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Kevin Willard jokes he'll fire Villanova staff after slow start vs Utah State
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- Kevin Willard jokes he'll fire Villanova staff after slow start vs Utah State
Villanova coach Kevin Willard was not happy with the Wildcats' start to the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20, joking with the TNT broadcast during an in-game interview that he's going to fire his entire staff.
No. 9 seed Utah State had outscored Villanova 16-2 in the paint at the time of Willard's interview with sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi, who asked Willard how he plans to stop the Aggies' attack.
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"I'm gonna fire my staff," Willard said.
"Not now," Shehadi said.
Willard responded: "Yeah, I am. Because we've given up eight points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I'm gonna do is fire them and get a new staff."
While Willard appeared to be joking, he walked back to the bench with a straight face after the short interview. Villanova responded to its slow start, leading Utah State 39-37 at halftime, but ultimately lost 86-76.
Willard made another joke about making staff changes in his postgame press conference and was visibly frustrated after a reporter asked him about the matter.
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"It's a joke, god bless," Willard said. "I don't care. Welcome to my life. It's a joke."
Willard, in his first season at Villanova after leaving Maryland, led the Wildcats to a 24-8 record during the regular season and the Big East tournament. It's Villanova's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022, when Jay Wright led the program to the Final Four before he retired.
Willard took over for Kyle Neptune, who failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in three seasons at the helm.
Willard, who reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in his career at Maryland last season, will have to wait until 2026-27 for a shot at leading Villanova back to the second weekend. Until then, we'll see if his staff remains the same or not, regardless of the jokes he made twice on March 20.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Willard jokes he'll fire Villanova staff after slow start
