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UPDATED 2/3: A weekend update of Lunardi's bracketology has shifted the Wildcats to the "First Four Out" grouping, reflecting movement elsewhere in the bracket.
Early in the week, Villanova appeared in ESPN's bracketology projection of the NCAA Tournament field for the first time this year. He listed the 'Cats, coming off of two big upset wins over conference foes, as a 12-seed in the west, predicting that they would have to play their way out of Dayton's "first round." Temple and La Salle were also included as 12-seeds in his field.
All three Philadelphia schools remain included in the latest projection, with La Salle moving up to an 11-seed and Villanova now projected as a 12-seed in the Midwest region, facing Illinois in Dayton with the winner playing 5-seed, Wichita State in San Jose.
Temple would join the Wildcats in Dayton, playing into the second round against Arizona State. The winner of that game would play Marquette in the round-of-64.
SBNation's Chris Dobbertean has a more bullish projection for Villanova, putting the Wildcats in as an 11-seed, facing 6-seed, San Diego State in Salt Lake City in the South region.
The Big Lead's Jason Lisk projects the Wildcats having to play-in as a 12-seed against Memphis. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm was the most pessimistic about Villanova's chances of making the field, placing them in his "first four out" after losing to Notre Dame.
Villanova most-likely won't make the field unless they win at least 19 games this season and an at-large bid to the dance doesn't become statistically likely, until the 'Cats hit 20 wins. KenPom.com currently still projects that the Wildcats will finish the regular season with an 18-13 record, which would mean that they would need to win more than one game in the Big East Tournament in order to earn an invitation.