The 2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
in the
2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach
Jay Wright in his 21st and final year of coaching, the Wildcats played their home games at the
Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
suburb of
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Villanova is census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Philadelphia, the community straddles the border of Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the cen ...
and
Wells Fargo Center as members of the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
. They finished the season 30–8, 16–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated
St. John's,
UConn, and
Creighton to win the
Big East tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the
NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. They defeated
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
,
Ohio State
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, and
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
to advance to the Final Four. There they lost to eventual national champion
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
.
On April 20, 2022, head coach Jay Wright announced he was retiring effective immediately. Former Wright assistant and
Fordham head coach
Kyle Neptune was named the new head coach.
Previous season
In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the
Wildcats finished the
2020–21 season 18–7 overall and 11–4 in Big East play to finish first place in the conference. As the No. 1 seed in the
Big East tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals 72–71 to eventual conference tournament champions
Georgetown. In the
NCAA tournament, the Wildcats received the 5 seed in the South Regional. They defeated
Winthrop and
North Texas
North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...
to reach the Sweet 16, where they fell to eventual tournament champions
Baylor 62–51. Villanova finished #11 in the final Coaches Poll.
Offseason
Departures
2021 recruiting class
Coaching changes
Following the 2020–21 season, longtime assistant coach
Kyle Neptune left the Wildcats to become the head coach at
Fordham. Wright subsequently promoted George Halcovage to Associate Head Coach and
Dwayne Anderson from Director of Basketball Operations to Assistant Coach.
Mike Nardi remained in his Assistant Coach position.
Roster
Schedule and results
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Regular season
, -
!colspan=12 style=,
Big East tournament
, -
!colspan=12 style=,
NCAA tournament
Source
Rankings
*Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.
Awards and honors
Big East Conference honors
All-Big East Awards
*
Player of the Year:
Collin Gillespie
Collin Gillespie (born June 25, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Valley Suns of the NBA G League. He played college basketball fo ...
*Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Collin Gillespie
All-Big East First Team
*Collin Gillespie
All-Big East Second Team
*
Justin Moore
Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released seven studio albums: his self titled debut in 2009, '' Outla ...
National awards
*
Bob Cousy Award
The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...
: Collin Gillespie
*
Third Team All-American: Collin Gillespie (AP, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA)
[All-American selections from:
*
*
*
*]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons
Villanova
Villanova
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the Wildcats, Villanova is a ...
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the Wildcats, Villanova is a ...