The No. 8 seed Villanova Wildcats got off to a poor start in the NCAA Tournament.
Less than 10 minutes into the game, Villanova was down by nine points as the No. 9 seed Utah State Aggies came out firing on Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego, Calif.
With just over 11 minutes left in the first half, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard did an in-game interview, and he threatened to fire his entire coaching staff.
“I’m gonna fire my staff. Yeah, I am,” Willard said. “The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.”
"I'm gonna fire my staff. Yeah, I am … The only thing I'm gonna do is fire them and get a new staff."
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2026
– Villanova coach Kevin Willard to @LaurenShehadi 🤣 pic.twitter.com/6PdSBKa72z
It’s quite the quote from Willard, who is in his first season at Villanova after spending the previous three at Maryland.
Willard made headlines earlier this season after saying that working for Rick Pitino was the “most miserable experience in my life.”
For what it’s worth, things immediately changed after his interview. Villanova started to figure things out, and the Wildcats went into halftime with a 39-37 lead.
Still, it’s quite the warning from Willard, and if Villanova loses, maybe some coaches will be fired. Who knows.
