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2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

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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.

2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
Big East regular season champions
Philadelphia Big 5 champions
NIT Season Tip-Off champions
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 6
Record35–5 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThe Pavilion
Wells Fargo Center
Seasons
2015–16 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Villanova 16 – 2   .889 35 – 5   .875
No. 9 Xavier 14 – 4   .778 28 – 5   .848
No. 20 Seton Hall † 12 – 6   .667 25 – 9   .735
Providence 10 – 8   .556 24 – 11   .686
Butler 10 – 8   .556 22 – 11   .667
Creighton 9 – 9   .500 20 – 15   .571
Marquette 8 – 10   .444 20 – 13   .606
Georgetown 7 – 11   .389 15 – 18   .455
DePaul 3 – 15   .167 9 – 22   .290
St. John's 1 – 17   .056 8 – 24   .250
† 2016 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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

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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

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Darrun Hilliard 4 G 6'6" 215 Senior Bethlehem, PA Graduated/2015 NBA draft
Dylan Ennis 52 G 6'2" 192 Junior Brampton, Ontario Graduated/Transferred to Oregon
JayVaughn Pinkston 22 F 6'7" 235 RS Senior Brooklyn, NY Graduated

Incoming transfers

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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

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Jalen Brunson at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Omari Spellman
PF 		Malvern, PA The MacDuffie School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 272 lb (123 kg) Feb 20, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Dylan Painter
C 		Hershey, PA The MacDuffie School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sep 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
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:

Roster

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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

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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

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Station Play–by–play Color analyst Studio host
WTEL–AM 610 and Villanova IMG Sports Network Ryan Fannon Whitey Rigsby Joe Weil

Rankings

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See also: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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 movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP11118891217161164631 (32)1 (44)1 (45)336Not released
Coaches98т9761317161374641 (11)1 (25)1 (25)2261 (30)

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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  1. ^ Gasaway, John (May 5, 2016). "Best Offensive Performances". ESPN.
  2. ^ Winn, Luke (April 14, 2016). "The Five Most Dominant Tournament Runs of the Analyics Era". SI.com.
  3. ^ "No. 11 Villanova beats Fairleigh Dickinson 91-54". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  4. ^ 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]
  5. ^ Beaton, Andrew (February 8, 2016). "Villanova Ranked No. 1 for First Time in AP Poll". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
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