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2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
Big East tournament champions
Philadelphia Big 5 champions
Battle 4 Atlantis champions
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record36–4 (14–4 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWells Fargo Center
Seasons
2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Xavier 15 – 3   .833 29 – 6   .829
No. 2 Villanova † 14 – 4   .778 36 – 4   .900
Seton Hall 10 – 8   .556 22 – 12   .647
Creighton 10 – 8   .556 21 – 12   .636
Providence 10 – 8   .556 21 – 14   .600
Butler 9 – 9   .500 21 – 14   .600
Marquette 9 – 9   .500 21 – 14   .600
Georgetown 5 – 13   .278 15 – 15   .500
St. John's 4 – 14   .222 16 – 17   .485
DePaul 4 – 14   .222 11 – 20   .355
† 2018 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 17th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Big East Conference.

The Wildcats finished the season 36–4, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette,[1] Butler,[2] and Providence to win the Big East tournament championship.[3] 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.[4] They defeated Radford,[5] Alabama,[6] West Virginia,[7] and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years.[8] In the National Semifinal, they defeated Kansas[9][10] before defeating Michigan in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years.[11][12] They won every game of the tournament by a double-digit margin and the team's tournament run is widely considered the most dominant ever along with being called among the best seasons of all time.[13]

The Wildcats' home court, The Pavilion, underwent a temporary closure for a $60 million renovation project during the season.[14] It reopened for the 2018–19 season with the new name of Finneran Pavilion after a Villanova alum who donated $22.6 million to Villanova.[15][16] Accordingly, all home games for the 2017–18 season but one were played at the Wells Fargo Center.[17] The exception was the November 29, 2017 game with Big 5 rival Penn; it was instead held at Jake Nevin Field House, which had been home to the team before the Pavilion's initial 1986 opening.[18]

Previous season

[edit]

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 32–4, 15–3 in Big East play to win the regular season championship. In the Big East tournament, they defeated St. John's, Seton Hall, and Creighton to win the tournament championship.[19] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats were given the Tournament's overall No. 1 seed as a No. 1 seed in the East region. In the First Round they defeated Mount St. Mary's before being upset by No. 8-seeded Wisconsin in the Second Round.[20][21] The loss marked the second time in the previous three tournaments that Villanova was upset by an eighth-seeded team.

Offseason

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Kris Jenkins 2 F 6'6" 235 SR Upper Marlboro, Maryland Graduated
Josh Hart 3 G 6'5" 215 SR Silver Spring, Maryland Graduated

2017 recruiting class

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree
PF 		Philadelphia, PA Neumann-Goretti High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Apr 5, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Jermaine Samuels
SF 		Franklin, MA The Rivers School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 27, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 86
Collin Gillespie
PG 		Warminster, PA Archbishop Wood Catholic High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jan 14, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 64
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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.

Future recruits

[edit]

2018 recruiting class

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Brandon Slater
SG 		Fairfax, Virginia 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 		Barrington, 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 		Jersey City, 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
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:

Preseason

[edit]

In its annual preseason preview, Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked the Wildcats No. 12 in the country.[22] Jalen Brunson was named a third team preseason All-American.[22]

Villanova was picked to win the Big East in the conference's preseason Coaches' Poll for the fourth consecutive year.[23] Jalen Brunson was named the unanimous preseason All-Big East player of the year.[24]

Roster

[edit]
2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Jalen Brunson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Stevenson High School Lincolnshire, IL
G 2 Collin Gillespie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Archbishop Wood Warminster, PA
F 4 Eric Paschall 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr Fordham Dobbs Ferry, NY
G 5 Phil Booth 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Mount Saint Joseph High School Baltimore, MD
G 10 Donte DiVincenzo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Salesianum School Wilmington, DE
F 14 Omari Spellman 6 ft 9.5 in (2.07 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Fr St. Thomas More School (CT) North Royalton, OH
F 21 Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Neumann–Goretti Philadelphia, PA
G 22 Peyton Heck 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Archmere Academy Wilmington, DE
F 23 Jermaine Samuels 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr The Rivers School Franklin, MA
F 24 Tom Leibig 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Haverford High School Havertown, PA
G/F 25 Mikal Bridges 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Great Valley High School Malvern, PA
F 34 Tim Delaney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS So Blair Academy Mullica Hill, NJ
G 35 Matt Kennedy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Flint Hill School Fairfax, VA
G 40 Denny Grace 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Calvert Hall College High School Catonsville, MD
F 42 Dylan Painter 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 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

