# 1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University during the 1981–82 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 won the regular season Big East title and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina. Villanova finished with a 22–8 record (11–3 Big East).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1981* | | at St. Francis (NY) | W 93–63 | 1–0 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (2,000) Brooklyn, New York |
| Dec 4, 1981 | | vs. Boston College | W 97–75 | 2–0 (1–0) | |
| Dec 8, 1981 | | Providence | W 65–54 | 3–0 (2–0) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 12, 1981* | | at Penn | W 75–61 | 4–0 | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 14, 1981* | | at Towson State | W 85–55 | 5–0 | Towson Center Towson, Maryland |
| Dec 19, 1981* | No. 18 | vs. Temple | L 48–52 | 5–1 | |
| Dec 28, 1981* | No. 20 | vs. No. 11 Indiana ECAC Holiday Festival | W 63–59 | 6–1 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Dec 29, 1981* | No. 19 | vs. St. John's ECAC Holiday Festival | L 89–94 | 6–2 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Jan 6, 1982 | | Boston College | W 54–53 | 7–2 (3–0) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 9, 1982 | | Syracuse | W 84–83 | 8–2 (4–0) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 11, 1982 | | St. John's | W 64–62 | 9–2 (5–0) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 16, 1982 | | at Seton Hall | W 71–70 | 10–2 (6–0) | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Jan 19, 1982* | | at Notre Dame | W 48–46 | 11–2 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 23, 1982 | | at Connecticut | L 51–53 | 11–3 (6–1) | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| Jan 25, 1982 | | at Georgetown | L 56–72 | 11–4 (6–2) | Capital Centre Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 27, 1982* | | vs. La Salle | W 117–82 | 12–4 | |
| Jan 31, 1982* | | vs. Saint Joseph's | L 64–84 | 12–5 | |
| Feb 3, 1982 | | Georgetown | L 72–83 | 12–6 (6–3) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 6, 1982* | | Maine | W 81–65 | 13–6 | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 10, 1982 | | Seton Hall | W 66–53 | 14–6 (7–3) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 13, 1982 | | at St. John's | W 73–68 | 15–6 (8–3) | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Feb 17, 1982 | | at Syracuse | W 81–69 | 16–6 (9–3) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Feb 24, 1982 | | Connecticut | W 67–63 | 17–6 (10–3) | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 27, 1982 | | at Providence | W 54–53 | 18–6 (11–3) | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1982* | | vs. Seton Hall Quarterfinals | W 88–73 | 19–6 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| Mar 6, 1982* | | vs. Boston College Semifinals | W 74–71 | 20–6 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| Mar 7, 1982* | | vs. No. 8 Georgetown Championship Game | L 54–72 | 20–7 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1982* | (3 E) | vs. (11 E) Northeastern | W 76–72 $^{3OT}$ | 21–7 | Nassau Coliseum |
| Mar 19, 1982* | (3 E) | vs. (2 E) No. 9 Memphis State East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 70–66 $^{OT}$ | 22–7 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Mar 21, 1982* | (3 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina East Regional final – Elite Eight | L 60–70 | 22–8 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* John Pinone – Robert V. Geasey Trophy (2x)