Villanova Wildcats men's basketball

Villanova Wildcats
2023–24 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
University	Villanova University
First season	1920–1921; 103 years ago (1921)
All-time record	1,849–956 (.659)
Head coach	Kyle Neptune (2nd season)
Conference	Big East
Location	Villanova, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Arena	William B. Finneran Pavilion (6,500) Wells Fargo Center (21,600)
Nickname	Wildcats
Student section	Nova Nation
Colors	Navy blue and white[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament champions
1985, 2016, 2018
NCAA tournament runner-up
1971*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1939, 1971*, 1985, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1939, 1949, 1962, 1970, 1971*, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2006, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2022
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1951, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1970, 1971*, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022
NCAA tournament round of 32
1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
NCAA tournament appearances
1939, 1949, 1951, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971*, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 *vacated by NCAA
Conference tournament champions
1978, 1980, 1995, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Conference regular season champions
1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1997, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the Wildcats, Villanova is a member of the Philadelphia Big Five, five Philadelphia college basketball teams who share a passionate rivalry.

The Wildcats have won the national championship three times: 1985, 2016, and 2018. Their 1985 NCAA championship victory as an 8 seed still stands as the lowest seed ever to win the title. The championship game of that year is referred to as "The Perfect Game" as they shot a championship game record 78.6% as a team for the game (22 for 28, including 9 for 10 in the second half).^[2] Their 2016 NCAA Championship is referred to as "The Perfect Ending" and became the second of only two NCAA Men's Championship games to be won on a buzzer beater when Kris Jenkins drained a shot as time expired.^[3] Their most recent national championship victory in 2018 was the culmination of a season many believe to be one of, if not, the greatest college basketball season for a team of all time. They made the Final Four in 1939, 1971, 1985, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2022; their six Final Four appearances are 13th most all-time. As of 2019, they have an NCAA Tournament record of 65–37 (.637).

Villanova has defeated six No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament (Michigan and Georgetown in 1985, Pittsburgh in 2009, Kansas and North Carolina in 2016, and Kansas in 2018), which is sixth most all-time. The Villanova Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA tournament 39 times, the eighth highest total in NCAA history. They have won the Big East regular season championship eight times, most recently winning four straight from 2014 to 2017. They won the Big East tournament in 1995, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. Through 2021, Villanova has 1,817 wins, which is 19th among Division I men's basketball teams and is tied for 9th in all time winning percentage at (.657). Villanova has won the Philadelphia Big Five 27 times, and is tied with Temple University for the most of any team, including five straight from 2014 to 2018. The Wildcats have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament 18 times, winning in 1994.