2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions Big East tournament champions Philadelphia Big 5 champions Battle 4 Atlantis champions
National Championship Game, W 79-62 vs. Michigan
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	36–4 (14–4 Big East)
Head coach	Jay Wright (17th season)
Assistant coaches	George Halcovage Ashley Howard Kyle Neptune
Home arena	Wells Fargo Center

2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	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

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

Departures

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

College recruiting information

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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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

2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018)
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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Cole Swider SF	Barrington, RI	St. Andrew's School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	May 24, 2017
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jahvon Quinerly PG	Jersey City, NJ	Hudson Catholic High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Feb 14, 2018
	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.

Preseason

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

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 Jay Wright (Bucknell) Assistant coach(es) Ashley Howard (Drexel) Kyle Neptune (Lehigh) George Halcovage (Babson) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

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

See also: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	6	5	5	4	4	1 (41)	1 (45)	1 (43)	3 (1)	1 (25)	1 (63)	1 (63)	1 (47)	1 (48)	3 (9)	3 (4)	4	2	2	Not released
Coaches	6	6^	3 (1)	4	4	1 (22)	1 (26)	1 (27)	3 (1)	1 (27)	1 (31)	1 (31)	1 (22)	1 (22)	2 (8)	3 (4)	5	3	2	1 (32)

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

Gallery

• 
  Crowd at parade
• 
  Bus with Championship Trophy
• 
  Players with trophy
• 
  Players on bus
• 
  Eric Paschall, Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman, Collin Gillespie, and Jalen Brunson

References

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. "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.