‘I’m gonna fire my staff’

Villanova head men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard was quite unhappy with the Wildcats’ defense in the first half of Friday’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Utah State.

Utah State was particularly having success on baseline out-of-bounds plays (BLOB plays, as the hoops junkies know), leading to eight points (and leaving Stan Van Gundy very impressed on the TNT broadcast).

During an in-game interview with Willard, while Utah State had a 22-16 lead, TNT Sports’ Lauren Shehadi said, “Coach, 16 paint points for Utah State. How do you keep ’em out?”

“I’m gonna fire my staff,” Willard said.

“Not now,” Shehadi responded.

“Yeah, I am,” Willard continued. “Because we’ve given up eight points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.”

“Alright, go do that now,” Shehadi said. “Bye, coach.”

Villanova HC Kevin Willard: “I’m gonna fire my staff.”

Lauren Shehadi: “Not now.”

Willard: “Yeah, I am. Because we’ve given up 8 points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.” #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/z9OvxS0Yy4

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 20, 2026

“Kevin, we’re losing people by the second,” Shehadi told play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan.

“Well, they’re still there now,” Van Gundy said. “So, at least they’re going to be here through the end of this, well, half. I was going to say game, but who knows?”

You might want to consider taking some blame there as the team’s head coach, Kevin.

Willard was one of the main villains during the 2025 NCAA Tournament due to his controversial exit from Maryland. The Terrapins’ Sweet 16 run featured constant distractions with rumors that Willard would leave to take the Villanova head-coaching position. And three days after Maryland’s loss to Florida in the Sweet 16, he indeed took the Villanova job.