The #5 Villanova Wildcats (16-6) will kick off their 2021 NCAA tournament campaign against the #12 Winthrop Eagles (23-1) out of the Big South Conference this Friday night. The game will mark Villanova’s first NCAA tournament game since being bounced by the Purdue Boilermakers in the Second Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
By way of introductions, Winthrop University is a small public school located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, about 25 miles outside of Charlotte. Founded as a women’s teaching college, the university now boasts about 6,000 students. I spent a lot of time selecting a famous Winthrop alum and settled on Andie MacDowell of Groundhog Day fame.