Authorities Preparing Ahead Of Villanova's Final Four Game, Report Says

VILLANOVA, PA -- In a year in which most Philadelphia sports teams are either rebuilding or falling short of expectations, three men's college basketball teams from the area made it into the NCAA Tournament: Temple, St. Joseph's, and Villanova.

Temple fell in the first round, and St. Joe's in the second. But on Saturday night, Villanova upset top ranked Kansas, earning their berth in the 2016 Final Four in Houston and uniting the Philadelphia region behind the Wildcat blue and gray.

Villanova has so much momentum, in fact, that local authorities have reportedly already met to prepare a security plan for the game and a potential National Championship celebration.

The Wildcats play Oklahoma, the winner of the West Bracket, on Saturday, April 2, at 6:09 p.m.

If they win, they would advance to play the winner of North Carolina and Syracuse on April 4.

CBS 3 reports that Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan is calling the preparations a "mini episode of what happened with the Pope."

Detours and even road closures are expected for the game Saturday and the potential National Championship Monday, as police predict thousands will flock to the campus on Lancaster Avenue, the report states.

Authorities are taking precautions to ensure that police and EMS units will have a way through, according to the report.

Leading up to the nail biter against Kansas on Saturday, Villanova had cruised easily through the early stages of the tournament.

The Wildcats have established themselves as a perennial contender not just in their conference, but on the national stage. Since 2005, they've only missed the tournament in one year (2012).

In 2009, the last time they reached the Final Four, they lost the National Semifinal to University of North Carolina.

They've lost the National Final a handful of times, and won it only once, in 1985.

Image courtesy Villanova University.