Villanova basketball got off and running in the Kevin Willard era. Willard hit a new Wildcats record for most victories by a head coach in his first season. He claimed his 24th victory at ‘Nova after toppling Xavier 91-78 on Saturday.

Then he dropped a strong message to his players now that the regular season has come to a close.

Willard arrived to Philadelphia following a high-profile exit from Maryland. The Terrapins even tried to prevent Willard from drifting off by making him a top-10 highly-paid head coach.

But Willard eventually took over one of the prestigious Big East university jobs and a chance to resurrect a powerhouse post Jay Wright. Willard even dealt with a recent setback involving his roster.

Villanova, Kevin Willard overcomes recent player losses

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Villanova Wildcats guard Zion Stanford (1) drives for a shot against the Penn Quakers during the second half at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Wildcats dealt with a player exit before defeating rival Xavier.

Zion Stanford left the program abruptly. Stanford isn't dealing with an injury but his move stems from “falling out of the rotation” per the Philadelphia Inquirer. He didn't even travel with the team on Wednesday against DePaul.

But Stanford wasn't the only notable loss on the roster. ‘Nova also lost freshman Matt Hodge, but due to a torn ACL in his right knee. The Belgian talent left the court averaging 9.2 points per game with 3.6 rebounds.

‘Nova still is in a great position to land an at-large bid in March Madness. They hold an 89.5% chance to make it in as an at-large per the website Team Rankings. Although the Wildcats can lock up a higher seed by winning the Big East.