July 22, 2016 VILLANOVA, Pa. ââ'¬" Four months after earning the 2016 NCAA national championship the Villanova Wildcats are set to kick off an eight day tour of Spain next month that will include three exhibition games.
The Wildcats are scheduled to depart Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 2 and will return Wednesday, Aug. 10. Villanova will visit Barcelona and Madrid with three games scheduled against opponents from Spanish Select Teams with players from the ACB League. The first game will be played in Barcelona on Friday, Aug. 5 with the final two exhibition contests set for Sun. Aug. 7 and Tuesday, Aug. 9 in Madrid. Game times will be announced at a later date. There will be no audio or streaming coverage available for these contests. Villanova.com will provide stories from the tour and fans can also follow @NovaMBB on Twitter for updates.
The trip will be preceded by Villanova's "Summer Jam" on Monday, Aug. 1 that includes a Blue/White Scrimmage open to the public at 6 p.m. in the Pavilion.
Villanova University is named for a Spanish Augustinian, Thomas GarcÃÂa (1486-1555), the son of a miller who was born in Fuenllana, a village near Villanova de los Infantes, Castile, Spain.
"We're very excited to bring our team to Spain, the birthplace and home of St. Thomas of Villanova," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "This trip will help all of us learn more about our University's heritage while also giving us the chance to play three quality opponents as we continue to prepare for the 2016-17 regular season."
This is Villanova's first foreign tour since it traveled to France and the Netherlands in August 2011. Prior trips since 2000 have taken the Wildcats to Italy in 2001 and Ottawa, Canada in 2007.
The 2016-17 Wildcats, return three starters from the squad which defeated the University of North Carolina 77-74 in the NCAA Final on April 4. Seniors Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins are back in the blue and white along with sophomore guard Jalen Brunson. Other key contributors returning are guard Phil Booth, swingman Mikal Bridges, and forward Darryl Reynolds. Transfer Eric Paschall also is eligible this season and guard Donte DiVincenzo is back at full health after missing all but eight games in 2015-16 with a foot injury.
