Villanova’s full men’s basketball schedule for 2022-23 now complete after Big East reveal Friday

With the release of the 2022-23 Big East men’s basketball schedule, the full slate of games for Kyle Neptune’s first season as Villanova men’s basketball coach was revealed Friday.

The 20 conference dates joined the 11 previously announced nonconference matchups to complete Villanova’s 31-game schedule, which begins Nov. 7, when the Wildcats welcome old friend Fran Dunphy to Finneran Pavilion for a Big 5 clash with Dunphy’s La Salle Explorers. That game is the first of two Big 5 games to open the season, the second being a Nov. 11 trip to Liacouras Center to take on Temple.

Villanova, which won the Big East tournament after finishing second in the regular season to Providence (albeit not without an asterisk), opens its conference campaign Dec. 21 with a home game vs. St. John’s.

The early, nonconference portion of the schedule is highlighted by a Nov. 18 trip to East Lansing, Mich., for a battle with Michigan State, which is ranked 25th in CBS Sports’ way-too-early ranking of teams ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Wildcats, fresh off a Final Four trip, slot in at 16th.

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Villanova follows that trip up with a venture out west to the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, where the Wildcats kick off the tournament with a Thanksgiving Day game vs. Iowa State. Also at the event are the likes of North Carolina, which is expected to be ranked in the top three when the season starts, Oregon, Alabama, and Michigan State.

The high-major opponents continue with a Wells Fargo Center matchup with Oklahoma on Dec. 3. Villanova plays in South Philly four additional times in Big East play: Jan. 29 vs. Providence; Feb. 11 vs. Seton Hall; Feb. 25 vs. Creighton; and March 4 vs. Connecticut.

Highlights of the conference schedule include a New Year’s Eve Saturday afternoon on-campus game vs. Marquette. Villanova also hosts Georgetown for a Martin Luther King Day matinee on Jan. 16, a game that will be broadcast on FOX.

The Big East tournament kicks off March 8 at Madison Square Garden. The 2021-22 season marked the ninth consecutive year Villanova claimed either the conference tournament crown or the regular-season championship.

The full 2022-23 schedule can be found here.

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Villanova returns six of its top nine scorers from last season. The three gone are leading scorer Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels — both to graduation — and Bryan Antoine (transfer to Radford).

Jay Wright built a strong recruiting class before stepping away from coaching. At the top of that class are Cam Whitmore and Mark Armstrong, who played this summer on the United States men’s under-18 national team.

All seems to be in place for a smooth transition to Neptune. Now, at least, there’s a road map.