Villanova men’s basketball’s Big East schedule was released Friday morning, and in welcome news to the student body, the ‘Cats will play four Big East games at Wells Fargo Center, including two night games.

Combined with Villanova’s early-season Big East-Big 12 Battle matchup with Oklahoma, this means that the Wildcats will play at Wells Fargo five times, their most in a season since 2019-2020.

Unlike in 2021-2022, when Villanova opened its conference slate with a difficult road trip to Omaha, the Wildcats open conference play at home this year. The ‘Cats will first take on St. John’s on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 6:30 PM.

Villanova’s first conference road trip starts just after Christmas, and it is no easy start for Kyle Neptune’s first Big East away day as head coach. The Wildcats play Dec. 28 in Hartford against Dan Hurley and Co., setting up an early season test as Villanova looks to stop expected Preseason Big East Player of the Year Adama Sanogo.

Villanova gets in one more game before the New Year, taking on Marquette at home on New Year’s Eve. Villanova went 0-2 against the Golden Eagles last year, including a 54-57 loss at Finneran Pavilion.

The ‘Cats open 2023 with a trip to Big East basement-dweller Georgetown on Wednesday, Jan. 4. The Hoyas have lost 20 straight Big East regular season games dating back to Mar. 2, 2021. This game will be Georgetown’s fifth of the season, and with winnable games against Butler and at DePaul before this game, the Hoyas will hope to stop the streak before the quarter-century mark.

Villanova returns on Saturday, Jan. 7, for a rare weekend Finneran Pavilion game. The ‘Cats will face Sean Miller for the first time since he returned to the conference, as Xavier comes to the Main Line.

The Wildcats finish the Winter Break portion of their schedule with their first multigame conference road trip of the season, traveling to Chicago to take on DePaul on Tuesday, Jan. 9 before completing the swing with a Friday evening battle at Hinkle Fieldhouse against Butler. The Bulldogs enter the season with raised expectations after the hiring of Thad Matta, who returns to Butler after leaving in 2001.

Students return to the Pavilion on Monday, Jan. 16 as Georgetown travels to Philadelphia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Spring semester classes begin for Villanovans on the following day, with the noon tip allowing time after to prepare for the upcoming weeks.

Villanova plays again at the end of the week, traveling to Madison Square Garden for a Friday night matchup with St. John’s. The game tips off at 7 P.M., giving students the opportunity to travel into New York City for the game after Friday classes.

The Wildcats close January with over a week of rest before their first conference Wells Fargo game. Big East regular season champ Providence comes to Wells Fargo on Sunday, Jan. 29, at noon. The regular season crown was Providence’s first in program history, and came despite losing twice to Villanova. The Friars also had three games canceled due to COVID.

Villanova again hits the road for a Midwest road swing, looking for revenge against Marquette in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Feb. 1, before continuing the trip with a challenge at Creighton on Saturday. The Wildcats were blown out in both matchups last season, falling by 20 to open the season in Omaha before losing by 10 at Fiserv Forum in February.

Mid-February brings a homestand for the ‘Cats. On Wednesday, Feb. 8, DePaul comes to the Finneran Pavilion, with tip off scheduled for 8:30 PM. Villanova’s top rival in recent years is the next challenge, as Neptune and Shaheen Holloway coach their first games against each other when Seton Hall comes to Wells Fargo on Saturday, Feb. 11. This game will start at 8:00 PM, meaning a welcome change from 7 AM tailgates for students. Finally, the ‘Cats finish the stand by welcoming Butler for yet another night game, as ‘Cats face ‘Dogs on Tuesday night in the Finn.

On Feb. 18, Villanova travels up the coast to the recently renamed Amica Mutual Pavilion for a Saturday afternoon battle with Providence. “The Dunk” was known as a difficult place for opponents to play, but it is yet to be seen whether AMP will bring the same challenge.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, will be Villanova’s last flight for the regular season, as the ‘Cats go to Cincinnati to play Xavier at the Cintas Center. The game tips at 6:30 PM.

Saturday, Feb. 25, brings the third of four Wells Fargo games, as the Bluejays of Creighton fly into Philadelphia. The game is a return to noon starts and the regular tailgate schedule.

Villanova finishes its road portion of the schedule with a short trip to Newark to take on Seton Hall on Feb. 28. The Tuesday night clash is scheduled for an 8:30 tip at the Prudential Center.

Finally, Villanova wraps up the regular season with one last Wells Fargo game, welcoming UConn to WFC on Saturday night at 7:30. Ten of 11 Big East schools play on that final day, with Villanova vs UConn scheduled to be the final tip in conference play.

The Big East Tournament will continue its tradition of being held at Madison Square Garden. The first day of tournament play will be Wednesday, March 8, continuing until Saturday, March 11. The Wildcats will look to defend their tournament crown, winning five of the last seven tournaments.

When watching the games at home, viewers can find all but two Big East contests on FOX or FS1. Villanova’s early January matchup at DePaul and its Tuesday night home game against Butler will both be on CBSSN.

The full schedule:

Wed. Dec. 21 ST. JOHN’S* (FP) 6:30 p.m. FS1

Wed. Dec. 28 at Connecticut* 6:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Dec. 31 MARQUETTE* (FP) 2 p.m. FS1

Wed. Jan. 4 at Georgetown* 6:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Jan. 7 XAVIER* (FP) 4:30 p.m. FS1

Tues. Jan. 10 at DePaul* 9 p.m. CBS SN

Fri. Jan. 13 at Butler* 7 p.m. FS1

Mon. Jan. 16 GEORGETOWN* (FP) Noon FS1

Fri. Jan. 20 at St. John’s* 7 p.m. FS1

Sun. Jan.29 PROVIDENCE* (WFC) Noon FS1

Wed. Feb. 1 at MARQUETTE* 8:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Feb. 4 at Creighton* 7:30 p.m. Fox

Wed. Feb. 8 DEPAUL* (FP) 8:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Feb. 11 SETON HALL* (WFC) 8 p.m. FS1

Tue. Feb. 14 BUTLER* (FP) 8 p.m. CBS SN

Sat. Feb. 18 at Providence* 4:30 p.m. Fox

Tue. Feb. 21 at Xavier* 6:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Feb. 25 CREIGHTON* (WFC) Noon Fox

Tues. Feb. 28 at Seton Hall* 8:30 p.m. FS1

Sat. Mar. 4 CONNECTICUT* (WFC) 7:30 p.m. Fox

Mar. 8-11 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT