# 1982–83 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1982–83 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Rollie Massimino. The team played its home games at Villanova Field House in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Big East Conference. The team tied for the regular season Big East title and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to high-flying Houston, famously known as "Phi Slama Jama." Villanova finished with a 24–8 record (12–4 Big East).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1982* | No. 5 | Colgate | W 83–63 | 1–0 | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 4, 1982* | No. 4 | at No. 3 Kentucky | L 79–93 | 1–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 8, 1982* | No. 10 | Marist | W 97–69 | 2–1 | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 11, 1982* | No. 10 | vs. Pennsylvania | L 80–84 | 2–2 | |
| Dec 18, 1982* | No. 19 | vs. Temple | W 82–55 | 3–2 | |
| Dec 22, 1982 | No. 18 | vs. Seton Hall | W 78–68 | 4–2 (1–0) | |
| Dec 29, 1982* | No. 16 | vs. No. 19 Tulsa | W 75–68 | 5–2 | San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California |
| Dec 30, 1982* | No. 16 | at San Diego State | W 63–57 | 6–2 | San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California |
| Jan 4, 1983 | No. 14 | vs. Boston College | W 79–72 | 7–2 (2–0) | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Jan 7, 1983* | No. 14 | vs. Notre Dame | W 61–55 | 8–2 | |
| Jan 12, 1983 | No. 15 | at Pittsburgh | W 66–48 | 9–2 (3–0) | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 15, 1983 | No. 15 | Providence | W 70–61 | 10–2 (4–0) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 19, 1983 | No. 13 | vs. Seton Hall | W 75–59 | 11–2 (5–0) | |
| Jan 22, 1983* | No. 13 | vs. La Salle | W 72–71 | 12–2 | |
| Jan 24, 1983 | No. 11 | at No. 8 St. John's | L 71–80 | 12–3 (5–1) | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Jan 29, 1983 | No. 11 | vs. No. 18 Syracuse | W 83–75 | 13–3 (6–1) | |
| Jan 31, 1983 | No. 11 | vs. No. 15 Georgetown | W 68–67 | 14–3 (7–1) | Palestra (9,208) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 5, 1983 | No. 11 | at Boston College | L 70–76 | 14–4 (7–2) | Roberts Center Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 8, 1983 | No. 12 | Connecticut | W 86–79 | 15–4 (8–2) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 11, 1983 | No. 12 | Pittsburgh | W 78–65 | 16–4 (9–2) | Villanova Field House Houston, Texas |
| Feb 13, 1983* | No. 12 | at No. 1 North Carolina | W 56–53 | 17–4 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 16, 1983 | No. 8 | at Providence | W 64–58 | 18–4 (10–2) | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Feb 19, 1983 | No. 8 | at Connecticut | W 75–68 | 19–4 (11–2) | Hartford Civic Center Storrs, Connecticut |
| Feb 22, 1983* | No. 7 | vs. Saint Joseph's Holy War | W 70–62 | 20–4 | Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 26, 1983 | No. 7 | vs. No. 9 St. John's | W 71–70 $^{OT}$ | 21–4 (12–2) | Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 1, 1983 | No. 4 | at No. 18 Syracuse | L 70–79 | 21–5 (12–3) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Mar 5, 1983 | No. 4 | at No. 16 Georgetown | L 71–87 | 21–6 (12–4) | Capital Centre Landover, Maryland |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1983* | No. 13 | vs. Connecticut Big East tournament Quarterfinal | W 69–68 | 22–6 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Mar 11, 1983* | No. 13 | at No. 8 St. John's Big East tournament Semifinal | L 80–91 | 22–7 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 19, 1983* | (3 MW) No. 13 | vs. (11 MW) Lamar Second Round | W 60–58 | 23–7 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 25, 1983* | (3 MW) No. 13 | vs. (7 MW) Iowa Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 55–54 | 24–7 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 27, 1983* | (3 MW) No. 13 | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Houston Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight | L 71–89 | 24–8 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 5 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 13 |
| Coaches | 7 т | 7 т | 9 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 11 |

## Awards and honors

* John Pinone – Robert V. Geasey Trophy (3x)

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 24 | Stewart Granger | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 3 | 58 | John Pinone | Atlanta Hawks |
    Source: