2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Villanova Wildcats logo.svg
AdvoCare Invitational champions
Big East regular season and tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 23
2018–19 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
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 23 Villanova † 13 – 5   .722 26 – 10   .722
Marquette 12 – 6   .667 24 – 10   .706
Seton Hall 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Xavier 9 – 9   .500 19 – 16   .543
Creighton 9 – 9   .500 20 – 15   .571
Georgetown 9 – 9   .500 19 – 14   .576
St. John's 8 – 10   .444 21 – 13   .618
Providence 7 – 11   .389 18 – 16   .529
Butler 7 – 11   .389 16 – 17   .485
DePaul 7 – 11   .389 19 – 17   .528
† 2019 Big East Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

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 annihilated by Purdue in the Second Round.[7]

Previous season[]

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[]

Coaching changes[]

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

Departures[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jalen Brunson 1 G 6'3" 190 JR Lincolnshire, IL NBA draft
Donte DiVincenzo 10 G 6'5" 205 RS SO Wilmington, DE NBA draft[22]
Omari Spellman 14 F 6´9¨ 245 RS FR North Royalton, OH NBA draft[23]
Tom Leibig 24 F 6´5¨ 200 SR Havertown, PA Graduated[24]
Mikal Bridges 25 F 6'7" 210 RS JR Malvern, PA NBA draft
Matt Kennedy 35 G 5´11¨ 175 SR Fairfax, VA Graduated[25]
Denny Grace 40 G 5'11" 175 RS SR Catonsville, MD Graduated

Incoming transfers[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Joe Cremo 24 G 6'4" 185 Graduate Student Scotia, NY Albany

2018 Recruiting class[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Brandon Slater
SF 		Centerville, VA Paul VI Catholic High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 24, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Cole Swider
SF 		Portsmouth, RI St. Andrew's School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 24, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Jahvon Quinerly
PG 		Hackensack, NJ Hudson Catholic High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Feb 14, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Saddiq Bey
SF 		Largo, MD Sidwell Friends School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jun 15, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
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[]

Roster[]

2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Jahvon Quinerly 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Hudson Catholic Hackensack, NJ
G 2 Collin Gillespie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) So Archbishop Wood Warminster, PA
F 3 Brandon Slater 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Paul VI Fairfax, VA
F 4 Eric Paschall 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Sr Fordham Dobbs Ferry, NY
G 5 Phil Booth 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Mount Saint Joseph Baltimore, MD
F 10 Cole Swider 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr St. Andrews Providence, RI
G 12 Tim Saunders (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Torrey Pines Del Mar, CA
F 15 Saddiq Bey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Sidwell Friends Washington, D.C.
F 21 Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 226 lb (103 kg) So Neumann–Goretti Philadelphia, PA
G 22 Peyton Heck (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Archmere Academy Wilmington, DE
F 23 Jermaine Samuels 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So The Rivers School Franklin, MA
G 24 Joe Cremo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) GS Albany Scotia, NY
F 34 Tim Delaney 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Blair Academy Mullica Hill, NJ
F 42 Dylan Painter 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 224 lb (102 kg) RS So Hershey High School Hershey, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 9 Morgan State W 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 Quinnipiac W 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 OT 2–2
  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 Kansas L 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 		DePaul W 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 Providence W 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's W 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 Creighton W 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 Xavier W 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 Butler W 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 Hall W 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 DePaul W 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 Georgetown W 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 Creighton W 66–59 OT 19–4
(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 Marquette L 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 Providence W 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's L 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 Georgetown L 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 Xavier L 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 Marquette W 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 		Butler W 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 Hall L 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 OT 24–9
  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[]

See also: 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final 
AP 9 (1) 8 RV 23 21 17 RV RV RV RV 22 18 14 14 13 17 RV 23 25 23 Not released 
Coaches 8 8^ RV 23 21 16 RV RV RV RV 21 18 14 13 13 16 RV 23 25 22 20

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

References[]

  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 2017-07-14.
  3. ^ "Seton Hall vs. Villanova - Game Summary - March 16, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  4. ^ "2019 Big East Tournament bracket, scores: Villanova defeats Seton Hall, wins third straight conference tournament title". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  5. ^ "Villanova Earns 6 Seed, Temple to Play in First 4 Game". NBC 10 Philadelphia. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  6. ^ "Saint Mary's vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 21, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  7. ^ "Villanova vs. Purdue - Game Recap - March 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  8. ^ "Marquette falls to Villanova 94-70 in Big East Tournament". FOX Sports. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  9. ^ "Insider: Butler powerless against Villanova in Big East semifinal". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  10. ^ "Villanova tops Providence for 2nd straight Big East title". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  11. ^ "March Madness: Villanova earns No. 1 seed in East region in NCAA tournament, will play LIU-Brooklyn or Radford - Philly". Philly.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  12. ^ "Top-seeded Villanova dominates Radford". Newsday. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  13. ^ "Alabama vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 17, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  14. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (2018-03-23). "Villanova Breaks Free of West Virginia in the Second Half to Win". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  15. ^ Stubbs, Roman; Boren, Cindy (2018-03-25). "Known as pretty, Villanova is gritty in knocking out Texas Tech to reach Final Four". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  16. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (2018-03-31). "Villanova Rolls Over Kansas to Reach Its Second N.C.A.A. Final in Three Seasons". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  17. ^ "Villanova overpowers Kansas from three in Final Four rout". SI.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  18. ^ "Michigan vs. Villanova - Game Recap - April 2, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  19. ^ "Michigan basketball can't solve Villanova, special season terminated". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  20. ^ Paine, Neil (2018-04-03). "The Only Opponent Villanova Has Left Is History". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  21. ^ "La Salle hires Nova assistant Howard as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  22. ^ "Sources: Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo to remain in 2018 NBA draft". Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  23. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  24. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  25. ^ "Nova freshman Spellman staying in NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  26. ^ "Future Big East Basketball Schedules". whiteandbluereview.com. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
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