Overview
- Villanova announced Monday that testing confirmed Hodge tore the ACL in his right knee during Saturday’s game at Madison Square Garden, and he will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season.
- The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman started all 29 games, averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds on 45.2% shooting from the field and 36.8% from three.
- Willard said Palmer is set to join the starting lineup at DePaul as the Wildcats rework their rotation without Hodge.
- The staff is considering smaller guard-heavy units as well as a seldom-used two-big look pairing centers Duke Brennan and Braden Pierce to offset frontcourt shortages.
- Villanova is 22-7 with games at DePaul and vs. Xavier remaining and holds the No. 3 seed for the Big East tournament, and Willard projects roughly eight months for Hodge’s recovery with plans for him to play next season.