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2017*
9:00 pm 		No. 6 Drexel
Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Exhibition 		W 87–68 
 16 – Brunson   12 – Spellman   6 – Brunson  Jake Nevin Field House 
Villanova, PA
Regular season
November 10, 2017*
8:30 pm, FS2 		No. 6 Columbia W 75–60  1–0
  15 – Paschall   11 – Spellman   3 – Tied  Wells Fargo Center (10,504)
Philadelphia, PA
November 14, 2017*
6:30 pm, FS1 		No. 5 Nicholls State
Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland game 		W 113–77  2–0
  23 – Bridges   6 – 4 tied   5 – Tied  Wells Fargo Center (8,517)
Philadelphia, PA
November 17, 2017*
8:00 pm, FS2 		No. 5 vs. Lafayette
Allentown Showcase 		W 104–57  3–0
  24 – Bridges   9 – Spellman   6 – Brunson  PPL Center (6,652)
Allentown, PA
November 22, 2017*
2:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 4 vs. Western Kentucky
Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals 		W 66–58  4–0
  18 – Brunson   8 – 2 Tied   3 – 3 Tied  Imperial Arena (1,199)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 23, 2017*
12:30 pm, ESPN 		No. 5 vs. Tennessee
Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals 		W 85–76  5–0
  25 – Brunson   6 – Paschall   6 – Brunson  Imperial Arena (2,102)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 24, 2017*
12:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 5 vs. Northern Iowa
Battle 4 Atlantis championship 		W 64–50  6–0
  18 – Bridges   7 – Bridges   4 – Brunson  Imperial Arena (2,831)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, FS2 		No. 4 Penn
Big 5 		W 90–62  7–0
  17 – Brunson   7 – 2 Tied   4 – 2 Tied  Jake Nevin Field House (2,200)
Villanova, PA
December 2, 2017*
5:30 pm, ESPN2 		No. 4 at Saint Joseph's
Big 5/Holy War 		W 94–53  8–0
  18 – Bridges   11 – Spellman   6 – Tied  Hagan Arena (4,200)
Philadelphia, PA
December 5, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 3 vs. No. 10 Gonzaga
Jimmy V Classic 		W 88–72  9–0
  28 – Bridges   8 – Spellman   3 – Tied  Madison Square Garden (17,532)
New York, NY
December 10, 2017*
1:00 pm, FS1 		No. 1 La Salle
Big 5 		W 77–68  10–0
  18 – Tied   10 – DiVincenzo   7 – Brunson  Wells Fargo Center (10,611)
Philadelphia, PA
December 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 at Temple
Big 5 		W 87–67  11–0
  31 – Brunson   8 – Spellman   5 – Brunson  Liacouras Center (10,206)
Philadelphia, PA
December 22, 2017*
8:30 pm, FS1 		No. 1 vs. Hofstra
Long Island Showcase 		W 95–71  12–0
  20 – Bridges   10 – Spellman   7 – Brunson  Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (7,892)
Uniondale, NY
December 27, 2017
7:30 pm, CBSSN 		No. 1 at DePaul W 103–85  13–0
(1–0) 		 20 – Bridges   12 – Spellman   6 – Booth  Wintrust Arena (8,323)
Chicago, IL
December 30, 2017
4:00 pm, CBS 		No. 1 at Butler L 93–101  13–1
(1–1) 		 31 – Brunson   9 – Spellman   5 – Brunson  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,244)
Indianapolis, IN
January 6, 2018
8:00 pm, FS1 		No. 3 Marquette W 88–80  14–1
(2–1) 		 27 – Brunson   7 – Bridges   8 – Brunson  Wells Fargo Center (14,210)
Philadelphia, PA
January 10, 2018
8:00 pm, FS1 		No. 1 No. 10 Xavier W 89–65  15–1
(3–1) 		 21 – Booth   9 – Bridges   5 – Brunson  Wells Fargo Center (12,765)
Philadelphia, PA
January 13, 2018
8:00 pm, FBN 		No. 1 at St. John's W 78–71  16–1
(4–1) 		 25 – DiVincenzo   11 – Bridges   5 – Brunson  Madison Square Garden (17,123)
New York, NY
January 17, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1 		No. 1 at Georgetown W 88–56  17–1
(5–1) 		 18 – Brunson   7 – DiVincenzo   7 – Brunson  Capital One Arena (11,905)
Washington, DC
January 20, 2018*
12:00 pm, CBS 		No. 1 at UConn W 81–61  18–1
  23 – Brunson   12 – Spellman   6 – Booth  XL Center (15,564)
Hartford, CT
January 23, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1 		No. 1 Providence W 89–69  19–1
