Selection Sunday 2022: Villanova is a 2-seed, will play Delaware to start

After an exciting Big East Tournament weekend, the Villanova Wildcats will now turn their attention to the Big Dance.

Gone are the bubbles of last season, as the NCAA Tournament makes a glorious return towards normalcy and welcomes its doors back to fans and the different regional sites.

The Villanova Wildcats are the 2-seed in the South Region to start this year’s NCAA Tournament. They will begin their journey against the 15th-seeded Delaware to start.

Delaware enters with a 22-12 record and is fresh off of a CAA championship. The Blue Hens posted double-digit wins over Towson and Drexel to start, before finishing off with a win over UNC-Wilmington in the title game. They won the conference tournament as a 5-seed.

The winner takes on No. 7 Ohio State or No. 10 Loyola-Chicago in the round of 32.

The Wildcats enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7 record. They returned to the summit of the Big East after claiming their fifth conference tournament championship since realignment.

They won a series of nail-biters along the way, completing a 17-point comeback against St. John’s, holding off challenger UConn in an epic semifinal, then winning a defensive battle with Creighton in the finals, 54-48.

The Blue Hens feature familiar faces like former Villanova forward Dylan Painter. Also, while not an immediate connection, players like Jameer Nelson Jr. and Anthony Ochefu have relatives that have ties. Nelson’s father, Jameer Nelson Sr., was a standout at St. Joseph’s and played in the NBA. Anthony Ochefu is the younger brother of Daniel Ochefu and played high school basketball not too far from Villanova at Westtown.

The journey begins in Pittsburgh.