Villanova's path to the 2019 NCAA Tournament

March is here and good news for college hoops fans ... the madness is about to begin.

One local team likely heading to the big dance is defending champ, Villanova.

Jay Wright's crew is 22-9, ranked No. 25 in the nation and currently a 6-seed based on ESPN's bracketology projections.

The Wildcats are virtual locks for an at-large berth, their potential seeding remains up in the air.

The Big East tourney will clear that up.

The top-seeded Wildcats open conference tourney action Thursday against Providence.

A Friday night date with the Creighton-Xavier winner looms in the semifinals, followed by a potential Finals matchup with tourney co-favorite Marquette.

The biggest question for Nova is which team will show up in March? The one that started the year 8-2 or the team that backed into the postseason losing five of its final eight games?

Seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are battle-tested vets who will look to up their game in the postseason as the Cats pursue their fourth straight tourney berth and a run at a third national title in four years.

On Selection Sunday, look for Nova to earn a seed somewhere between a five and nine seed.