2005–06 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2005-06 Villanova Wildcats Big East Conference Big East 5 3 28–5 14–2 Jay Wright 5th Brett Gunning Ed Pinckney Pat Chambers The Pavilion Big East regular season co-champions NCAA tournament 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. Class of 2005 Villanova Class of 2005 – RivalsVillanova Class of 2005 – Scouthttps://archive.today/20120713013909/http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?page=commits&season=2006&schoolId=2305 Villanova Class of 2005 – ESPN no no 2005 Dwayne Anderson SF Oakdale, Connecticut St. Thomas More School 6 5 185 2003-11-12 4 NR Bilal Benn SG Chatham, Virginia Hargrave Military Academy 6 4 180 2005-02-25 3 NR Dante Cunningham PF Washington, D.C. St. Johns College HS 6 7 190 2004-10-05 3 3 Frank Tchulsi PF Newark, New Jersey St. Benedict Prep 6 7 200 2004-11-18 2 NR |- | colspan="7" style="padding-left:10px;" | Overall Recruiting Rankings:     Scout – NR     Rivals – NR http://villanova.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1082109 2005 Team Recruiting Rankings – Rivals 2011-07-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20111005015419/http://villanova.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1082109 2011-10-05 dead      ESPN – |} Roster Villanova Basketball2005–06 RosterG23 20px Dwayne AndersonFRWashington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS)F44 20px Marcus AustinSRIrvington, New Jersey (St. Patrick's HS)G320px Bilal BennFRPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS)F21 20px Chris CharlesSRMilwaukee, Wisconsin (Crispus Attucks HS)F20 20px Shane ClarkFRChatham, Virginia (Hargrave Military Academy)G420px Ross CondonJRSpringfield, Virginia (Potomac School)F3320px Dante CunninghamFRWashington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS)G2220px Baker DunleavyJRPortland, Oregon (Lawrenceville Prep)G220px Randy FoyeSRNewark, New Jersey (East Side HS)F2020px Jason FraserSRAmityville, New York (Amityville Memorial HS)G1 20px Kyle LowrySOPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS)G12 20px Mike NardiJRElizabeth, New Jersey (St. Patrick's)G14 20px Allan RaySRBronx, New York (St. Raymond's HS)F5020px Will SheridanJRHockessin, Delaware (Sanford School)F3420px Curtis SumpterSRBrooklyn, New York (Bishop Loughlin)F42 20px Frank TchuisiFRDouala, Cameroon (St. Benedict's) Coaching staff Jay Wright – Head Coach Schedule yes |- !colspan=9 style=Villanova Wildcats|Regular season November 18, 2005 7:30 p.m. 78–35 yes 5 2005 men Stony Brook University Stony Brook Seawolves Stony Brook The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania 1–0 6,500 November 27, 2005 7:30 p.m. 84–47 yes 4 2005 men Lehigh University Lehigh Mountain Hawks Lehigh The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania 2–0 6,500 November 30, 2005 7:30 p.m. 86–57 yes 4 2005 men Rider University Rider Broncs Rider Sovereign Bank Arena Trenton, New Jersey 3–0 7,255 December 3, 2005 5:00 p.m. 85–74 yes 4 Oklahoma 5 The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN 4–0 6,500 December 6, 2005 7:00 p.m. 79–60 yes yes 4 Bucknell Sojka Pavilion Lewisburg, Pennsylvania ESPN3 5–0 4,433 December 10, 2005 7:30 p.m. 90–77 yes yes 4 2005 men Longwood University Longwood Lancers Longwood Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey 6–0 7,007 December 13, 2005 8:00 p.m. 62–55 yes yes 3 Penn The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Big 5 CN8 7–0 6,839 December 22, 2005 7:30 p.m. 98–57 yes 3 2005 men La Salle University La Salle Explorers La Salle The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Big 5 8–0 6,500 December 31, 2005 4:00 p.m. 75–53 yes yes 3 Temple The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Big 5 