2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 18th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion[1][2] on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in first place. They defeated Providence, Xavier, and Seton Hall to win the Big East tournament.[3][4] As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region.[5] There they defeated Saint Mary's[6] before being defeated by Purdue in the Second Round.[7]

2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Big East regular season and tournament champions
AdvoCare Invitational champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 23
Record26–10 (13–5 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFinneran Pavilion
Wells Fargo Center
Seasons
2018–19 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 23 Villanova135 .7222610 .722
Marquette126 .6672410 .706
Seton Hall99 .5002014 .588
Xavier99 .5001916 .543
Creighton99 .5002015 .571
Georgetown99 .5001914 .576
St. John's810 .4442113 .618
Providence711 .3891816 .529
Butler711 .3891617 .485
DePaul711 .3891917 .528
2019 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

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The Wildcats finished the 2017–18 season 36–4, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette,[8] Butler,[9] and Providence to win the Big East tournament championship.[10] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East region, their third No. 1 seed in four years.[11] They defeated Radford,[12] Alabama,[13] West Virginia,[14] and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years.[15] In the National Semifinal, they defeated Kansas[16][17] before defeating Michigan in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years.[18][19] They won every game of the tournament by a double-digit margin and the team's tournament run has been called among the most dominant ever.[20]

Offseason

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Coaching changes

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Following the season, longtime assistant coach Ashley Howard left the Wildcats to become the head coach at La Salle.[21]

Departures

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NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Jalen Brunson1G6'3"190JRLincolnshire, ILNBA draft
Donte DiVincenzo10G6'5"205RS SOWilmington, DENBA draft[22]
Omari Spellman14F6´9¨245RS FRNorth Royalton, OHNBA draft[23]
Tom Leibig24F6´5¨200SRHavertown, PAGraduated[24]
Mikal Bridges25F6'7"210RS JRMalvern, PANBA draft
Matt Kennedy35G5´11¨175SRFairfax, VAGraduated[25]
Denny Grace40G5'11"175RS SRCatonsville, MDGraduated

Incoming transfers

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NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Joe Cremo24G6'4"185Graduate StudentScotia, NYAlbany