(6–1) 		 17 – Paschall   9 – Bridges   5 – Paschall  Wells Fargo Center (8,595)
Philadelphia, PA
January 28, 2018
1:00 pm, FOX 		No. 1 at Marquette W 85–82  20–1
(7–1) 		 31 – Brunson   9 – Paschall   2 – Tied  BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,120)
Milwaukee, WI
February 1, 2018
12:00 pm, FS1 		No. 1 Creighton W 98–78  21–1
(8–1) 		 21 – Bridges   8 – Paschall   5 – Tied  Wells Fargo Center (10,225)
Philadelphia, PA
February 4, 2018
12:00 pm, FOX 		No. 1 Seton Hall W 92–76  22–1
(9–1) 		 26 – Spellman   11 – Spellman   7 – DiVincenzo  Wells Fargo Center (16,115)
Philadelphia, PA
February 7, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 1 St. John's L 75–79  22–2
(9–2) 		 28 – Brunson   12 – Spellman   3 – Tied  Wells Fargo Center (10,900)
Philadelphia, PA
February 10, 2018
12:00 pm, FOX 		No. 1 Butler W 86–75  23–2
(10–2) 		 30 – DiVincenzo   11 – Spellman   5 – Bridges  Wells Fargo Center (20,603)
Philadelphia, PA
February 14, 2018
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 3 at Providence L 71–76  23–3
(10–3) 		 19 – Bridges   9 – Spellman   5 – Brunson  Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,887)
Providence, RI
February 17, 2018
4:30 pm, FOX 		No. 3 at No. 4 Xavier W 95–79  24–3
(11–3) 		 25 – Bridges   9 – DiVincenzo   9 – DiVincenzo  Cintas Center (10,777)
Cincinnati, OH
February 21, 2018
8:30 pm, FS1 		No. 3 DePaul W 93–62  25–3
(12–3) 		 27 – Bridges   7 – Spellman   7 – Brunson  Wells Fargo Center (10,007)
Philadelphia, PA
February 24, 2018
2:30 pm, FOX 		No. 3 at Creighton L 83–89 OT 25–4
(12–4) 		 22 – Brunson   10 – Spellman   5 – Brunson  CenturyLink Center (18,321)
Omaha, NE
February 28, 2018
8:30 pm, FS1 		No. 4 at Seton Hall W 69–68 OT 26–4
(13–4) 		 23 – Bridges   14 – Spellman   5 – DiVincenzo  Prudential Center (13,711)
Newark, NJ
March 3, 2018
5:00 pm, FOX 		No. 4 Georgetown W 97–73  27–4
(14–4) 		 24 – Bridges   6 – Tied   7 – Brunson  Wells Fargo Center (18,523)
Philadelphia, PA
Big East tournament
March 8, 2018
7:00 pm, FS1 		(2) No. 2 vs. (7) Marquette
Quarterfinals 		W 94–70  28–4
  25 – Bridges   8 – Bridges   4 – Bridges  Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
March 9, 2018
10:00 pm, FS1 		(2) No. 2 vs. (6) Butler
Semifinals 		W 87–68  29–4
  18 – Bridges   12 – Spellman   6 – DiVincenzo  Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
March 10, 2018
6:30 pm, FOX 		(2) No. 2 vs. (5) Providence
Championship 		W 76–66 OT 30–4
  31 – Brunson   13 – Paschall   4 – Brunson  Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
March 15, 2018*
6:50 pm, TNT 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (16 E) Radford
First Round 		W 87–61  31–4
  16 – Brunson   7 – Spellman   8 – DiVincenzo  PPG Paints Arena (18,715)
Pittsburgh, PA
March 17, 2018*
12:10 pm, CBS 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (9 E) Alabama
Second Round 		W 81–58  32–4
  23 – Bridges   8 – Spellman   5 – DiVincenzo  PPG Paints Arena (19,015)
Pittsburgh, PA
March 23, 2018*
7:27 pm, TBS 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (5 E) No. 15 West Virginia
Sweet Sixteen 		W 90–78  33–4
  27 – Brunson   8 – Spellman   4 – Tied  TD Garden (19,055)
Boston, MA
March 25, 2018*
2:20 pm, CBS 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (3 E) No. 14 Texas Tech
Elite Eight 		W 71–59  34–4
  15 – Brunson   14 – Paschall   4 – Brunson  TD Garden (19,169)
Boston, MA
March 31, 2018*
7:49 pm, TBS 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Kansas
Final Four 		W 95–79  35–4
  24 – Paschall   13 – Spellman   6 – Tied  Alamodome (68,257)
San Antonio, TX
April 2, 2018*
9:20 pm, TBS 		(1 E) No. 2 vs. (3 W) No. 8 Michigan
National Championship 		W 79–62  36–4
  31 – DiVincenzo   11 – Spellman   3 – DiVincenzo  Alamodome (67,831)
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

