Villanova Basketball

Latest Bracketology sees Villanova gaining traction in the East

In a year with no dominant teams, location may be much more important than seed.

By Chris Lane@chrisjjlane Jan 26, 2016, 1:21pm EST

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With #Bracketology projections really starting to ramp up about halfway through the conference season, it's time we took a hard look at where Villanova may end up. Up until their weekend loss to Providence, the consensus was that Villanova was on the 1-seed line, but on the lower end of it. Almost all the published projections had the Wildcats heading to the West regional, to be played in Anaheim with the exception of best friend Chris Dobbertean, who has had Villanova in the East for several weeks.

Normally, you want to get the best seed possible, with location a nice bonus for the traveling fans (and players) alike. A better seed theoretically creates an easier path. Simple. However, 2016 will bring two important factors to the mix. First and most important, the East regional will be played in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. Second, there clearly aren't any dominant teams like Kentucky, Duke or Wisconsin from last year.

What this tells me is that location may actually be more important than seed come Selection Sunday. With so many of the 'elite' teams so close together in talent/resume that you might as well draw from a hat, teams are going to want the intangibles in their favor. Playing on their home-away-from-home court would be a big one for the Wildcats, who used Philadelphia as a springboard in their 2009 Final Four run.

With that in mind, this week things look better for the Wildcats. 3 of the 5 projected brackets have the Wildcats in the East, Lunardi has them out West, and the Sporting News either just isn't at the point of projecting a bracket or doesn't care to do so. Check it out!