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Brandon Slater
SF
Centerville, VAPaul VI Catholic High School6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)180 lb (82 kg)May 24, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Cole Swider
SF
Portsmouth, RISt. Andrew's School6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg)May 24, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jahvon Quinerly
PG
Hackensack, NJHudson Catholic High School6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg)Feb 14, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Saddiq Bey
SF
Largo, MDSidwell Friends School6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg)Jun 15, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Villanova Commits". Rivals.com.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2019 Recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Justin Moore
#9 SG
Accokeek, MDDeMatha Catholic High School6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)May 2, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Eric Dixon
#18 PF
William Grove, PAAbington High School6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)275 lb (125 kg)Apr 17, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Bryan Antoine
#12 SG
Tinton Falls, NJRanney School6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)170 lb (77 kg)Sep 4, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
PF
Shawnee Mission, KSIMG Academy (FL)6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)235 lb (107 kg)Oct 30, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G1Jahvon Quinerly6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg)FrHudson CatholicHackensack, NJ
G2Collin Gillespie6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)183 lb (83 kg)SoArchbishop WoodWarminster, PA
F3Brandon Slater6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg)FrPaul VIFairfax, VA
F4Eric Paschall6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)255 lb (116 kg)RS SrFordhamDobbs Ferry, NY
G5Phil Booth6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)194 lb (88 kg)RS SrMount Saint JosephBaltimore, MD
F10Cole Swider6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg)FrSt. AndrewsProvidence, RI
G12Tim Saunders (W)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)SrTorrey PinesDel Mar, CA
F15Saddiq Bey6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrSidwell FriendsWashington, D.C.
F21Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)226 lb (103 kg)SoNeumann–GorettiPhiladelphia, PA
G22Peyton Heck (W)5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg)SrArchmere AcademyWilmington, DE
F23Jermaine Samuels6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg)SoThe Rivers SchoolFranklin, MA
G24Joe Cremo6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)191 lb (87 kg)GSAlbanyScotia, NY
F34Tim Delaney6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)224 lb (102 kg)RS JrBlair AcademyMullica Hill, NJ
F42Dylan Painter6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)224 lb (102 kg)RS SoHershey High SchoolHershey, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsSite (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, FS1
No. 9 Morgan StateW 100–77 1–0
 26  Paschall  7  2 Tied  6  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
November 10, 2018*
8:00 pm, FS2
No. 9 QuinnipiacW 86–53 2–0
 23  Booth  8  Paschall  5  Booth Wells Fargo Center (10,216)
Philadelphia, PA
November 14, 2018*
6:30 pm, FS1
No. 8 No. 18 Michigan
Gavitt Tipoff Games
L 46–73 2–1
 10  Paschall  6  Paschall  3  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
November 17, 2018*
5:00 pm, FS2
No. 8 Furman
AdvoCare Invitational campus site game
L 68–76 OT2–2
 20  Booth  11  Cosby-Roundtree  5  Paschall Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
November 22, 2018*
1:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. Canisius
AdvoCare Invitational Quarterfinals
W 83–56 3–2
 15  Tied  13  Cosby-Roundtree  2  4 Tied HP Field House 
Lake Buena Vista, FL
November 23, 2018*
11:30 am, ESPN
vs. Oklahoma State
Advocare Invitational
W 77–58 4–2
 22  Paschall  13  Cosby-Roundtree  5   Tied  HP Field House 
Lake Buena Vista, FL
November 25, 2018*
12:00 pm, ESPN
vs. No. 14 Florida State
Advocare Invitational final
W 66–60 5–2
 17  Gillespie  8  Cosby-Roundtree  2  2 Tied HP Field House (3,127)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
December 1, 2018*
3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 23 vs. La Salle
Philadelphia Big 5
W 85–78 6–2
 27  Paschall  5  Cosby-Roundtree  5  Gillespie The Palestra (6,522)
Philadelphia, PA
December 5, 2018*
8:30 pm, FS1
No. 21 Temple
Philadelphia Big 5
W 69–59 7–2
 15  Samuels  7   4 Tied   4  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
December 8, 2018*
2:00 pm, FS1
No. 21 Saint Joseph's
Philadelphia Big 5/Holy War
W 70–58 8–2
 14  Paschall  9  Paschall  6  Booth Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
December 11, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 17 at Penn
Philadelphia Big 5
L 75–78 8–3
 21  Gillespie  5  Paschall  2  Booth The Palestra (8,033)
Philadelphia, PA
December 15, 2018*
12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 17 at No. 1 KansasL 71–74 8–4
 29  Booth  11  Cosby-Roundtree  3  Gillespie Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, KS
December 22, 2018*
12:30 pm, CBS
vs. UConn
New York Showcase
W 81–58 9–4
 21  Paschall  7  Booth  7  Booth Madison Square Garden (16,027)
New York, NY
Big East regular season
January 2, 2019
8:30 pm, FS1
DePaulW 73–68 10–4
(1–0)
 24  Paschall  6  Paschall  6  Booth Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
January 5, 2019
2:00 pm, FOX
at ProvidenceW 65–59 11–4
(2–0)
 23  Booth  14  Paschall  4  Booth Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410)
Providence, RI
January 8, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1
No. 24 St. John'sW 76–71 12–4
(3–0)
 25  Paschall  8  Tied  6  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
January 13, 2019
12:00 pm, FOX
at CreightonW 90–78 13–4
(4–0)
 28  Booth  7  Paschall  7  Booth CHI Health Center Omaha (17,379)
Omaha, NE
January 18, 2019
8:30 pm, FS1
No. 22 XavierW 85–75 14–4
(5–0)
 22  Booth  8  Paschall  5  Booth Wells Fargo Center (12,103)
Philadelphia, PA
January 22, 2019
7:00 pm, FS1
No. 18 at ButlerW 80–72 15–4
(6–0)
 23  Paschall  8  Cosby-Roundtree  5  Booth Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,962)
Indianapolis, IN
January 27, 2019
2:30 pm, FOX
No. 18 Seton HallW 80–52 16–4
(7–0)
 25  Booth  8  Tied  5  Booth Wells Fargo Center (16,444)
Philadelphia, PA
January 30, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 14 at DePaulW 86–74 17–4
(8–0)
 20  Paschall  11  Bey  8  Booth Wintrust Arena (5,002)
Chicago, IL
February 3, 2019
12:00 pm, FS1
No. 14 GeorgetownW 77–65 18–4
(9–0)
 30  Gillespie  16  Samuels  4  Gillespie Wells Fargo Center (14,506)
Philadelphia, PA
February 6, 2019
8:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 14 CreightonW 66–59 OT19–4
(10–0)
 17  Bey  8  Booth  6  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
February 9, 2019
2:30 pm, FOX
No. 14 at No. 10 MarquetteL 65–66 19–5
(10–1)
 19  Booth  6  Tied  3  Tied Fiserv Forum (17,856)
Milwaukee, WI
February 13, 2019
6:30 pm, FS1
No. 13 ProvidenceW 85–67 20–5
(11–1)
 25  Paschall  7  Cosby-Roundtree  8  Gillespie Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
February 17, 2019
5:00 pm, FS1
No. 13 at St. John'sL 65–71 20–6
(11–2)
 14  Cremo  14  Paschall  4  Paschall Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
February 20, 2019
6:30 pm, FS1
No. 17 at GeorgetownL 73–85 20–7
(11–3)
 26  Booth  10  Bey  5  Bey Capital One Arena (11,624)
Washington, D.C.
February 24, 2019
1:30 pm, CBS
No. 17 at XavierL 54–66 20–8
(11–4)
 17  Paschall  8  Bey  4  Booth Cintas Center (10,444)
Cincinnati, OH
February 27, 2019
9:00 pm, FS1
No. 10 MarquetteW 67–61 21–8
(12–4)
 29  Samuels  9  Samuels  7  Booth Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
March 2, 2019
2:00 pm, FOX
ButlerW 75–54 22–8
(13–4)
 28  Booth  10  Samuels  5  Paschall Wells Fargo Center (17,515)
Philadelphia, PA
March 9, 2019
12:00 pm, FOX
No. 23 at Seton HallL 75–79 22–9
(13–5)
 22  Gillespie  8  Tied  5  Paschall Prudential Center (16,114)
Newark, NJ
Big East tournament
March 14, 2019
12:00 pm, FS1
(1) No. 25 vs. (8) Providence
Quarterfinals
W 73–62 23–9
 20  Paschall  10  Tie  6  Gillespie Madison Square Garden (19,534)
New York, NY
March 15, 2019
6:30 pm, FS1
(1) No. 25 vs. (4) Xavier
Semifinals
W 71–67 OT24–9
 28  Booth  9  Samuels  5  Booth Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
March 16, 2019
6:35 pm, FOX
(1) No. 25 vs. (3) Seton Hall
Championship
W 74–72 25–9
 17  Paschall  10  Bey  3  4 tied Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2019*
7:20 pm, TBS
(6 S) No. 23 vs. (11 S) Saint Mary's
First Round
W 61–57 26–9
 21  Booth  7  Samuels  6  Booth XL Center (14,695)
Hartford, CT
March 23, 2019*
8:40 pm, TNT
(6 S) No. 23 vs. (3 S) No. 13 Purdue
Second Round
L 61–87 26–10
 19  Paschall  4  Tied  2  Tied XL Center (15,031)
Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[26]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP9 (1)8RV232117RVRVRVRV221814141317RV232523Not released
Coaches88^RV232116RVRVRVRV211814131316RV23252220

