2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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.

2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Philadelphia Big 5 champions Big East tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 6
Record	30–8 (16–4 Big East)
Head coach	Jay Wright (21st season)
Assistant coaches	George Halcovage Mike Nardi Dwayne Anderson
Home arena	Finneran Pavilion (Capacity: 6,501) Wells Fargo Center (Capacity: 20,478)
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 13 Providence	14	–	3		.824			27	–	6		.818
No. 6 Villanova †	16	–	4		.800			30	–	8		.789
No. 21 UConn	13	–	6		.684			23	–	10		.697
Creighton	12	–	7		.632			23	–	12		.657
Seton Hall	11	–	8		.579			21	–	11		.656
Marquette	11	–	8		.579			19	–	13		.594
Xavier	8	–	11		.421			23	–	13		.639
St. John's	8	–	11		.421			17	–	15		.531
Butler	6	–	14		.300			14	–	19		.424
DePaul	6	–	14		.300			15	–	16		.484
Georgetown	0	–	19		.000			6	–	25		.194
† 2022 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

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

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl	24	F	6'9"	230	Sophomore	Kansas City, KS	Declared for the 2021 NBA draft; selected 32nd overall by the Knicks, then traded to the Thunder.[6]
Cole Swider	10	F	6'9"	225	Junior	Portsmouth, RI	Transferred to Syracuse[7]
Kevin Hoehn	20	G	6'0"	175	Senior	Morristown, NJ	Graduated

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jordan Longino SG	Fort Washington, PA	Germantown Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jul 23, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nnanna Njoku C	Hockessin, Delaware	Sanford School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Apr 19, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Angelo Brizzi PG	Warrenton, VA	Highland School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jul 27, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Villanova Commits". Rivals.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

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]

