2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team explained

Year:2021-22
Team:Villanova Wildcats
Sport:Basketball
Conference:Big East Conference
Short Conf:Big East
Record:30–8
Conf Record:16–4
Coachrank:4
Aprank:6
Hc Year:21st
Asst Coach1:George Halcovage
Stadium:Finneran Pavilion
(Capacity: 6,501)
Wells Fargo Center
(Capacity: 20,478)
Champion:Philadelphia Big 5 champions
Big East tournament champions
Tourney Result:Final Four

The 2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University 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 suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. 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, Ohio State, Michigan, and Houston to advance to the Final Four. There they lost to eventual national champion Kansas.

On April 20, 2022, head coach Jay Wright announced he was retiring effective immediately.[1] Former Wright assistant and Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune was named the new head coach.[2]

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.[3] In the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats received the 5 seed in the South Regional. They defeated Winthrop and North Texas to reach the Sweet 16, where they fell to eventual tournament champions Baylor 62–51.[4] Villanova finished #11 in the final Coaches Poll.[5]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl24F6'9"230Kansas City, KSDeclared for the 2021 NBA draft; selected 32nd overall by the Knicks, then traded to the Thunder.[6]
Cole Swider10F6'9"225JuniorPortsmouth, RITransferred to Syracuse[7]
Kevin Hoehn20G6'0"175SeniorMorristown, NJGraduated

Coaching changes

Following the 2020–21 season, longtime assistant coach Kyle Neptune left the Wildcats to become the head coach at Fordham.[8] 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.[9]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=| Regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Big East tournament|-!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournamentSource[10]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.

Awards and honors

Big East Conference honors

All-Big East Awards

Collin Gillespie[11]

All-Big East First Team

All-Big East Second Team

National awards

Collin Gillespie[13]

Collin Gillespie (AP, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA)[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Villanova coach Jay Wright steps down, joining growing number who are walking away from a changing profession . 2022-04-21 . CBSSports.com . en.
  2. Web site: 2022-04-20 . Wright retiring after 21 years as Villanova coach . 2022-04-21 . ESPN.com . en.
  3. Web site: Juliano. Joe. Top seed Villanova upset by Georgetown, 72–71, in Big East quarterfinals. 2021-07-07. www.inquirer.com. en.
  4. Web site: NCAA Tournament 2021: No. 1 seed Baylor rallies in second half vs. Villanova to move on to Elite Eight. 2021-07-07. CBSSports.com. en.
  5. Web site: College Basketball Rankings 2020-21 - Coaches Poll. 2021-07-07. CBSSports.com. en.
  6. Web site: Thunder acquire No. 32 pick Jeremiah Robinson-Earl from Knicks. 2021-08-04. www.nba.com. en.
  7. Web site: 2021-04-06. Villanova's Swider transferring to Syracuse. 2021-07-08. ESPN.com. en.
  8. Web site: Zagoria. Adam. NCAA Coaching Carousel: Fordham Names Villanova Assistant Kyle Neptune Head Coach. 2021-07-08. Forbes. en.
  9. Web site: Juliano. Joe. Villanova's Jay Wright announces coaching staff changes. 2021-07-08. www.inquirer.com. en.
  10. Web site: 2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule. villanova.com. 11 October 2021. en.
  11. Web site: Gillespie Big East POY again, Cooley 1st Friars coach to win . Mike . Fitzpatrick . . March 9, 2022 . April 17, 2022 . en . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220405115213/https://apnews.com/article/sports-mens-college-basketball-college-basketball-creighton-bluejays-mens-basketball-new-york-6e47537edfdd3c2d20fe7fc046e48fa8 . April 5, 2022.
  12. Web site: Champagnie, Gillespie Repeat on All-Big East First Team . Big East Conference. March 6, 2022 . April 17, 2022 . en . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220311232423/https://www.bigeast.com/news/2022/3/6/mens-basketball-champagnie-gillespie-repeat-on-all-big-east-first-team.aspx . March 11, 2022.
  13. Web site: Villanova's Collin Gillespie wins Bob Cousy award as nation's top point guard . Mike . Jensen . . April 2, 2022 . April 17, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220403144427/https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/villanova/villanova-collin-gillespie-bon-cousy-point-guard-20220402.html . April 3, 2022.
  14. All-American selections from:

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