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Villanova releases its 2024-25 schedule for men’s basketball

The Wildcats will open their Big East campaign inside Finneran Pavilion against Seton Hall on Dec. 17, beginning a 20-game slate against conference opponents.

Villanova men's basketball coach Kyle Neptune greets the crowd at Hoops Mania last year. He'll do it again, but much earlier this year, with the annual hoops pep rally scheduled for Sept. 20.
Villanova men's basketball coach Kyle Neptune greets the crowd at Hoops Mania last year. He'll do it again, but much earlier this year, with the annual hoops pep rally scheduled for Sept. 20.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
    by Staff Reports
    Published 

Kyle Neptune’s clean slate is finally official.

On Thursday, Villanova released its men’s basketball schedule, which begins Nov. 4 against Lafayette. The season unofficially opens for Neptune, who enters his third season as head coach, and the Wildcats on Oct. 8 with the team’s annual Blue-White scrimmage, followed by an exhibition game against Robert Morris on Oct. 27.

The Wildcats begin their Big East campaign inside Finneran Pavilion against Seton Hall on Dec. 17. That will start a 20-game slate against conference foes, culminating March 4 against Georgetown. Four of those Big East games will take place at the Wells Fargo Center as the Wildcats will host Providence (Jan. 17), Creighton (Feb. 1), Xavier (Feb. 9), and Marquette (Feb. 21) in South Philly.

The four-day Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York will start March 12.

One game to mark on the calendar: Villanova will host defending NCAA men’s champion Connecticut on Jan. 8 and will face it again on Feb. 18 at a time and venue to be determined. It will be the first time the Wildcats have hosted UConn at the Finneran Pavilion since 1995.

Before conference play tips off, Villanova will play 11 nonconference games highlighted by matchups against Big 5 rivals St. Joseph’s (Nov. 12) and Penn (Nov. 19), with a game against Virginia sandwiched between them (Nov. 15).

» READ MORE: Temple releases nonconference men’s and women’s basketball schedules for 2024-25

Then it’s a game against Maryland in the annual Empire Classic on Nov. 24. The round-robin tournament is moving to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., this year, away from the Barclays Center in New York. In December, the Wildcats open with a game against Cincinnati (Dec. 3) as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle, followed by the second annual Big 5 Classic at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 7.

Villanova will close nonconference play on Dec. 11 against Fairleigh Dickinson at Finneran Pavilion.