2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . Led by the school's 8th head coach Jay Wright in his 15th year, the Wildcats were members of the Big East Conference and played most of their home games at The Pavilion , with some select home games at the Wells Fargo Center . The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 35–5, 16–2 to win the Big East regular season . They lost in the championship of the Big East tournament to Seton Hall . The Wildcats earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed. In the Tournament, they defeated UNC Asheville , Iowa , Miami , and overall #1 seed Kansas to earn a trip to the Final Four, the fifth in school history (although the 1971 Final Four season was vacated by the NCAA). In the Final Four, the Wildcats routed No. 2 seed Oklahoma by the largest margin in Final Four history to face No. 1 seeded North Carolina for the national championship. Led by Final Four MOP , Ryan Arcidiacono , the Wildcats won the National Championship on a three-point shot by Kris Jenkins , assisted by Arcidiacano, as time expired. The Wildcats won the school's second national title, having previously won the 1985 NCAA tournament .
Their 35 wins were the most in school history, breaking a record of 33 wins set the previous season . In beating No. 3 seed Miami (AP No. 10), No. 1 seed Kansas (AP No. 1), No. 2 seed Oklahoma (AP No. 7) and No. 1 seed UNC (AP No. 3), Villanova became the first school in 31 years — since the 1985 Villanova Wildcats — to not only beat four top-three seeds on the way to a national title but to also beat four straight opponents ranked in the AP top 10, in addition to beating AP ranked Iowa in the Round of 32, by an average victory margin of 19 points per game. Villanova's run included two of the ten most offensively efficient games in the analytics era (2002–present), beating Miami and Oklahoma by scoring 1.56 and 1.51 points per possession in the Sweet Sixteen and Final Four, respectively.[ 1] It has been called perhaps the most dominant tournament championship run of all time, and the most dominant of the analytics era by a wide margin.[ 2]
Previous season
The Wildcats finished the 2014–15 season 33–3, 16–2 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season championship. They defeated Marquette , Providence , and Xavier to become champions of the Big East tournament . They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No.1 seed where they defeated Lafayette in the Second Round before losing in the Third Round to NC State .
With their 31st win of the season, a 63–61 win over Providence in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, the Wildcats set a single season record for wins, which would eventually finish at 33.
Offseason
Departures
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Eric Paschall
4
F
6'6"
205
Sophomore
Dobbs Ferry, NY
Transferred from Fordham . Under NCAA transfer rules, Paschall had to sit out the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Incoming recruits
Jalen Brunson at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Jalen Brunson PG
Lincolnshire, IL
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Sep 10, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 90
Tim Delaney PF
Mullica Hill, NJ
Pitman High School
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Jun 9, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 80
Donte DiVincenzo SG
Wilmington, DE
Salesianum School
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Jan 3, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 80
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:
2017 recruiting class
Roster
2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
0
Henry Lowe (W)
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
New York, New York
G
1
Jalen Brunson
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
199 lb (90 kg)
Fr
Lincolnshire, Illinois
F
2
Kris Jenkins
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
Jr
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
G
3
Josh Hart
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Washington, D.C.
F
4
Eric Paschall
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
260 lb (118 kg)
So
Dobbs Ferry, New York
G
5
Phil Booth
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
Baltimore, Maryland
G
10
Donte DiVincenzo
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Wilmington, Delaware
G
15
Ryan Arcidiacono
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
F
20
Patrick Farrell (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Sr
Rockville Centre, New York
F
23
Daniel Ochefu
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
Sr
Lagos , Nigeria
G/F
25
Mikal Bridges
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
191 lb (87 kg)
RS Fr
Malvern, Pennsylvania
F
34
Tim Delaney
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
Mullica Hill, New Jersey
F
45
Darryl Reynolds
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Jr
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F
52
Kevin Rafferty
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Sr
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 8, 2015 *12:00 pm
No. 11
Pace
W 80–45
Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
Regular season
Nov 13, 2015 *7:00 pm, FS2
No. 11
Fairleigh Dickinson
W 91–54 [ 3]
1–0
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Nov 17, 2015 *8:30 pm, FS1
No. 11
Nebraska Gavitt Tipoff Games
W 87–63
2–0
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Nov 20, 2015 *7:00 pm, FS2
No. 11
East Tennessee State NIT Season Tip-Off
W 86–51
3–0
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Nov 22, 2015 *4:30 pm, FS1
No. 11
Akron NIT Season Tip-Off
W 75–56
4–0
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Nov 26, 2015 *4:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 8
vs. Stanford NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals
W 59–45
5–0
Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
Nov 27, 2015 *3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 8
vs. Georgia Tech NIT Season Tip-Off championship
W 69–52
6–0
Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
Dec 1, 2015 *7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 8
at Saint Joseph's Philadelphia Big 5 /Holy War
W 86–72
7–0
Hagan Arena (4,200)Philadelphia, PA
Dec 7, 2015 *7:00 pm, FS1
No. 9
vs. No. 7 Oklahoma Pearl Harbor Classic
L 55–78
7–1
Bloch Arena (4,024)Honolulu, HI
Dec 13, 2015 *5:00 pm, FS1
No. 9
La Salle Philadelphia Big 5
W 76–47
8–1
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Dec 19, 2015 *12:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 12
at No. 8 Virginia
L 75–86
8–2
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Dec 22, 2015 *7:00 pm, FS1
No. 17
Delaware
W 78–48
9–2
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Dec 28, 2015 *7:00 pm, FS1
No. 16
Penn Philadelphia Big 5
W 77–57
10–2
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Dec 31, 2015 12:00 pm, FS1
No. 16
No. 6 Xavier
W 95–64
11–2 (1–0)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Jan 2, 2016 10 pm, FS1
No. 16
at Creighton Big East New Year's Marathon
W 85–71
12–2 (2–0)
CenturyLink Center (17,375)Omaha, NE
Jan 6, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1
No. 11
Seton Hall
W 72–63
13–2 (3–0)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Jan 10, 2016 7:30 pm, FS1
No. 11
at No. 18 Butler
W 60–55
14–2 (4–0)
Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,144)Indianapolis, IN
Jan 13, 2016 8:30 pm, FS1
No. 6
Marquette
W 83–68
15–2 (5–0)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Jan 16, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS
No. 6
at Georgetown
W 55–50
16–2 (6–0)
Verizon Center (15,535)Washington, D.C.
