# 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 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. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. There they defeated Saint Mary's before being defeated by Purdue in the Second Round.

## 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, Butler, and Providence to win the Big East tournament championship. 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. They defeated Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years. In the National Semifinal, they defeated Kansas before defeating Michigan in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years. 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.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

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

### 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 |
| Omari Spellman | 14 | F | 6´9¨ | 245 | RS FR | North Royalton, OH | NBA draft |
| Tom Leibig | 24 | F | 6´5¨ | 200 | SR | Havertown, PA | Graduated |
| Mikal Bridges | 25 | F | 6'7" | 210 | RS JR | Malvern, PA | NBA draft |
| Matt Kennedy | 35 | G | 5´11¨ | 175 | SR | Fairfax, VA | Graduated |
| 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: 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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 |
| Recruiting 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. |||||||

## 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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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.