2014–15 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

2014–15 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Big East tournament champions
Big East regular season champions
Philadelphia Big 5 champions
Legends Classic champions
NCAA tournament, round of 32
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 2
Record33–3 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThe Pavilion
Wells Fargo Center (6 Games)
Seasons
2014–15 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Villanova † 16 – 2   .889 33 – 3   .917
No. 22 Georgetown 12 – 6   .667 22 – 11   .667
No. 24 Butler 12 – 6   .667 23 – 11   .676
Providence 11 – 7   .611 22 – 12   .647
St. John's 10 – 8   .556 21 – 12   .636
Xavier 9 – 9   .500 23 – 14   .622
DePaul 6 – 12   .333 12 – 20   .375
Seton Hall 6 – 12   .333 16 – 15   .516
Marquette 4 – 14   .222 13 – 19   .406
Creighton 4 – 14   .222 14 – 19   .424
† 2015 Big East tournament winner
As of April 6, 2015
Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 14th season, the Wildcats participated as members of the Big East Conference and played their home games at The Pavilion, with some select home games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They finished the season 33–3, 16–2 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season championship. They defeated Marquette, Providence, and Xavier to win the Big East tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East Region. They defeated Lafayette in the Second Round before being upset in the Third Round by NC State. The Wildcats set a single-season school record for wins with 33.

Previous season

The 2013–14 Villanova Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 29–5, with a record of 16–2 in the Big East regular season to capture their Big East regular season title. In the 2014 Big East tournament, the Wildcats were upset by Seton Hall, 64–63 in the quarterfinals. They were invited to the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which they defeated Milwaukee in the second round before getting eliminated by eventual NCAA Tournament Champion Connecticut in the third round.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Tony Chennault 5 G 6'2" 195 Senior Philadelphia, PA Graduated
Nick McMahon 12 G 6'0" 165 Senior Colts Neck, NJ Graduated
James Bell 32 G 6'6" 220 Senior Orlando, FL Graduated

Incoming recruits

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Mikal Bridges
SF 		Malvern, PA Great Valley High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 25, 2013 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Phil Booth
PG 		Baltimore, MD Mount St. Joseph High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jul 30, 2013 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 81
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:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 26, 2014.