Jan 20, 2016 9:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 4
at Seton Hall
W 72–71
17–2 (7–0)
Prudential Center (8,788)Newark, NJ
Jan 23, 2016 12:00 pm, FOX
No. 4
No. 16 Providence
L 76–82 OT
17–3 (7–1)
Wells Fargo Center (7,191)Philadelphia, PA
Jan 31, 2016 12:00 pm, FOX
No. 6
at St. John's
W 68–53
18–3 (8–1)
Madison Square Garden (12,713)New York, NY
Feb 3, 2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 3
Creighton
W 83–58
19–3 (9–1)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Feb 6, 2016 2:30 pm, FS1
No. 3
at No. 11 Providence
W 72–60
20–3 (10–1)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,883)Providence, RI
Feb 9, 2016 8:30 pm, FS1
No. 1
at DePaul
W 86–59
21–3 (11–1)
Allstate Arena (6,393)Rosemont, IL
Feb 13, 2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 1
St. John's
W 73–63
22–3 (12–1)
Wells Fargo Center (18,052)Philadelphia, PA
Feb 17, 2016 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 1
at Temple Philadelphia Big 5
W 83–67
23–3
Liacouras Center (10,472)Philadelphia, PA
Feb 20, 2016 2:30 pm, FOX
No. 1
Butler
W 77–67
24–3 (13–1)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Feb 24, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1
No. 1
at No. 5 Xavier
L 83–90
24–4 (13–2)
Cintas Center (10,727)Cincinnati, OH
Feb 27, 2016 2:00 pm, FOX
No. 1
at Marquette
W 89–79
25–4 (14–2)
BMO Harris Bradley Center (19,043)Milwaukee, WI
Mar 1, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1
No. 3
DePaul
W 83–62
26–4 (15–2)
The Pavilion (6,500)Villanova, PA
Mar 5, 2016 12:07 pm, FOX
No. 3
Georgetown Homecoming
W 84–71
27–4 (16–2)
Wells Fargo Center (20,173)Philadelphia, PA
Big East tournament
Mar 10, 2016 12:00 noon, FS1
(1) No. 3
vs. (8) Georgetown Quarterfinals
W 81–67
28–4
Madison Square Garden (14,863)New York, NY
Mar 11, 2016 6:30 pm, FS1
(1) No. 3
vs. (4) Providence Semifinals
W 76–68
29–4
Madison Square Garden (17,130)New York, NY
Mar 12, 2016 5:30 pm, FOX
(1) No. 3
vs. (3) Seton Hall Championship
L 67–69
29–5
Madison Square Garden (19,812)New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 2016 *12:40 pm, truTV
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (15 S) UNC Asheville First Round
W 86–56
30–5
Barclays Center (17,333)Brooklyn, NY
Mar 20, 2016 *12:10 pm, CBS
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (7 S) No. 25 Iowa Second Round
W 87–68
31–5
Barclays Center (17,401)Brooklyn, NY
Mar 24, 2016 *7:10 pm, CBS
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (3 S) No. 10 Miami (FL) Sweet Sixteen
W 92–69
32–5
KFC Yum! Center (19,399)Louisville, KY
Mar 26, 2016 *8:49 pm, CBS
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (1 S) No. 1 Kansas Elite Eight
W 64–59
33–5
KFC Yum! Center (19,422)Louisville, KY
Apr 2, 2016 *6:09 pm, TBS
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (2 W) No. 7 Oklahoma Final Four
W 95–51
34–5
NRG Stadium (75,505)Houston, TX
Apr 4, 2016 *9:19 pm, TBS
(2 S) No. 6
vs. (1 E) No. 3 North Carolina National Championship
W 77–74
35–5
NRG Stadium (74,340)Houston, TX
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Region.
All times are in
Eastern Time . W=West Region E=East Region.
Local Radio
Station
Play–by–play
Color analyst
Studio host
WTEL–AM 610 and Villanova IMG Sports Network
Ryan Fannon
Whitey Rigsby
Joe Weil
Rankings
On February 8, the Wildcats became the first Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team to reach number one in the AP Poll .[ 4] [ 5]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final AP 11 11 8 8 9 12 17 16 11 6 4 6 3 1 (32) 1 (44) 1 (45) 3 3 6 Not released Coaches 9 8т 9 7 6 13 17 16 13 7 4 6 4 1 (11) 1 (25) 1 (25) 2 2 6 1 (30)
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
References
^ Gasaway, John (May 5, 2016). "Best Offensive Performances" . ESPN .
^ Winn, Luke (April 14, 2016). "The Five Most Dominant Tournament Runs of the Analyics Era" . SI.com .
^ "No. 11 Villanova beats Fairleigh Dickinson 91-54" . ESPN.com . Retrieved November 14, 2015 .
^ O'Connell, Jim (February 8, 2016). "College basketball rankings: Villanova earns program's first AP No. 1 ranking" . NCAA.com . National Collegiate Athletic Association . Associated Press . Retrieved February 9, 2016 . [permanent dead link ]
^ Beaton, Andrew (February 8, 2016). "Villanova Ranked No. 1 for First Time in AP Poll" . The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved February 9, 2016 .
External links
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics