Those greedy bastards from the NCAA aren't bringing the Tournament to the Palestra

Happy Thursday, 'Nova Nation! Sad news today, as ESPN's Andy Katz has all but confirmed what we all knew but didn't want to believe to be true.

The NCAA Tournament will not be coming to the Palestra. And that's a damn shame. The NCAA and their billions are entitled to do whatever they want (and they do, regularly). But this was an opportunity to cover themselves in a bit of glory. The people wanted it. They wanted their money more.

And that's the biggest problem with that organization. They're out of touch. I'm all for making money, and we advocate it for 'Nova all the time here. We want them to be a bit more ruthless, like the NCAA. But in the NCAA's case, they get so much negative press and this seemed like an easy win.

Nope.

And now, the "news."

Palestra, too lit, never had a chance at NCAA games | Philly.com
The word came down Tuesday from on high - straight from @ESPNAndyKatz. The NCAA isn't interested in the Palestra. Katz quoted a source saying the 8,722 capacity and the Palestra's infrastructure (the lack of it, whatever it is) make it "a non-starter."

Big East 2017 class snapshot & predictions | HoopSeen
The classes at Villanova and Xavier are so strong that they currently hold a top-10 class early on as Xavier has the slight edge over Jay Wright’s squad.

College basketball: ESPN announces ‘PK80’ to honor Nike's Phil Knight | NCAA.com
On Wednesday, ESPN announced the creation of another early-season tournament — the Phil Knight Invitational. The PK80, as it will be colloquially known, will be a 16-team tournament beginning in 2017 that honors Nike co-founder Phil Knight. It will be held in Portland, Oregon, during the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

Kern: Villanova gets Taurus out of the garage | Philly.com
Sometimes it's a matter of waiting for your turn. Even when it feels like it's taking forever. All Taurus Phillips wanted to do was contribute. But the 5-9 wideout didn't play much two years ago as a Villanova freshman. Last season he caught 15 passes, fifth-most on a team that finished 6-5 after losing its award-winning starting quarterback early on with an injury.

Villanova Heads Up To Lafayette On Saturday | CBS Philly
Villanova quarterback Zach Bednarczyk was brilliant against Towson, completing 20 of 26 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Villanova football coach Andy Talley wary of Lafayette | The Morning Call
Lafayette prepares to host Villanova Saturday.

Former Hatter star Calitro leading Villanova defense | NewsTimes
Three games into his senior season, and former Danbury High School football star Austin Calitro is the leading tackler on the Villanova University football team. The 245-pound linebacker made eight tackles in Saturday’s 40-21 victory over Towson, the Wildcats’ second straight win after a season-opening loss to Pittsburgh.

The St. Louis Billikens unveiled a new mascot and it’s not going over well | SBNation.com
This is unfortunate, but it's still not as bad as the Providence Friar. #AMIRITE

All-Time Rosters for Every NBA Franchise | PointAfter
PointAfter compiled the best all-time roster for every NBA franchise, including ABA years. Which Villanovans made the cut?