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Villanova head coach Kevin Willard was not happy with his team’s March Madness loss.
The eighth-seeded Wildcats fell to No. 9 Utah State in the first round on Friday, and Willard mentioned making changes to his team not once, but twice because of his team’s performance.
During the game, Willard was interviewed by TNT’s Lauren Shehadi about keeping Utah State out of the paint after dominating the interior early.
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Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard reacts in the first half against the Utah State Aggies during a first round game of the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament at Viejas Arena. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“I’m going to lay off my team,” Willard said.
Shehadi replied: “Not now. »
“Yes, I am,” Willard added.
“Because we gave up eight points on out-of-bounds defense. So the only thing I’m going to do is fire them and bring in a new staff.”
“OK, go do that now,” Shehadi replied.
After the 86-76 loss, Willard doubled down during his press conference.
“We dropped three big players late. I’m probably going to have to make some changes to my team just because of our poor performance,” he said.
Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard speaks before the first round of the 2026 men’s NCAA tournament at Viejas Arena. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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Another reporter then began questioning Willard about the comments, but the coach wouldn’t let him finish.
“It’s a joke. God bless him,” Willard said.
The reporter then mentioned that Willard was being criticized online.
“I don’t care,” he replied. “Welcome to my life. It’s a joke.”
Many on social media were unhappy with the way Willard handled his “joke.”
“Dude says something that doesn’t sound like a joke at all. Then he gets angry when people ask him questions. Good luck with him, Nova,” said one X user.
“Kevin Willard says firing his team was ‘a joke’ after saying it twice and sounding very serious. Classic deflection with no apology, no accountability, just ‘psychological haha’ after embarrassing his team and staff on national television,” wrote another.
Willard joined Villanova this season after spending the previous three at Maryland. In his final season with the Terrapins, he made it to the Sweet 16.
Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard reacts during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at William B. Finneran Pavilion. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
This season marked Willard’s eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament. He never reached the Elite Eight.