[edit]
See also: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP655441 (41)1 (45)1 (43)3 (1)1 (25)1 (63)1 (63)1 (47)1 (48)3 (9)3 (4)422Not released
Coaches66^3 (1)441 (22)1 (26)1 (27)3 (1)1 (27)1 (31)1 (31)1 (22)1 (22)2 (8)3 (4)5321 (32)

^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did.
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Marquette falls to Villanova 94-70 in Big East tournament". FOX Sports. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Insider: Butler powerless against Villanova in Big East semifinal". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Villanova tops Providence for 2nd straight Big East title". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "Top-seeded Villanova dominates Radford". Newsday. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Alabama vs. Villanova - Game Recap - March 17, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Villanova overpowers Kansas from three in Final Four rout". SI.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  11. ^ "Michigan vs. Villanova - Game Recap - April 2, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  12. ^ "Michigan basketball can't solve Villanova, special season terminated". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  13. ^ Paine, Neil (April 3, 2018). "The Only Opponent Villanova Has Left Is History". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  14. ^ "Villanova Plans $60 Million Makeover of Pavilion". Philadelphia Magazine. February 16, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  15. ^ "Board of Trustees Approves Pavilion Renovation" (Press release). Villanova Wildcats. February 14, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  16. ^ "Villanova Basketball Pavilion Renovation Approved". VU Hoops. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  17. ^ "Board of Trustees Approves Pavilion Renovation". Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "Wildcats to Host Penn in Jake Nevin Field House" (Press release). Villanova Wildcats. September 1, 2017. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  19. ^ "Big East tournament 2017 scores, bracket: Villanova makes statement with dominant title win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  20. ^ Greene, Dan. "Down goes Villanova: No. 8 seed Wisconsin stuns the reigning national champs". SI.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  21. ^ "March finally gives us some madness as Wisconsin ousts Villanova: 3 takeaways". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  22. ^ a b "Arizona Tops Blue Ribbon's 37th Annual Preseason Rankings". Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  23. ^ "Big East Conference – Villanova Sits Atop Coaches' Preseason Poll Again". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  24. ^ "Big East Conference – Villanova's Jalen Brunson Selected Preseason Player of the Year". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
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