# 2005–06 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dwayne Anderson SF | Oakdale, Connecticut | St. Thomas More School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 12, 2003 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Bilal Benn SG | Chatham, Virginia | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 25, 2005 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Dante Cunningham PF | Washington, D.C. | St. Johns College HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 5, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Frank Tchulsi PF | Newark, New Jersey | St. Benedict Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 18, 2004 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall Recruiting Rankings: Scout – NR Rivals – NR ESPN – ||||||

## Roster

Villanova Basketball 2005–06 Roster :
| G | 23 | Dwayne Anderson | FR | Washington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS) |
| F | 44 | Marcus Austin | SR | Irvington, New Jersey (St. Patrick's HS) |
| G | 3 | Bilal Benn | FR | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS) |
| F | 21 | Chris Charles | SR | Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Crispus Attucks HS) |
| F | 20 | Shane Clark | FR | Chatham, Virginia (Hargrave Military Academy) |
| G | 4 | Ross Condon | JR | Springfield, Virginia (Potomac School) |
| F | 33 | Dante Cunningham | FR | Washington, D.C. (St. Johns College HS) |
| G | 22 | Baker Dunleavy | JR | Portland, Oregon (Lawrenceville Prep) |
| G | 2 | Randy Foye | SR | Newark, New Jersey (East Side HS) |
| F | 20 | Jason Fraser | SR | Amityville, New York (Amityville Memorial HS) |
| G | 1 | Kyle Lowry | SO | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Cardinal Dougherty HS) |
| G | 12 | Mike Nardi | JR | Elizabeth, New Jersey (St. Patrick's) |
| G | 14 | Allan Ray | SR | Bronx, New York (St. Raymond's HS) |
| F | 50 | Will Sheridan | JR | Hockessin, Delaware (Sanford School) |
| F | 34 | Curtis Sumpter | SR | Brooklyn, New York (Bishop Loughlin) |
| F | 42 | Frank Tchuisi | FR | Douala, Cameroon (St. Benedict's) |

## Coaching staff

Jay Wright – Head Coach

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 18, 2005* 7:30 p.m. | No. 5 | Stony Brook | W 78–35 | 1–0 | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| November 27, 2005* 7:30 p.m. | No. 4 | Lehigh | W 84–47 | 2–0 | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| November 30, 2005* 7:30 p.m. | No. 4 | Rider | W 86–57 | 3–0 | Sovereign Bank Arena (7,255) Trenton, New Jersey |
| December 3, 2005* 5:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | No. 5 Oklahoma | W 85–74 | 4–0 | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| December 6, 2005* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 4 | at Bucknell | W 79–60 | 5–0 | Sojka Pavilion (4,433) Lewisburg, Pennsylvania |
| December 10, 2005* 7:30 p.m. | No. 4 | vs. Longwood | W 90–77 | 6–0 | Boardwalk Hall (7,007) Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| December 13, 2005* 8:00 p.m., CN8 | No. 3 | at Penn Philadelphia Big 5 | W 62–55 | 7–0 | The Palestra (6,839) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| December 22, 2005* 7:30 p.m. | No. 3 | La Salle Philadelphia Big 5 | W 98–57 | 8–0 | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| December 31, 2005* 4:00 p.m., CN8 | No. 3 | vs. Temple Philadelphia Big 5 | W 75–53 | 9–0 | The Palestra (8,722) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| January 5, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | at No. 9 Louisville | W 76–67 | 10–0 (1–0) | Freedom Hall (20,058) Louisville, Kentucky |
| January 8, 2006 12:00 p.m., ESPN Plus | No. 3 | No. 24 West Virginia | L 87–91 | 10–1 (1–1) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| January 11, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN Plus | No. 3 | at Rutgers | W 84–78 $^{OT}$ | 11–1 (2–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,043) Piscataway, New Jersey |
| January 14, 2006* 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 3 | at No. 8 Texas | L 55–58 | 11–2 | Frank Erwin Center (16,755) Austin, Texas |
| January 17, 2006 7:30 p.m., ESPN Classic | No. 8 | Seton Hall | W 73–64 | 12–2 (3–1) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| January 21, 2006 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | No. 20 Syracuse | W 80–65 | 13–2 (4–1) | Wachovia Center (20,581) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| January 24, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 6 | at South Florida | W 49–46 | 14–2 (5–1) | USF Sun Dome (5,643) Tampa, Florida |
| January 28, 2006 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 6 | at Notre Dame | W 72–70 | 15–2 (6–1) | Joyce Center (11,418) South Bend, Indiana |
| January 30, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | Louisville | W 79–73 | 16–2 (7–1) | Wachovia Center (19,448) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| February 4, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN Plus | No. 4 | Marquette | W 72–67 | 17–2 (8–1) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| February 7, 2006* 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 4 | vs. Saint Joseph's Philadelphia Big 5 | W 71–58 | 18–2 | The Palestra (8,722) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| February 11, 2006 2:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | at DePaul | W 61–51 | 19–2 (9–1) | Allstate Arena (14,906) Chicago, Illinois |
| February 13, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | No. 1 Connecticut | W 69–64 | 20–2 (10–1) | Wachovia Center (20,859) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| February 19, 2006 12:00 p.m., ESPN Plus | No. 4 | No. 17 Georgetown | W 75–65 | 21–2 (11–1) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| February 23, 2006 9:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 2 | at Cincinnati | W 74–72 | 22–2 (12–1) | Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| February 26, 2006 2:00 p.m., CBS | No. 2 | at No. 3 Connecticut | L 75–89 | 22–3 (12–2) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, Connecticut |
| March 1, 2006 7:30 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 4 | at St. John's | W 65–52 | 23–3 (13–2) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| March 5, 2006 12:00 p.m., CBS | No. 4 | at Syracuse | W 92–82 | 24–3 (14–2) | Carrier Dome (33,633) Syracuse, New York |
| Big East Tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2006 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) No. 2 | vs. (10) Rutgers Quarterfinals | W 87–55 | 25–3 | Madison Square Garden (19,594) New York, New York |
| March 10, 2006 9:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) No. 2 | vs. (6) No. 15 Pittsburgh Semifinals | L 54–68 | 25–4 | Madison Square Garden (19,594) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2006* 2:50 p.m., CBS | (1 M) No. 3 | vs. (16 M) Monmouth First Round | W 58–45 | 26–4 | Wachovia Center (19,900) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| March 19, 2006* 5:00 p.m., CBS | (1 M) No. 3 | vs. (8 M) Arizona Second Round | W 82–78 | 27–4 | Wachovia Center (20,050) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| March 24, 2006* 7:10 p.m., CBS | (1 M) No. 3 | vs. (4 M) No. 7 Boston College Sweet Sixteen | W 60–59 $^{OT}$ | 28–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (22,293) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| March 17, 2006* 5:05 p.m., CBS | (1 M) No. 3 | vs. (3 M) No. 11 Florida Elite Eight | L 62–75 | 28–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (21,613) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## 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