It is that time of year again. Tens of thousands of people around the nation will begin to start tuning in to college basketball, and at Villanova, students, staff, alumni and parents take it very seriously. 

“I am ecstatic for basketball season to begin,” sophomore Claire Gaza said. “Seeing the community come together to support our school is one of the ways Villanova is so unique.”

From now until March, students will be entering lotteries in order to secure tickets to games in Villanova’s famous Finneran Pavilion. 

“I really like how Villanova does the lottery system for games,” sophomore Betty Dorsey said. “I think that, due to needing points to get higher priority, it allows more students to go to other sporting events and to support all of Villanova athletics.” 

However, this is not an opinion shared by all.

“I think that having the words lottery and point system when talking about the same topics is counterproductive,” sophomore Ryan Levey said. “I think it should be one way or another to make it the most fair to Villanova students.” 

While many Villanovans fight it out for tickets to home games on campus, the community truly comes together for the games played in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. 

“I love games at Wells,” sophomore Kara McGoldrick said. “Getting to the games early and seeing everyone come together on a Saturday or Sunday to support our University feels like a dream. I love going to Wells Fargo, as these games really [capture] the ideas of unitas, veritas and communitas.” 

This year, Villanova’s men’s team will be playing at Wells Fargo on Dec. 9, Jan. 20, Feb. 4, Feb. 11 and Mar. 9. 

This season, many Villanovans are hopeful for a strong season from both the men’s and women’s teams. The women’s basketball team won its first home game, 69-42, and the men’s team is looking strong after gaining strong transfers and incoming first years. 

“I am really excited to see how the teams perform this year,” Gaza said. “I believe that, with these strong additions to the men’s team, we hopefully can go further than we did in the 2022-23 season.” 

“I am excited to see how the [women’s] team performs this year,” Dorsey said. “After Maddie [Siegrist] graduated this past year, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the team adapts and performs this year.” 

Villanova rallies around this season for different reasons. 

“I love attending events with my friends,” sophomore Nadia Balduf said. “Being able to take the train into Philly before Wells Fargo or walk to the Finn from the Quad, it just brings me joy and excitement for this upcoming season.”

Others are excited for the sport itself. 

“I love watching basketball, and Villanova having such a strong team is one of the reasons I came to ‘Nova,” Dorsey said. 

Villanova is so excited for this upcoming basketball season, and cannot wait to see how both teams perform.