2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
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
	Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

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.

ConferenceBig East Conference

CoachesNo. 1

APNo. 2

Record36–4 (14–4 Big East)

Quick facts Villanova Wildcats men's basketball, National Championship Game, W 79–62 vs. Michigan ...

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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

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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 one of 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]

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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

Name	Hometown	School	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
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree PF	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81)
Jermaine Samuels SF	Franklin, MA	The Rivers School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 27, 2016
Jermaine Samuels SF	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (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
Collin Gillespie PG	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (64)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. Retrieved June 1, 2015.

College recruiting (2018)
Name	Hometown	School	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
Brandon Slater SG	Recruit 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
Cole Swider SF	Recruit 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
Jahvon Quinerly PG	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.

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 quarterfinal	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 semifinal	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. 4	vs. No. 12 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. 4	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 100–90	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 Quarterfinal	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 Semifinal	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.

	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)

2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

Previous season

Offseason

Departures

2017 recruiting class

Future recruits

2018 recruiting class

Preseason

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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
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
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →