The Villanova Wildcats have been handed a major blow ahead of March Madness, with freshman forward Matt Hodge sustaining a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee. The injury occurred during the second half of Saturday night's 89-57 loss to No. 15 St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden.

Now, medical evaluations confirmed that the 6-foot-8 Belgian native will require surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, per an official statement.
Hodge was helped off the court after suffering the injury against St. John’s.

Villanova has two regular-season games before the postseason, with the injury meaning they will be without their sixth-best scorer this year. This is their first trip to the Big Dance in four years.

This marks a cruel twist of fate for Hodge, who had finally earned his spot on the hardwood after sitting out the entirety of the 2024-25 season due to an NCAA initial eligibility ruling.

“Matt is a tremendous person with an unbelievable work ethic. We know he will be back better than ever,” head coach Kevin Willard said, per the statement.

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The Wildcats do not have a lot of options in the frontcourt and Willard may be forced to be unconventional in the PF spot. Devin Askew and Malachi Palmer are both seen as potential replacements, while Zion Stanford’s minutes are also expected to increase. He has played 5.1 minutes per game across 10 appearances this season.

Before the injury, Hodge had solidified himself as a regular, starting all 29 regular-season games. A major two-way talent, Hodge is averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds across 27.6 minutes per night with 45.2% overall shooting efficiency and a strong 36.8% split from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats are currently sitting at 22-7 and will be the No.3 seed. They play the DePaul Blue Demons next, before rounding off the regular season with a game against the Xavier Musketeers.