CSNPhilly.com's printable bracket.
Brackets: East | Midwest | South | West
No. 15 seed UNC Asheville (22-11, 12-6 Big South) vs. No. 2 seed Villanova (29-5, 16-2 Big East)
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y., 12:40 p.m., TV: TruTV
Last time out
Villanova lost to Seton Hall 69-67 on Saturday in the Big East title game.
UNC Asheville defeated Winthrop 77-68 on March 6 to win the Big South Conference championship.
Series history
This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The teams shared two common opponents this season: East Tennessee State and Georgetown. The Bulldogs were 2-0 against those teams while Villanova went 4-0, beating Georgetown three times.
Facts and figures
Villanova beat Georgetown and Providence in the Big East Tournament. Kris Jenkins led the Wildcats with 23 points against Seton Hall, and he was named to the Big East All-Tournament team after he averaged 19.3 points per game in the tourney.
Josh Hart added 17 points in the championship game against Seton Hall. On the season, Hart leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Villanova is 51-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, but everyone is focused on their recent troubles. They Wildcats are 3-5 since 2010 and 0-6 in their last six NCAA Tournament games against teams not seeded 15th or 16th (see Roob's By the Numbers). They've lost their last three second-round games as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
The good news? The Wildcats are 12-2 in their last 14 games and 4-0 all-time at the Barclays Center.
As for the Bulldogs ... guard Dwayne Sutton led them with 25 points and 18 rebounds in the conference championship game victory over Big South regular season champ Winthrop. Guard Dylan Smith leads UNC Asheville in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game.
UNC Asheville plays at a relatively quickly pace — 75th in adjusted tempo compared to 251st from 'Nova.
This is the fourth time the Bulldogs have made it to the NCAA Tournament and they are 2-3 all-time. Both wins have come in the First Four. UNC Asheville has never advanced past the Round of 64.
What’s next?
The winner advances to play the winner of 7-seed Iowa vs. 10-seed Temple in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
ICYMI
• Villanova likens UNC Asheville told old Louisville teams
• Hobbled Ochefu says he's ready to go
• Wildcats face early-exit talk head on
• Villanova, St. Joe's and Temple by the numbers in the tourney
• Mikal Bridges: from redshirt to 'vital part'