| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 2005-06 |
| Team: | Villanova Wildcats |
| Short Conf: | Big East |
| Coachrank: | 5 |
| Aprank: | 3 |
| Record: | 28–5 |
| Conf Record: | 14–2 |
| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Asst Coach1: | Brett Gunning |
| Champion: | Big East Season Co-Champion |
| Bowl Result: | Elite Eight |
The 2005–06 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2005–06 college basketball season. This team is typically credited with re-establishing Villanova as a national powerhouse after nearly two decades of underwhelming performances.
Villanova, led by head coach Jay Wright, spent most of the season competing with Duke and Big East rival Connecticut for possession of the top spot in the college basketball rankings. Utilizing a starting lineup that consisted of four guards (seniors Randy Foye and Allan Ray, junior Mike Nardi, and sophomore Kyle Lowry) and a center (junior Will Sheridan), Villanova played a fast-paced style of basketball that became a common topic of intrigue among analysts. Villanova entered the NCAA tournament as a number one seed and made an Elite Eight appearance before losing to eventual champion Florida.
Four players from the 2005-06 Villanova Wildcat team currently have played in the NBA: Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Kyle Lowry, and Dante Cunningham. As of 2022, only Kyle Lowry remains in the NBA.
[1] [2] [3] |-| colspan="7" style="padding-left:10px;" | Overall Recruiting Rankings: Scout – NR Rivals – NR [4] ESPN –|}
| Villanova Basketball 2005–06 Roster | ||||||
| G | 23 | Dwayne Anderson | FR | Washington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS) | ||
| F | 44 | Marcus Austin | SR | Irvington, New Jersey (St. Patrick's HS) | ||
| G | 3 | Bilal Benn | FR | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS) | ||
| F | 21 | Chris Charles | SR | Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Crispus Attucks HS) | ||
| F | 20 | Shane Clark | FR | Chatham, Virginia (Hargrave Military Academy) | ||
| G | 4 | Ross Condon | JR | Springfield, Virginia (Potomac School) | ||
| F | 33 | Dante Cunningham | FR | Washington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS) | ||
| G | 22 | Baker Dunleavy | JR | Portland, Oregon (Lawrenceville Prep) | ||
| G | 2 | Randy Foye | SR | Newark, New Jersey (East Side HS) | ||
| F | 20 | Jason Fraser | SR | Amityville, New York (Amityville Memorial HS) | ||
| G | 1 | Kyle Lowry | SO | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS) | ||
| G | 12 | Mike Nardi | JR | Elizabeth, New Jersey (St. Patrick's) | ||
| G | 14 | Allan Ray | SR | Bronx, New York (St. Raymond's HS) | ||
| F | 50 | Will Sheridan | JR | Hockessin, Delaware (Sanford School) | ||
| F | 34 | Curtis Sumpter | SR | Brooklyn, New York (Bishop Loughlin) | ||
| F | 42 | Frank Tchuisi | FR | Douala, Cameroon (St. Benedict's) | ||
Jay Wright – Head Coach
| Date | Opponent | rank | Location | Time | Result | Overall | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 18, 2005 | 4 | W 78–35 | 1–0 | ||||
| November 27, 2005 | 4 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 84–47 | 2–0 | |||
| November 30, 2005 | 4 | W 86–57 | 3–0 | ||||
| December 3, 2005 | 4 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 85–74 | 4–0 | |||
| December 6, 2005 | 4 | W 79–60 | 5–0 | ||||
| December 10, 2005 | 4 | W 90–77 | 6–0 | ||||
| December 13, 2005 | Penn (Philadelphia Big 5) | 3 | W 62–55 | 7–0 | |||
| December 22, 2005 | La Salle (Philadelphia Big 5) | 3 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 98–57 | 8–0 | ||
| December 31, 2005 | @ Temple (Philadelphia Big 5) | 3 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 75–53 | 9–0 | ||
| January 5, 2006 | @ #8 Louisville | 3 | W 76–67 | 10–0 | 1–0 | ||
| January 8, 2006 | #24 West Virginia | 3 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | L 87–91 | 10–1 | 1–1 | |
| January 11, 2006 | @ Rutgers | 3 | W 84–78 OT | 11–1 | 2–1 | ||
| January 14, 2006 | 3 | 1:00 p.m. | L 55–58 | 11–2 | |||
| January 17, 2006 | Seton Hall | 7 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 73–64 | 12–2 | 3–1 | |
| January 21, 2006 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 80–65 | 13–2 | 4–1 | |
| January 24, 2006 | @ South Florida | 6 | W 49–46 | 14–2 | 5–1 | ||
| January 28, 2006 | @ #20 Notre Dame | 6 | W 72–70 | 15–2 | 6–1 | ||
| January 30, 2006 | Louisville | 4 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 79–73 | 16–2 | 7–1 | |
| February 4, 2006 | Marquette | 4 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 72–67 | 17–2 | 8–1 | |
| February 7, 2006 | @ Saint Joseph (Philadelphia Big 5) | 4 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 71–58 | 18–2 | ||
| February 11, 2006 | @ DePaul | 4 | W 61–51 | 19–2 | 9–1 | ||
| February 13, 2006 | 4 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 69–64 | 20–2 | 10–1 | ||
| February 19, 2006 |
| 4 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | 7:00 p.m. | W 75–65 | 21–2 | 11–1 |
| February 23, 2006 | @ Cincinnati | 2 | 2:00 p.m. | W 74–72 | 22–2 | 12–1 | |
| February 26, 2006 | @ #4 Connecticut | 2 | L 75–89 | 22–3 | 12–2 | ||
| March 1, 2006 | St. John's | 4 | Villanova, Pennsylvania | W 65–52 | 23–3 | 13–2 | |
| March 5, 2006 | @ Syracuse | 4 | W 92–82 | 24–3 | 14–2 | ||
| March 9, 2006 | Rutgers | 4 | New York, New York | W 87–55 | 25–3 | ||
| March 10, 2006 |
| 4 | New York, New York | L 54–68 | 25–4 | ||
| March 17, 2006 | 3 (1 MSP) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | W 58–45 | 26–4 | |||
| March 19, 2006 | 3 (1 MSP) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4:50 p.m. | W 82–78 | 27–4 | ||
| March 24, 2006 | 3 (1 MW) | 7:10 p.m. | W 60–59 OT | 28–4 | |||
| March 26, 2006 | 3 (1 MW) | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 5:05 p.m. | L 62–75 | 28–5 | ||
| Big East regular season games in bold. • Philadelphia Big Five games in italics. • * represent seedings in NCAA Tournament. | |||||||