March 16, 2008

Men's Basketball Quote Sheet on NCAA Selection
Villanova NCAA Facts

VILLANOVA, Pa. - For the fourth straight season the Wildcat men's basketball team will get out their dancing shoes. Villanova (20-12) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and drew the No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region. The tournament field of 65 teams was announced Sunday evening on CBS. Opposing the Wildcats in their first-round matchup is No. 5 seed Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The teams will play on Friday, March 21 in Tampa, Fla. with the game time yet to be announced.

Villanova is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, only the third time in program history that the Wildcats have reached the tournament in at least four consecutive seasons. Overall, this is the 29th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Villanova, which is 42-28 (.600) all-time in the `Big Dance.' This also marks the second time that the Wildcats have drawn a No. 12 seed. The other occasion came in 1990 when Villanova was defeated by No. 5 seed LSU.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, Villanova carries a 20-12 overall record after going 9-9 during regular season BIG EAST games. The Wildcats rate No. 51 in the RPI, according to espn.com. , and all but one of the team's losses have come to teams with at least 20 victories. Villanova defeated two ranked teams during the year and won at least one game in the BIG EAST Tournament for the fourth straight season.

Friday's game against Clemson will be played in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum. The second round matchup for the winner of the Villanova-Clemson game will either be No. 4 seed Vanderbilt or No. 13 seed Siena.

NOTES: The NCAA began to seed teems in the tournament in 1979 ... Villanova was a No. 1 seed for the first time in its history in 2006 ... The Wildcats are one of seven BIG EAST teams in the top 51 of the RPI ... Eight BIG EAST schools made the field of 65 ... Villanova made a school-record seven straight NCAA appearances between 1980-86 ... The team also made four consecutive appearances between 1969-72 and three straight trips from 1997-99 ... The Wildcats won their only national championship in 1985 ... Villanova was a No. 8 seed that season ... The Wildcats own more wins as an underdog seed (12) in the NCAA Tournament than any other program (UCLA has the next-highest total with 11 low-seed victories) ... Villanova is 3-0 all-time against Clemson but has not played the Tigers since the 1989-90 season ... The three meetings against Clemson came on 12/12/59 (77-64), 12/16/72 (63-60) and 12/27/89 (73-71).