VILLANOVA, Pa., - The Nova Nation gets its first live look at the 2026-27 Villanova Wildcats Saturday when George Mason travels to Finneran Pavilion. Game time is 1 p.m. and the contest can be heard on the Villanova Sports Radio Network with Whitey Rigsby and Joe Rogers describing the action.
 
This will be the second of three exhibition games for the Wildcats. On Sunday, Nova held off Rutgers 77-75 at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J. Senior forward Devin Royal (Columbus, Ohio) paced the Wildcats with a double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds) while senior returnee Tyler Perkins added 18 points.
 
"The one thing we're going to work with Perk on is that he's going to have the ball in his hands more," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard, now in his second season at the helm. "We're going to work with him on his decision-making. He's going to have the ball a lot more and that's good for us.
 
"It was good for him to play against Rutgers because they are a big hedge team. They bump and they're physical. It was good to see him face that."
 
Willard noted that he is working through a variety of lineups in exhibition play to get a sense of how best to deploy this roster.
 
"I don't know who's going to start to be perfectly honest with you," Willard stated. "That's the good thing about these games. You can mess with your lineups a bit."
 
Villanova was without forward Matt Hodge (recovery from ACL surgery last March) and Kwame Evans Jr. (left leg injury, day-to-day) on Sunday. There is no timetable for a Hodge return to game action.
 
"We're still missing two big pieces," Willard said.
 
This marks the Villanova home debut for several Wildcats, including 7-3 freshman center Luigi Suigo.
 
"He's going to have his up and down moments with fouls," said Willard of the native of Italy. "There was an offensive foul call against him (at Rutgers) that's not an offensive foul in Europe. It is a foul here. He's going to have to get used to those kinds of rules. It's going to take a little time.
 
"I think Luigi is transitioning to (American basketball) great. Not getting him over here until the middle of July hurt him in the weight room a little bit. But he's done a good job of studying the game. He's watching film with the assistant coaches and getting a feel for how fast the game is."
 
Added Royal, "Luigi is coachable. He's getting better every day. He's strong around the rim, rebounds."
 
The Wildcats will conclude exhibition play on Thursday night when Virginia comes to Finneran Pavilion for a game that begins at 7 p.m. (Villanova Sports Radio Network).