VILLANOVA, Pa.,- A packed house at the Finneran Pavilion helped Villanova celebrate the start of a new basketball season Saturday night.

"I missed this last year," stated men's coach Kyle Neptune, who served from 2013-21 as an assistant coach before accepting the head coaching position at Fordham University. In April 2022 he was named head coach at Villanova, replacing Jay Wright, who retired.

The evening began with the introduction of women's head coach Denise Dillon and her 2022-23 Wildcats. The women's team took party in a dance session with the Villanova Dance Team to the delight of the audience, comprised primarily of current Villanova students.

Later, the returning members of the 2021-22 Villanova men's team received their NCAA Final Four rings. Wright was on hand to distribute those and reminded the crowd that "Villanova is the only place in the country that packs their place with only students. No one else does that."

In a short intrasquad men's scrimmage the Blue team, led by Angelo Brizzi and Eric Dixon, rallied to down the White team 16-13. Freshman guard Mark Armstrong won the dunk contest.

Senior Caleb Daniels (broken nose) and freshman Brendan Hausen (concussion) did not take part in the festivities. Both are listed as day-to-day.

The night concluded with a concert performance by recording artist Meek Mill.