Villanova head basketball coach Kevin Willard has already set a program record with his win over Butler on Wednesday night.
With the win over Butler, Villanova improved to 22-6 in the 2025-2026 college basketball season. The milestone victory gave Willard the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history.
Congrats, Coach Willard! 👏✌️
22 WINS – The most victories by a Villanova Men’s Basketball Head Coach in their first season in program history! pic.twitter.com/Ypz4J3Du0q
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 26, 2026
Willard has already done more in one season than his predecessor, Kyle Neptune, did in his three years at the helm. Neptune failed to exceed 19 wins in a single season and never got the Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament before they fired him at the end of his third season with the team.
Willard has Villanova well within the projected 68-team NCAA Tournament field with just three games remaining in the regular season. Assuming the selection committee gives them the nod, it would be their first appearance in the Big Dance since Jay Wright's final season in 2021-2022.
Villanova has been one of the best teams outside of the top 25 all season and continued that trend on Wednesday night. Four of its six losses have come against top-10-ranked opponents, and the Wildcats are 22-2 against unranked foes.
Villanova held Butler to just 45 percent shooting and 23 percent from three-point range to help it overcome a 38-28 rebounding disadvantage in its victory. Star freshman guard Acaden Lewis led the team with 20 points, with redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay adding 19.
The win allowed Villanova to rebound from a 73-63 loss to No. 5 UConn, which snapped a six-game win streak. The Wildcats face No. 15 St. John's, DePaul and Xavier to close out the regular season before the Big East Tournament begins.
