Willard's Blunt Comments Highlight Villanova's Defensive Struggles

0:00On March 20, Villanova coach Kevin Willard grabbed attention during his team's first round NCAA tournament loss to Utah State on Friday. In a mid-game interview with TNT, he did pan that he planned to fire his assistant coaches over sloppy defense on out-of-bounds plays. Utah State racked up 16 points in the pain during the first half, with eight coming directly from those underneath out-of-bounds situations. Willard vented his frustration right there on camera before heading back to the huddle. Five-mime reporter Lauren Shehadi jumped in quick, brushing off the common. The exchange drew laughs from viewers and highlighted the wildcats defensive struggles in real-time. The problems went beyond the first half, as Villanova got outscored 15-3 in the final six minutes after leading 73-2. 71. That lay-collapse sealed their early exit. Willard just started his first year of Villanova after guiding Maryland to the sweet 16 last season. His blunt sideline style sets the tone as the team looks ahead to next year.