Villanova Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Wildcats

VILLANOVA, PA - JANUARY 14: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts to a call during a college basketball game against the DePaul Blue Demons at the Finneran Pavilion on January 14, 2020 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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Villanova Basketball Doug McSchooler-USA TODAY Sports /

Schedule for 2021-22 season

As always with the Big East, Villanova will be playing every game with a target on its back. Everyone will want to take down the Wildcats and they’ll have to play several NCAA tournament-caliber teams (UConn, St. John’s, Xavier, Butler, Seton Hall). Their non-conference schedule will have them well prepared for a grueling Big East season though.

After a single tune-up game to start the season, Villanova heads west to take on the 2nd ranked UCLA Bruins. UCLA made a surprise run to the final four last season and narrowly lost to Gonzaga in overtime in the game of the tournament. Not unlike Villanova, UCLA returns most of their lineup, including 92.9% of their minutes from last season. Did I mention they also added Myles Johnson in the offseason?

This is one of the non-conference matchups I am most looking forward to early on this season. A lot of skeptics have voiced their concerns about both UCLA and Villanova being a bit too high in the preseason AP Top 25. They both have an early opportunity on national TV to show they belong. Either way, one of these teams won’t be in the top 5 for long as the loser will likely slip in the rankings, but this very well could be a final four preview.

After that, the schedule doesn’t get much easier as the Wildcats will take on Tennessee (18th in the preseason Top 25) in the first round of Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic. They will then either play UNC (19th in the preseason Top 25) or Purdue (7th in the preseason Top 25).

After likely winning the Philadelphia Big 5, Villanova rounds out their non-conference slate against old Big East Rival Syracuse (not ranked in the preseason Top 25) in the Jimmy V Classic and then heads to Texas to take on reigning national Champ Baylor (8th in the preseason Top 25) in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.

This non-conference slate won’t define Villanova’s season, but they will be tested early and often. Then it’s on to the Big East gauntlet.