, respectively.

Thursday was the last of the NCAA’s early reveals. The official bracket reveal will come Selection Sunday, March 12 (8 p.m., ESPN). Per the NCAA’s statement with the first reveal, these early top 16 reveals “have no bearings on the final 68-team field.”

Villanova has two regular-season games remaining. The Wildcats host Providence (13-16, 4-14) on Friday (7 p.m., FloSports) before traveling to Seton Hall (17-11, 10-8) on Tuesday (7 p.m., FS1).

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