CN8 9–0 8,722 January 5, 2006 7:00 p.m. yes 76–67 3 Louisville 9 Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky ESPN2 10–0 1–0 20,058 January 8, 2006 12:00 p.m. 87–91 3 West Virginia 24 The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN Plus 10–1 1–1 6,500 January 11, 2006 7:00 p.m. yes 84–78 OT 3 2005 men Rutgers University Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey ESPN Plus 11–1 2–1 8,043 January 14, 2006 1:00 p.m. yes 55–58 yes 3 Texas 8 Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas CBS 11–2 16,755 January 17, 2006 7:30 p.m. 73–64 8 Seton Hall The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN Classic 12–2 3–1 6,500 January 21, 2006 6:00 p.m. 80–65 8 Syracuse 20 Wachovia Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ESPN 13–2 4–1 20,581 January 24, 2006 7:00 p.m. yes 49–46 6 2005 men University of South Florida South Florida Bulls South Florida USF Sun Dome Tampa, Florida ESPN3 14–2 5–1 5,643 January 28, 2006 6:00 p.m. yes 72–70 6 Notre Dame Joyce Center South Bend, Indiana ESPN2 15–2 6–1 11,418 January 30, 2006 7:00 p.m. 79–73 4 Louisville Wachovia Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ESPN 16–2 7–1 19,448 February 4, 2006 7:00 p.m. 72–67 4 Marquette The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN Plus 17–2 8–1 6,500 February 7, 2006 7:30 p.m. 71–58 yes yes 4 Saint Joseph's The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Big 5 ESPN2 18–2 8,722 February 11, 2006 2:00 p.m. yes 61–51 4 2005 men DePaul University DePaul Blue Demons DePaul Allstate Arena Chicago, Illinois ESPN 19–2 9–1 14,906 February 13, 2006 7:00 p.m. 69–64 4 Connecticut 1 Wachovia Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ESPN 20–2 10–1 20,859 February 19, 2006 12:00 p.m. 75–65 4 Georgetown 17 The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN Plus 21–2 11–1 6,500 February 23, 2006 9:00 p.m. yes 74–72 2 Cincinnati Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio ESPN 22–2 12–1 13,176 February 26, 2006 2:00 p.m. yes 75–89 2 Connecticut 3 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut CBS 22–3 12–2 10,167 March 1, 2006 7:30 p.m. yes 65–52 4 St. John's The Pavilion Villanova, Pennsylvania ESPN3 23–3 13–2 6,500 March 5, 2006 12:00 p.m. yes 92–82 4 Syracuse Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York CBS 24–3 14–2 33,633 |- !colspan=12 style=Villanova Wildcats| Big East Tournament March 9, 2006 7:00 p.m. yes 87–55 2 2 Rutgers 10 Madison Square Garden New York, New York Quarterfinals ESPN2 25–3 19,594 March 10, 2006 9:00 p.m. yes 54–68 2 2 Pittsburgh 6 15 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Semifinals ESPN 25–4 19,594 |- !colspan=12 style=Villanova Wildcats| NCAA tournament March 17, 2006 2:50 p.m. yes yes 3 1 M Monmouth 16 M Wachovia Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First Round CBS 58–45 26–4 19,900 March 19, 2006 5:00 p.m. yes yes 3 1 M Arizona 8 M Wachovia Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Second Round CBS 82–78 27–4 20,050 March 24, 2006 7:10 p.m. yes yes 3 1 M Boston College 4 M 7 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota Sweet Sixteen CBS 60–59 OT 28–4 22,293 March 17, 2006 5:05 p.m. yes yes 3 1 M Florida 3 M 11 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota Elite Eight CBS 62–75 28–5 21,613 Awards and honors Randy Foye, Consensus first-team All-American Allan Ray, Consensus second-team All-American Randy Foye, Big East Player of the Year Randy Foye, First-team All-Big East Allan Ray, First-team All-Big East Kyle Lowry, Second-team All-Big East Randy Foye, Robert V. Geasey Trophy References Villanova Wildcats Category:Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons Villanova Villanova Wildcats men's b Villanova Wildcats men's b