Roster

2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Bryan Antoine 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Ranney School Tinton Falls, NJ G 2 Collin Gillespie (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Archbishop Wood HS Huntingdon Valley, PA F 3 Brandon Slater 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Paul VI Catholic HS Centerville, VA G 4 Chris Arcidiacono 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Perkiomen School Langhorne, PA G 5 Justin Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr DeMatha Catholic HS Fort Washington, MD G 10 Angelo Brizzi 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Highland School Warrenton, VA G 12 Kevin Voigt (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Massapequa HS Massapequa, NY F 13 Trey Patterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Rutgers Prep Somerset, NJ G 14 Caleb Daniels 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Tulane New Orleans, LA G 15 Jordan Longino 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Germantown Academy Doylestown, PA F 21 Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) GS Neumann–Goretti Catholic HS Philadelphia, PA F 22 Nnanna Njoku 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Sanford School Newark, DE F 23 Jermaine Samuels 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS The Rivers School Franklin, MA F 43 Eric Dixon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS So Abington HS Willow Grove, PA	Head coach Jay Wright (Bucknell) Assistant coach(es) George Halcovage (Babson) Mike Nardi (Villanova) Dwayne Anderson (Villanova) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: July 8, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 4:30 p.m., FS1	No. 4	Mount St. Mary's	W 91–51	1–0	27 –  Moore	6 –  Samuels	7 –  Moore	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
November 12, 2021* 11:30 p.m., ESPN2	No. 4	at No. 2 UCLA	L 77–86 OT	1–1	20 – Samuels	9 – Dixon	3 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion (13,659) Los Angeles, CA
November 16, 2021* 6:30 p.m., FS2	No. 5	Howard	W 100–81	2–1	23 – Slater	7 – Dixon	4 – Tied	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
November 20, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPNews	No. 5	vs. No. 17 Tennessee Hall of Fame Tip Off semifinals	W 71–53	3–1	14 – Tied	11 – Samuels	6 – Moore	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
November 21, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ABC	No. 5	vs. No. 6 Purdue Hall of Fame Tip Off Championship	L 74–80	3–2	19 – Moore	5 – Samuels	5 – Gillespie	Mohegan Sun Arena (9,100) Uncasville, CT
November 28, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 7	vs. La Salle Philadelphia Big 5	W 72–46	4–2	13 – Gillespie	8 – Dixon	5 – Gillespie	The Palestra (5,841) Philadelphia, PA
December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 6	at Penn Philadelphia Big 5	W 71–56	5–2	26 – Gillespie	11 – Moore	3 – Daniels	The Palestra (6,255) Philadelphia, PA
December 4, 2021* 12:00 p.m., FS1	No. 6	Saint Joseph's Holy War/Philadelphia Big 5	W 81–52	6–2	23 – Gillespie	7 – Moore	4 – Moore	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
December 7, 2021* 10:01 p.m., ESPN	No. 6	vs. Syracuse Jimmy V Classic	W 67–53	7–2	18 – Moore	9 – Samuels	5 – Gillespie	Madison Square Garden (14,344) New York, NY
December 12, 2021* 3:00 p.m., ABC	No. 6	at No. 2 Baylor Big East–Big 12 Battle	L 36–57	7–3	15 – Moore	8 – Samuels	1 – Tied	Ferrell Center (10,264) Waco, TX
December 17, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 9	at Creighton	L 59–79	7–4 (0–1)	16 – Gillespie	9 – Dixon	2 – Gillespie	CHI Health Center Omaha (17,208) Omaha, NE
December 21, 2021 7:00 p.m., FS1	No. 23	No. 18 Xavier	W 71–58	8–4 (1–1)	17 – Moore	8 – Dixon	4 – Tied	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
December 29, 2021* 9:00 p.m., FS1	No. 22	Temple Philadelphia Big 5	Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols on Temple's team					Finneran Pavilion  Villanova, PA
January 1, 2022 2:00 p.m., CBS	No. 22	at No. 15 Seton Hall	W 73–67	9–4 (2–1)	21 – Gillespie	11 – Samuels	3 – Samuels	Prudential Center (13,625) Newark, NJ
January 5, 2022 8:30 p.m., FS1	No. 19	Creighton	W 75–41	10–4 (3–1)	22 – Moore	7 – Samuels	5 – Gillespie	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
January 8, 2022 5:00 p.m., FOX	No. 19	at DePaul	W 79–64	11–4 (4–1)	29 –  Gillespie	7 –  Moore	4 –  Gillespie	Wintrust Arena (3,839) Chicago, IL
January 12, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1	No. 14	at No. 17 Xavier	W 64–60	12–4 (5–1)	21 – Gillespie	10 – Dixon	2 – Tied	Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH
January 16, 2022 12:00 p.m., FS1	No. 14	Butler	W 82–42	13–4 (6–1)	17 – Gillespie	7 – Moore	5 – Moore	Wells Fargo Center (17,009) Philadelphia, PA
January 19, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	No. 11	Marquette	L 54–57	13–5 (6–2)	15 – Dixon	10 – Samuels	4 – Gillespie	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
January 22, 2022 12:05 p.m., FOX	No. 11	at Georgetown	W 85–74	14–5 (7–2)	28 – Gillespie	8 – Dixon	2 – Tied	Capital One Arena (11,872) Washington, D.C.
January 25, 2022 5:00 p.m., FS1	No. 14	DePaul	W 67–43	15–5 (8–2)	16 – Moore	10 – Dixon	2 – 3 Tied	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
January 29, 2022 4:30 p.m., FOX	No. 14	St. John's	W 73–62	16–5 (9–2)	17 – Gillespie	7 – Tied	4 – Moore	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
February 2, 2022 10:00 p.m., FS1	No. 12	at No. 24 Marquette	L 73–83	16–6 (9–3)	18 – Slater	6 – Tied	5 – Moore	Fiserv Forum (12,782) Milwaukee, WI
February 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., FOX	No. 12	No. 17 UConn	W 85–74	17–6 (10–3)	24 – Dixon	12 – Dixon	5 – Samuels	Wells Fargo Center (19,786) Philadelphia, PA
February 8, 2022 8:30 p.m., FS1	No. 15	at St. John's	W 75–69	18–6 (11–3)	16 – Tied	10 – Gillespie	3 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (9,712) New York, NY
February 12, 2022 1:00 p.m., FOX	No. 15	Seton Hall	W 73–67	19–6 (12–3)	16 – Tied	7 – Moore	4 – Gillespie	Wells Fargo Center (17,803) Philadelphia, PA
February 15, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	No. 10	at No. 8 Providence	W 89–84	20–6 (13–3)	33 – Gillespie	10 – Moore	3 – Tied	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,636) Providence, RI
February 19, 2022 5:00 p.m., FOX	No. 10	Georgetown	W 74–66	21–6 (14–3)	19 – Moore	10 – Gillespie	8 – Samuels	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
February 22, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 8	at No. 21 UConn	L 69–71	21–7 (14–4)	17 – Gillespie	6 – Dixon	4 – Gillespie	XL Center (15,564) Hartford, CT
March 1, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1	No. 11	No. 9 Providence	W 76–74	22–7 (15–4)	20 – Daniels	6 – Moore	5 – Gillespie	Finneran Pavilion (6,501) Villanova, PA
March 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., FOX	No. 11	at Butler	W 78–59	23–7 (16–4)	16 – Moore	7 – Longino	4 – Gillespie	Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,163) Indianapolis, IN
Big East tournament
March 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., FS1	(2) No. 8	vs. (7) St. John's Quarterfinals	W 66–65	24–7	19 – Daniels	9 – Dixon	3 – Gillespie	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY
March 11, 2022 9:00 p.m., FS1	(2) No. 8	vs. (3) No. 20 UConn Semifinals	W 63–60	25–7	21 – Samuels	12 – Samuels	10 – Gillespie	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY
March 12, 2022 6:30 p.m., FOX	(2) No. 8	vs. (4) Creighton Championship	W 54–48	26–7	17 – Gillespie	8 – Samuels	5 – Gillespie	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2022 2:45 p.m., CBS	(2 S) No. 6	vs. (15 S) Delaware First Round	W 80–60	27–7	21 – Moore	9 – Samuels	6 – Moore	PPG Paints Arena (18,738) Pittsburgh, PA
March 20, 2022 2:40 p.m., CBS	(2 S) No. 6	vs. (7 S) Ohio State Second Round	W 71–61	28–7	20 – Gillespie	8 – Tied	4 – Gillespie	PPG Paints Arena (18,506) Pittsburgh, PA
March 24, 2022 7:29 p.m., TBS	(2 S) No. 6	vs. (11 S) Michigan Sweet Sixteen	W 63–55	29–7	22 – Samuels	9 – Daniels	4 – Moore	AT&T Center (17,357) San Antonio, TX
March 26, 2022 6:09 p.m., TBS	(2 S) No. 6	vs. (5 S) No. 15 Houston Elite Eight	W 50–44	30–7	16 – Samuels	10 – Samuels	2 – Tied	AT&T Center (17,186) San Antonio, TX
April 2, 2022 6:09 p.m., TBS	(2 S) No. 6	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Kansas Final Four	L 65–81	30–8	17 – Gillespie	8 – Slater	3 – Tied	Caesars Superdome (70,602) New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[10]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	4	5	7	6	6	9	23	22	19	14	11	14	12	15	10	8	11	8	6	Not released
Coaches	4	5*	7	6	6	10	22	22	15	14	11	12	12	15	10	8	11	8	5	4