Roster

2014–15 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) Jr New York, New York
F 2 Kris Jenkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Upper Marlboro, Maryland
G 3 Josh Hart 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Washington, D.C.
G 4 Darrun Hilliard 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
G 5 Phil Booth 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Baltimore, Maryland
F 14 Darryl Reynolds 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 15 Ryan Arcidiacono 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Langhorne, Pennsylvania
F 20 Patrick Farrell (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Rockville Centre, New York
F 22 JayVaughn Pinkston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Brooklyn, New York
F 23 Daniel Ochefu 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Lagos, Nigeria
G/F 25 Mikal Bridges (RS) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Fr Malvern, Pennsylvania
G 31 Dylan Ennis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS Jr Brampton, Ontario
F 52 Kevin Rafferty (W) 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
11/04/2014*
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 12 Northwood W 93–50 
The Pavilion (6,500[1])
Villanova, PA
11/09/2014*
12:00 pm 		No. 12 Nyack W 82–45 
Wells Fargo Center (4,529[2])
Philadelphia, PA
Non-conference regular season
11/14/2014*
8:00 pm, FS2 		No. 12 vs. Lehigh W 77–66  1–0
 PPL Center (8,751[3])
Allentown, PA
11/17/2014*
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 12 Maryland Eastern Shore
Legends Classic 		W 81–44  2–0
 The Pavilion (6,500[4])
Villanova, PA
11/20/2014*
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 12 Bucknell
Legends Classic 		W 72–65  3–0
 The Pavilion (6,500[5])
Villanova, PA
11/24/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 12 vs. No. 14 VCU
Legends Classic semifinals 		W 77–53  4–0
 Barclays Center (8,465[6])
Brooklyn, NY
11/25/2014*
10:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 12 vs. No. 19 Michigan
Legends Classic Championship 		W 60–55  5–0
 Barclays Center (8,093[7])
Brooklyn, NY
11/30/2014*
4:30 pm, FS1 		No. 12 Delaware W 78–47  6–0
 Wells Fargo Center (11,289[8])
Philadelphia, PA
12/03/2014*
8:30 pm, CBSSN 		No. 10 at La Salle W 84–70  7–0
 Tom Gola Arena (3,400[9])
Philadelphia, PA
12/06/2014*
1:00 pm, FS1 		No. 10 Saint Joseph's W 74–46  8-0
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
12/09/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 7 vs. Illinois
Jimmy V Classic 		W 73–59  9–0
 Madison Square Garden (11,617)
New York, NY
12/14/2014*
2:00 pm, FS1 		No. 7 Temple W 82–65  10–0
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
12/20/2014*
1:00 pm, FOX 		No. 7 Syracuse W 82–77 OT 11–0
 Wells Fargo Center (18,369)
Philadelphia, PA
12/23/2014*
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 7 NJIT W 92–67  12–0
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
Big East Conference Play
12/31/2014
2:30 pm, FS1 		No. 6 Butler W 67–55  13–0 (1–0)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
01/03/2015
12:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 at Seton Hall L 61–66 OT 13–1 (1–1)
 Prudential Center (10,701)
Newark, NJ
01/06/2015
9:00 pm, FS1 		No. 8 at No. 24 St. John's W 90–72  14–1 (2–1)
 Madison Square Garden (8,565)
New York, NY
01/10/2015
4:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 8 DePaul W 81–64  15–1 (3–1)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
01/14/2015
9:00 pm, FS1 		No. 5 Xavier W 88–75  16–1 (4–1)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
01/17/2015*
7:00 pm 		No. 5 at Penn W 62–47  17–1
 Palestra (8,722)
Philadelphia, PA
01/19/2015
9:00 pm, FS1 		No. 4 at Georgetown L 58–78  17–2 (4–2)
 Verizon Center (13,872)
Washington, D.C.
01/25/2015
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 4 Creighton W 71–50  18–2 (5–2)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
01/31/2015
2:00 pm, FS1 		No. 7 at DePaul W 68–55  19–2 (6–2)
 Allstate Arena (7,532)
Rosemont, IL
02/04/2015
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 7 Marquette W 70–52  20–2 (7–2)
 Wells Fargo Center (13,313)
Philadelphia, PA
02/07/2015
2:00 pm, FOX 		No. 7 No. 24 Georgetown W 69–53  21–2 (8–2)
 Wells Fargo Center (20,587)
Philadelphia, PA
02/11/2015
8:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 at Providence W 74–68  22–2 (9–2)
 Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410)
Providence, RI
02/14/2015
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 at No. 18 Butler W 68–65  23–2 (10–2)
 Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,231)
Indianapolis, IN
02/16/2015
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 Seton Hall W 80–54  24–2 (11–2)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
02/21/2015
2:00 pm, FOX 		No. 6 at Marquette W 87–76  25–2 (12–2)
 BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,961)
Milwaukee, WI
02/24/2015
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 6 No. 25 Providence W 89–61  26–2 (13–2)
 The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
02/28/2015
2:00 pm, FOX 		No. 6 at Xavier W 78–66  27–2 (14–2)
 Cintas Center (10,250)
Cincinnati, OH
03/03/2015
9:15 pm, FS1 		No. 4 at Creighton W 76–72  28–2 (15–2)
 CenturyLink Center (16,337)
Omaha, NE
03/07/2015
12:00 noon, FOX/FS1 		No. 4 St. John's W 105–68  29–2 (16–2)
 Wells Fargo Center (19,161)
Philadelphia, PA
Big East tournament
03/12/2015
12:00 noon, FS1 		No. 4 vs. Marquette
Quarterfinals 		W 84–49  30–2
 Madison Square Garden (15,197)
New York, NY
03/13/2015
7:00 pm, FS1 		No. 4 vs. Providence
Semifinals 		W 63–61  31–2
 Madison Square Garden (15,194)
New York, NY
03/14/2015
8:00 pm, FS1 		No. 4 vs. Xavier
Championship game 		W 69–52  32–2
 Madison Square Garden (13,471)
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
3/19/2015*
6:50 pm, TBS 		No. 2 (1 E) vs. (16 E) Lafayette
Second round 		W 93–52  33–2
 Consol Energy Center (16,170)
Pittsburgh, PA
3/21/2015*
7:10 pm, TBS 		No. 2 (1 E) vs. (8 E) NC State
Third round 		L 68–71  33–3
 Consol Energy Center (18,762)
Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region E=East.

Rankings

See also: 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP12121210777685477666442Not released
Coaches12121197775854776664329

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ "MBB vs. Northwood box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  2. ^ "MBB vs. Nyak box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "MBB vs. Lehigh box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "MBB vs. Maryland Eastern Shore box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  5. ^ "MBB vs. Bucknell box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "MBB vs. VCU box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  7. ^ "MBB vs. Michigan box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  8. ^ "MBB vs. Delaware box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  9. ^ "MBB vs. La Salle box score". villanova.com. Villanova University. Retrieved December 5, 2014.