1995–96 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

1995–96 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 10
Record26–7 (14–4 Big East)
Head coach
Home arenaThe Pavilion (Capacity: 6,500)
Seasons
1995–96 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Big East 6
No. 3 Connecticut† 17 – 1   .944 32 – 3   .914
No. 10 Villanova 14 – 4   .778 26 – 7   .788
Boston College 10 – 8   .556 19 – 11   .633
West Virginia 7 – 11   .389 12 – 15   .444
St. John's 5 – 13   .278 11 – 16   .407
Notre Dame 4 – 14   .222 9 – 18   .333
Big East 7
No. 4 Georgetown 13 – 5   .722 29 – 8   .784
No. 15 Syracuse 12 – 6   .667 29 – 9   .763
Providence 9 – 9   .500 18 – 12   .600
Miami 8 – 10   .444 15 – 13   .536
Seton Hall 7 – 11   .389 12 – 16   .429
Rutgers 6 – 12   .333 9 – 18   .333
Pittsburgh 5 – 13   .278 10 – 17   .370
† 1996 Big East tournament winner
As of April 1, 1996[1][2][3]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1995–96 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 1995–96 season. Led by consensus First team All-American Senior Kerry Kittles, who became and remains Villanova's all-time leading scorer, the highly ranked Wildcats made their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the departure of Rollie Massimino. With an overall record 24-5 and conference record of 14–4, the Wildcats placed second in the Big East Conference, and after reaching the semifinals of the Big East tournament, the team was invited to the NCAA tournament as a 3 seed. In the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats would gain their first tournament win under Fourth Year head coach Steve Lappas, over 14 seed Portland. In the round of 32, the Wildcats would prove to be competitive, but fall to 6 seed Louisville by four points.[4]

Roster

1995–96 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 13 John Celestand 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Piscataway, New Jersey
G 20 Alvin Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 30 Kerry Kittles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr New Orleans, Louisiana
C 42 Jason Lawson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 20, 1995*
 No. 3 vs. Wisconsin
Maui Invitational Tournament 		W 66–58  1–0
 Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Nov 21, 1995*
 No. 3 vs. Santa Clara
Maui Invitational Tournament 		W 77–65[5]  2–0
 Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Nov 22, 1995*
 No. 3 vs. No. 20 North Carolina
Maui Invitational Tournament 		W 77–75  3–0
 Lahaina Civic Center 
Lahaina, Hawaii
Nov 29, 1995*
 No. 3 Bradley W 70–63  4–0
 The Pavilion 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 2, 1995
 No. 3 St. John's W 83–68  5–0
(1–0) 		The Pavilion 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 5, 1995*
 No. 2 at Miami (FL) W 70–68  6–0
 Miami Arena 
Miami, Florida
Dec 9, 1995*
 No. 2 vs. Purdue
Wooden Classic 		W 67–50  7–0
 Honda Center 
Anaheim, California
Big East Tournament
Mar 7, 1996*
 No. 9 vs. Providence
Quarterfinals 		W 78–68  25–5
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Mar 8, 1996*
 No. 9 vs. No. 6 Georgetown
Semifinals 		L 76–84  25–6
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1996*
 (3 MW) No. 10 vs. (14 MW) Portland
First round 		W 92–58  26–6
 Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mar 17, 1996*
 (3 MW) No. 10 vs. (6 MW) No. 24 Louisville
Second round 		L 64–68  26–7
 Bradley Center 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

Tournament results

Big East tournament
First Round vs. (7) Providence @ Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - W, 78-68
Semifinals vs. (3) Georgetown @ Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - L, 76-84
NCAA Tournament
First Round vs. (14) Portland @ Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI - W, 92-58
Round of 32 vs. (6) Louisville @ Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI - L, 68-64

Team players in the 1996 NBA draft

See also: 1996 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 8 Kerry Kittles New Jersey Nets

[6]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1995-96 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
  3. ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
  4. ^ "Louisville's Wheat Helps Harvest Upset". The Los Angeles Times. March 18, 1996. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Santa Clara Tries, but Can't Get Past Villanova". The Los Angeles Times. November 22, 1995. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.