Good Morning, Nova Nation 3/16: Dancing Machines

NCAA Tournament First Round Matchups Set For 'Cats

March 16, 2026

The Official Newsletter of Villanova Athletics

Good Morning, Nova Nation. And now… WE DANCE!

What all do we have in today’s edition? Check it out below!

🏀 Dancin’ Machines
👟 History Maker
⚾️ Southern Swing
🔷 And much more!

Tommy’s Tavern + Tap is proud to be an Official Partner of Villanova Athletics!

🔼 We’re Bacckkk. After winning 24 regular season games and finishing near the top of the BIG EAST standings, the Villanova men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.

The field of 68 teams was announced on Sunday evening and the Wildcats earned an at-large bid to the 'Big Dance' as the #8 seed in the West Region.

Villanova will play a first round game against #9 seed Utah State (28-6) this coming Friday, March 20, in San Diego, Calif. Game time and other details will be announced later Sunday night.

🔼 Bayou Bound. For the first time since 2023 and the 14th time in program history, the Villanova women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament.

The field of 68 teams for this year's tournament was announced on Sunday night live on ESPN and the Wildcats drew a #10 seed in Regional 2 where they will play a first round game on Friday, March 20 in Baton Rouge, La. against #7 seed Texas Tech (25-7). Game time will be announced later Sunday night.

🔼 History Maker. Entering the NCAA Indoor Championships, there was only one athlete in school history to make earn podium finishes in the 3000m and 5000m in the same year.

Now, that man has done it AGAIN. Senior distance runner Marco Langon accomplished this weekend with a third-place finish in the 3K on Saturday evening adding to his runner-up result in the 5K one night earlier. He crossed the finish line in 7:42.56 in the final individual event of the meet.

🔼 Southern Swing. Outstanding pitching from Jack Kelley and JP Podgorski led the way for the Villanova baseball team, who made a southern swing over the weekend, taking two of three from Charleston Southern.

Podgorski tossed four strong innings of relief in Friday’s 5-4 victory, which Kelley followed up on Saturday with six shutout innings in Villanova’s 5-0 win to clinch the series.

🔼 En Fuego. The Villanova women’s water polo team continued its torrid stretch of play, picking up a weekend sweep of a pair of home matches.

The ‘Cats kicked things off with a thrilling 15-14 overtime win over #20 Wagner and capped off the weekend with a dominant 19-12 Senior Day win over visiting LIU on Sunday.

Dating back to late February, Villanova has now won nine of its last 10 matches, with the only loss coming to #3 USC.

🔼 Saturday Sweepin’. The Villanova tennis squads did some spring cleaning on Saturday, traveling to Baltimore and picking up a sweep of Loyola (Md.) in men’s and women’s action.

On the women’s side, the ‘Cats battled their way to a 5-2 win, followed shortly after by the men, who rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Greyhounds.

What’s Ahead is brought to you by our friends at Visit Delco, the #1 source for information on all there is to see and do in Delaware County, PA. Find fantastic places to stay, incredible food and drink, and music and art—and you may even find a few surprises.

Tuesday, March 17th
☘️ 118 North: St. Paddy’s Day with Mick’s Company
🥍 Women’s Lacrosse vs. Stony Brook @ 12pm
⚾️ Baseball vs. Coppin State @ 3:35pm
🥍 Men’s Lacrosse at Lehigh @ 7pm

Wednesday, March 18th
🖼️ Brandywine Museum of Art: John Sloan’s Street Theater
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Saint Joseph’s @ 10am
🥎 Softball vs. Saint Joseph’s @ 3:30pm

Friday, March 20th
🎶 Live Music at WaR3house 3
⚾️ Baseball vs. UNC Asheville @ 3:35pm
🥎 Softball at Creighton @ 6pm

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Have a great one, Nova Nation!