The season starts tonight, and we’re going to be catching up on previews for all six city teams throughout the weekend. Our first installment is obviously the biggest: Your Villanova Wildcats. Enjoy.

Be prepared to hear a lot about Villanova this season. That’s not to knock the ‘Cats, by the way. Coach Jay Wright has certainly built a good thing out there on the Main Line, and the attention that naturally will flow from all that is certainly well-deserved.

More after the jump.

Last season, Wright took a team to the Final Four during a year in which the Big East might have been the best conference of all time. And guess what? Expectations this year are (predictably) high, and with good reason: ‘Nova returns arguably the best backcourt in the country in Scottie Reynolds, the Coreys (Fisher and Stokes) and Reggie Redding (though he’s suspended until mid-December). But they also welcome 6-6 Duke transfer Taylor King, who will be a long-range sniper, and a recruiting class that’s among the most heralded in the country: guards Dominic Cheek and Maalik Wayns (both McDonald’s All-Americas), and forwards Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood.

If there’s anything to temper the excitement, it’s this: Dante Cunningham will be playing for the Portland Trail Blazers this winter. It’s almost impossible to understate the role Cunningham’s game played in ‘Nova’s Final Four run from a year ago, both offensively and defensively. And who can forget what Dwayne Anderson, another departed senior, brought to the fore at the end of last year? Anderson had defined role player for much of his career, but then he averaged 13.2 points 8.6 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. Reynolds made the Shot Heard ‘Round the World to beat Pitt in the Elite Eight, but it was Anderson’s 17 points, his steal of Jermaine Dixon at midcourt with three minutes to go, his clutch 3-pointer in the waning minutes, etc., that allowed the ‘Cats to even be in position to benefit from Reynolds’ heroics. That kind of stuff is tough to replace, particularly with freshmen — even if they’re awesome freshmen.

Expect ‘Nova to play its usual rugged defense, but at the same time, it’s natural to have a doubt or two about what impact Yarou and Armwood will bring to the middle, where Antonio Pena — who played less and less as last season wore on, don’t forget — is the only significant returner. By all indications, Yarou in particular is skilled enough offensively to make an immediate impact. But what about his defense? And what about how quickly he, as a freshman, will adapt to the pace of the college game?

For more on the ‘Cats, check out Luke Winn of SI.com’s take here, plus The Inquirer’s preview from earlier in the week here.

OUR PREDICTION: Against the city, ‘Nova will continue to dominate. In the last four years, the ‘Cats went 15-1 against the Big 5, and it’s hard to see how they won’t be 19-1 at the end of this season. Projecting beyond the city, we see ‘Nova finishing second to West Virginia in the Big East and falling short of a repeat Final Four appearance. Why? Well, we love what the Reynolds-Fisher-Stokes-Redding group bring back, but we think the seasoned inside presence that Cunningham, Anderson and Shane Clark brought last March will be missed this March. That said, if Yarou develops quickly, all bets are off and we can actually see the Main Liners in Indianapolis.

Links: Scottie Reynolds made some shot to beat Pitt in some game [BIG FIVE POST]
‘Nova preview [SI.com]
Another ‘Nova preview [The Inquirer]