'Don't Know What the F--k They Were Doing,' Villanova HC Willard Rips Maryland Fans in 1st Game Back

Villanova head coach Kevin Willard had some choice words for a group of Maryland fans who seemed to go out of their way to heckle him in his first game back in the Washington D.C. area since leaving the Terrapins at the end of last season.

Willard told reporters "I don't know what the f--k" they were doing" when asked about a contingent of Maryland supporters who showed up to Capital One Arena for the Wildcats' game against Georgetown.

The Maryland fans were seated near the Wildcats' bench during the game. They responded to Willard returning to the region since his controversial departure from the Terps by heckling and booing him throughout the game.

Per Nolan Rogalski of Testudo Times, multiple social media groups "choreographed" Saturday's display, including one community on X that "coordinated the purchase of over a dozen seats in section 102, directly behind Villanova's bench."

A Maryland fan named Brandon Crawford told Rogalski Saturday's game served as a "a hate fest for our former head coach" because he "left us with nothing."

Willard spent three seasons as Maryland's head coach from 2022 to '25. As the team was preparing for the start of the NCAA tournament last season, he had not yet signed a contract extension with the program due to concerns over how much it was financially invested in the basketball team.

"We've been one of the worst, if not the lowest [in the Big Ten], in NIL the last two years," Willard said on March 20, one day before the Terrapins first tournament game. "I also have to make a fundamental change where I can do the things that I want to do with my program."

There were already rumblings at that time about Willard being on Villanova's radar after Kyle Neptune was fired after the 2024-25 season.

Maryland wound up advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing 87-71 to Florida on March 27. Willard was officially named Villanova's head coach three days later.

Even though the Terrapins were not involved in Saturday's game, Capital One Arena is roughly 10 miles from Maryland's campus at College Park. Some fans took advantage of the situation by making sure Willard knows they are still unhappy with how his time as coach of their basketball program came to an end.