On Thursday, Aug. 15, Villanova men’s basketball released its 2023-24 non-conference schedule. The Wildcats will challenge themselves, facing numerous Top 25 opponents.
Villanova will open the 2023-24 regular season with a home game on Monday, Nov. 6 against American. The Wildcats are 3-0 against the Eagles since 2009, with the most recent matchup having been in December of 2016. The ‘Cats won that matchup, 90-48.
Villanova will remain at the Finneran Pavilion for its second game of the season on Friday, Nov. 10 to take on Le Moyne. Le Moyne is making the transition to Division I from Division II this season, so the Villanova matchup will be the Dolphins’ second at that level. The last time Villanova saw Le Moyne was in the 1958-59 season. The Dolphins went 15-15 last season, 11-9 in Northeast-10 Conference play. They will return their top two scorers from last year.
After the ‘Cats’ first two home games, they will head into Philadelphia for their first Big 5 game. They will play Penn at the Palestra on Monday, Nov. 13 before returning home to host Maryland in the Gavitt Tipoff Games on Friday, Nov. 17.
The Gavitt Tipoff Games are an annual early-season series played between Big Ten and Big East schools in honor of Dave Gavitt, the founder of the Big East. All-time, Villanova is 4-1 against the Terps, last meeting in January of 2011.
Villanova’s first tournament of the season will send it overseas as the Wildcats will head to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. Villanova will face Texas Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 22, followed by North Carolina or Northern Iowa on Nov. 23. The final day of the tournament will be played on Friday, Nov. 24. The Wildcats will face either Arkansas, Stanford, Michigan or Memphis in the final game.
After their trip abroad, the ‘Cats will head back to home court to take on fellow Big Five school Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday, Nov. 29. This is one of the oldest basketball rivalries of the Big 5, with Villanova leading the all-time series 54-25 and 42-24 as members of the Big 5.
On Dec. 2, Villanova will join the other Philadelphia schools in its first Wells Fargo Center game of the season in the Big Five Classic, a new tripleheader featuring all six schools. The Wildcats will face one of the remaining city schools, either Temple, La Salle or Drexel.
Three days later, the Wildcats will take on Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas for its first true away game of the season. Last year, the Wildcats of the Big 12 went 26-10, clinching a spot in the NCAA tournament. They fell to Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight.
Finally, Villanova will finish off non-conference play with its second appearance at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, Dec. 9, as the ‘Cats take on UCLA. The Bruins are the all-time king of men’s college basketball, with 11 national championship titles since 1939. The last time the Wildcats faced UCLA was in November of 2021, when the Bruins won, 86-77, in Los Angeles. The game may be best remembered for tipping off at 11:30 East Coast time. All-time, Villanova is 3-2 against UCLA.
The Bruins are led by Mick Cronin, who was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in his first season with the Bruins in 2019-20. He has led his team to the Sweet Sixteen or further for the past three seasons.
The full schedule is below:
Monday, Nov. 6 American Villanova, PA
Friday, Nov. 10 Le Moyne Villanova, PA
Monday, Nov. 13 Penn Philadelphia, PA
Friday, Nov. 17 Maryland Villanova, PA
Wednesday, Nov. 22 Texas Tech Nassau, Bahamas
Thursday, Nov. 23 North Carolina Nassau, Bahamas
Friday, Nov. 24 Battle 4 Atlantis Nassau, Bahamas
Wednesday, Nov. 29 Saint Joseph’s Villanova, PA
Saturday, Dec. 2 Big Five Classic Philadelphia, PA
Tuesday, Dec. 5 Kansas State Manhattan, Kan
Saturday, Dec. 9 UCLA Philadelphia, PA
