Villanova head coach Kevin Willard was not a fan of his coaching staff during the No. 8-seeded Wildcats’ 86-76 loss to the No. 9-seeded Utah State Aggies in a West Region first-round game on Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego.
When he chatted with CBS Sports sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi, Willard told her that he was going to fire his coaching staff. After the game, though, he was singing a different tune.
Kevin Willard Clarifies Viral In-Game Comments
After the game, Willard met with reporters and was asked specifically about his comments during the game.
“Utah State was doing good on the out of bounds, they had a couple of scores off that,” a reporter said to Willard. “Where do you think you guys flipped the script and kind of was able to get off?”
Willard replied, “I don’t think we did. We gave up a big 3 late. Yeah, I’ll probably going to have to make some changes to my staff just because of how bad we were.”
Then another reporter said, “You just mentioned making changes to your staff. You gave a…”
MARCH MADNESS: Fill In Your Bracket Now!
Willard then interjected, “It’s a joke.”
“Well, that’s why I wanted to ask you about it,” the reporter continued. “You made, you gave an interview during the game. It went viral. You’re being criticized pretty heavily online.”
Kevin Willard says that firing his staff “was a joke” after doubling down in the post game press conference 😅 https://t.co/sPOCFCwjmA pic.twitter.com/IuDE83RArG
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) March 20, 2026
“I don’t care,” Willard said. “Welcome to my life. It’s a joke.”
With the first-round loss, Villanova finishes its season with a 24-9 overall record. The Wildcats finished third in the Big East Conference standings behind the St. John’s Red Storm and UConn Huskies.
Willard was trying to add his name to the list of Villanova coaches who have won NCAA championships. Rollie Massimino won the school’s first NCAA title back in 1985, and Jay Wright coached his Villanova teams to NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018.
Bryce Lindsay scored 25 points to lead the Wildcats in scoring, followed by Tyler Perkins and Duke Brennan with 15 points apiece.
Utah State, led by Mason Falslev’s 22 points, advances to the second round, where West Region No. 1 seed Arizona awaits the Aggies. That second-round game is scheduled for Sunday.
For now, Willard and his Wildcats return home and try to figure out what went wrong for them in the NCAA Men’s Tournament.
