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
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 23
Record	26–10 (13–5 Big East)
Head coach	Jay Wright (18th season)
Assistant coaches	Kyle Neptune George Halcovage Mike Nardi
Home arena	Finneran Pavilion Wells Fargo Center
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	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

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

College recruiting information

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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Cole Swider SF	Portsmouth, 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	Hackensack, 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:
Saddiq Bey SF	Largo, MD	Sidwell Friends School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jun 15, 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.

2019 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2019)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Justin Moore #9 SG	Accokeek, MD	DeMatha Catholic High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 2, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Eric Dixon #18 PF	William Grove, PA	Abington High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Apr 17, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Bryan Antoine #12 SG	Tinton Falls, NJ	Ranney School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 4, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl PF	Shawnee Mission, KS	IMG Academy (FL)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 30, 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: "2019 Villanova Commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

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 Jay Wright (Bucknell) Assistant coach(es) Kyle Neptune (Lehigh) George Halcovage (Babson) Mike Nardi (Villanova) 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
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
RV = Received votes ( ) = 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 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.