Villanova vs. UNC Asheville March Madness Preview

Villanova men’s hoops has grabbed a No. 1 seed in the tournament and all the expectations that go with it. (Getty)

The Villanova men’s basketball team is used to expectations. The Wildcats are also used to not exactly meeting them. They’re hoping that change this season.

After yet another dominate campaign in Big East play, ‘Nova is heading into the NCAA Tournament riding a serious wave of success and momentum and – of course – a whole new set of expectations.

But before the ‘Cats can get too far ahead of themselves, they’ve got to take on UNC Asheville in the opening round.

Here’s a look at the matchup and game details.

REGION: South

DATE: Friday, March 18, 2016

TIME: 12:40 p.m. ET

TV CHANNEL: TruTV

POINT SPREAD: TBD. Click here for more March Madness betting info from Heavy’s partners at OddsShark.

LIVE STREAM INFO: TBD

Villanova at a Glance

RECORD: 29-59 (16-2)

LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

CONFERENCE: Big East

COACH: Jay Wright

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Josh Hart, Jr., Guard (15.5 PPG, 1.85 APG, 6.9 RPG, .511 FG% .365 3FG%); Kris Jenkins, Jr. Forward (13.3 PPG, 2.05 APG, 3.8 RPG, .440 FG%, .371 3FG%); Ryan Aricdiacono, Sr., Guard (11.9 PPG, 4.44 APG, 3.1 RPG, .414 FG%, .359 3FG%).

UNC Asheville at a Glance

RECORD: 22-11 (12-6, BS)

LOCATION: Asheville, North Carolina

CONFERENCE: Big South

COACH: Nick McDevitt

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Dylan Smith, Fr., Guard (13.5 PPG, 1.75 APG, 2.7 RPG, .368 FG%, .342 3PT%); Dwayne Sutton, Fr., Guard (12 PPG, 1.27 APG, 7.8 RPG, .476 FG%, .328 3PT %), Kevin Vannatta, So., Guard (11.7 PPG, 2.69 APG, 4.2 RPG, .512 FG%, .379 3PT%).