*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^[11]
• Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Collin Gillespie^[11]

All-Big East First Team

• Collin Gillespie^[12]

All-Big East Second Team

• Justin Moore^[12]

National awards

• Bob Cousy Award: Collin Gillespie^[13]
• Third Team All-American: Collin Gillespie (AP, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA)^[14]

References

1. "Villanova coach Jay Wright steps down, joining growing number who are walking away from a changing profession". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
2. "Wright retiring after 21 years as Villanova coach". ESPN.com. April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
3. Juliano, Joe. "Top seed Villanova upset by Georgetown, 72–71, in Big East quarterfinals". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
4. "NCAA Tournament 2021: No. 1 seed Baylor rallies in second half vs. Villanova to move on to Elite Eight". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
5. "College Basketball Rankings 2020-21 - Coaches Poll". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
6. "Thunder acquire No. 32 pick Jeremiah Robinson-Earl from Knicks". www.nba.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
7. "Villanova's Swider transferring to Syracuse". ESPN.com. April 6, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
8. Zagoria, Adam. "NCAA Coaching Carousel: Fordham Names Villanova Assistant Kyle Neptune Head Coach". Forbes. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
9. Juliano, Joe. "Villanova's Jay Wright announces coaching staff changes". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
10. "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". villanova.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
11. Fitzpatrick, Mike (March 9, 2022). "Gillespie Big East POY again, Cooley 1st Friars coach to win". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
12. "Champagnie, Gillespie Repeat on All-Big East First Team". Big East Conference. March 6, 2022. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
13. Jensen, Mike (April 2, 2022). "Villanova's Collin Gillespie wins Bob Cousy award as nation's top point guard". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
14. All-American selections from:

    • Skretta, Dave (March 15, 2022). "Big Ten lands three players on AP All-America first team". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
    • "USBWA names 2021-22 men's All-America team". United States Basketball Writers Association. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
    • "NABC Names 2022 Division I All-America Teams". National Association of Basketball Coaches. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
    • DeCourcy, Mike (March 7, 2022). "Sporting News 2021-22 college basketball All-America team". Sporting News. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.