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

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  1. ^ "Board of Trustees Approves Pavilion Renovation" (Press release). Villanova Wildcats. February 14, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  2. ^ "Villanova Basketball Pavilion Renovation Approved". VU Hoops. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "Seton Hall vs. Villanova - Game Summary - March 16, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "2019 Big East tournament bracket, scores: Villanova defeats Seton Hall, wins third straight conference tournament title". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "Villanova Earns 6 Seed, Temple to Play in First 4 Game". NBC 10 Philadelphia. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "Saint Mary's vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 21, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "Villanova vs. Purdue - Game Recap - March 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Marquette falls to Villanova 94-70 in Big East tournament". FOX Sports. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  9. ^ "Insider: Butler powerless against Villanova in Big East semifinal". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "Villanova tops Providence for 2nd straight Big East title". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  11. ^ "March Madness: Villanova earns No. 1 seed in East region in NCAA tournament, will play LIU-Brooklyn or Radford - Philly". Philly.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  12. ^ "Top-seeded Villanova dominates Radford". Newsday. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "Alabama vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 17, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (March 23, 2018). "Villanova Breaks Free of West Virginia in the Second Half to Win". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Stubbs, Roman; Boren, Cindy (March 25, 2018). "Known as pretty, Villanova is gritty in knocking out Texas Tech to reach Final Four". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  16. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (March 31, 2018). "Villanova Rolls Over Kansas to Reach Its Second N.C.A.A. Final in Three Seasons". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  17. ^ "Villanova overpowers Kansas from three in Final Four rout". SI.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  18. ^ "Michigan vs. Villanova - Game Recap - April 2, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "Michigan basketball can't solve Villanova, special season terminated". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  20. ^ Paine, Neil (April 3, 2018). "The Only Opponent Villanova Has Left Is History". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  21. ^ "La Salle hires Nova assistant Howard as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  22. ^ "Sources: Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo to remain in 2018 NBA draft". Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  23. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  24. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  25. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  26. ^ "Future Big East Basketball Schedules". whiteandbluereview.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.