The

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and women's rowing where they compete in the Coastal Athletic Association (Football Champions ...

entered the 2007–08 season with much uncertainty, after losing star

Curtis Sumpter Curtis Sumpter (born January 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Delaware 87ers of the NBA G League. A 6'7" forward from Brooklyn, New York, Sumpter was named to the All-Big East ...

, guard Mike Nardi, and center Will Sheridan to graduation. The departure of three experienced starters left the Wildcats a young team with no seniors. Villanova replaced those starters with three freshmen: Parade All-American

Corey Fisher Anthony Guy Corey Fisher (born April 8, 1988) is an American-Georgian professional basketball player who last played for Vichy-Clermont of the LNB Pro B. A point guard, he attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Fisher decided on Villano ...

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

Corey Stokes, and

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

. Returning players included

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

Scottie Reynolds Scottie Reynolds (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with t ...

and juniors Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham. The team also featured Antonio Pena and Andrew Ott, both returning from

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman years. The 2007–08 schedule included 18

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

contests, a trip to

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

for the Old Spice Classic, a home game against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in the Big East/SEC Invitational, four games against Big Five rivals, and home games against Stony Brook, Bucknell,

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and Columbia. Villanova finished the regular season with a record of 19–11 overall and 9–9 in the Big East. The Wildcats received a #12 seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament in which they defeated the #5 seed

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

and the #13 seed

Siena Saints The Siena Saints (formerly the Siena Indians) are composed of 21 teams representing Siena College in collegiate sports. The Saints compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Ath ...

. They reached the Sweet Sixteen before they were defeated by #1 seed Kansas 72–57 on March 28, 2008. This was the third time in 4 years that Villanova was eliminated from the tournament by the eventual champion. In 2005, Villanova reached the Sweet 16 before being defeated by eventual tournament champion North Carolina. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Villanova reached the Sweet Sixteen before being defeated by eventual champion Kansas. The team finished with a 22–13 record, and 10–10 record in the Big East.

Class of 2007

Villanova Class of 2007 – ESPN
/ref> , - , colspan="7" style="padding-left:10px;" , Overall Recruiting Rankings:

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

– 20

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

– 12

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–

Roster

Coaching staff

Jay Wright – Head Coach Brett Gunning – Associate Head Coach Patrick Chambers – Assistant Coach

Doug West Jeffery Douglas West (born May 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A swingman from Villanova University, West was sel ...

– Assistant Coach

Schedule

Game summaries

Villanova 64-Pittsburgh 63, Villanova, PA, January 6, 2008 Two free throws by Dante Cunningham with 10.3 seconds remaining lifted the number 17 Villanova Wildcats over the number 13 Pitt Panthers. Freshman Malcolm Grant came off the bench to score a career-high 22, and Antonio Pena added twelve points and three steals. DePaul 81-Villanova 76, Chicago, IL, January 3, 2008 Villanova dropped the first game of the Big East season to DePaul, 81–76.

scored 23 for the 17th-ranked Wildcats. Dante Cunningham added 14 points and seven rebounds. Villanova 71-La Salle 58, Villanova, PA, December 29, 2007 18th-Ranked Villanova won its 14th consecutive Big Five game with a 71–58 victory of La Salle.

led the Wildcats with 19 points, and freshman

contributed with 18 points and five assists. The win lifts Villanova's Big Five record to 3–0. Villanova 72-Columbia 56, Villanova, PA, December 22, 2007 20th-Ranked Villanova defeated Columbia 72–56 at Villanova. Shane Clark led the Wildcats with 15 points.

added 14, and Dante Cunningham registered nine points and twelve rebounds. Villanova 103-Hartford 75, Villanova, PA, December 14, 2007 Villanova scored over 100 points in two consecutive games for the second time in school history as the Wildcats defeated Hartford 103–75. Five Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Scottie Reynolds' 21. Dante Cunningham contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds, and

scored 18, including four 3-pointers. Villanova 101-Temple 93, Philadelphia, PA, December 9, 2007 Villanova set a Big Five record with its 13th consecutive Big Five victory, a 101–93 win over

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. The Wildcats were led by sophomore

, who posted 27 points and nine assists. Freshman Antonio Pena scored a career-high 17 points. Villanova's 101 points is the most ever allowed by Temple at the

Liacouras Center The Liacouras Center is a 10,206-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "''The Apollo of Temple''". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 mil ...

. Villanova 68-LSU 67, Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2007 Villanova's first lead came in the game's final seconds as the Wildcats scored an improbable come-from-behind victory against the LSU Tigers. Led by freshman Malcolm Grant, who scored 13 points in the final three minutes of the game, the Wildcats overcame a 21-point deficit in the Big East/SEC Challenge. Grant finished with 18 points, and Dante Cunningham contributed 13 for Villanova, including the winning basket with 5.9 seconds remaining. The Wildcats' comeback came after LSU's Anthony Randolph fouled out with four minutes remaining. Villanova 87-Pennsylvania 61, Villanova, PA, December 1, 2007 The Wildcats tied a record with their 12th consecutive Big 5 victory, an 87–61 win over Penn.

led Villanova with 21 points,

added 13, and Antonio Pena contributed with 12 points. North Carolina State 69-Villanova 68, Orlando, FL, November 25, 2007 Villanova suffered its first defeat of the season, as

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

won the championship of the Old Spice Classic 68–68. Gavin Grant sealed the victory for N.C. State as he sunk two of three free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining following a controversial foul call. Villanova's Dante Cunningham tipped in a missed shot with 2.2 seconds remaining to bring Villanova to a one-point lead. Grant, receiving the long inbounds pass at the three-point line, launched a shot. Referee Jim Burr ruled that Cunningham hit Grant on the left arm, resulting in three free throws. Villanova's effort was marked by poor free throw shooting, and only two successful three-point attempts. Freshman

scored 21 points, and sophomore

contributed 13. Cassiem Drummond grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Villanova 84-George Mason 76, Orlando, FL, November 23, 2007 20th Ranked Villaova, led by Scottie Reynolds' 21 points, defeated

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

84–76 in the semi-final round of the Old Spice Classic. Malcolm Grant and Shane Clark each added 13 points, and Clark grabbed ten rebounds in the victory. The Wildcats will face N.C. State in the championship game. Villanova 76-UCF 68, Orlando, FL, November 22, 2007

led Villanova with 19 points, and freshman

scored 18 in his second collegiate game as Villanova topped UCF 76–68 on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

night in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic. Sophomore Reggie Redding added 14 points for the 20th ranked Wildcats. Villanova's win sets up a second-round matchup with

, which upset 18th ranked

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

. This game marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Villanova 70-Bucknell 64, Villanova, PA, November 18, 2007 Shane Clark posted 17 points and 12 rebounds, as number 24 Villanova held off Bucknell.

added 15 points, and

Reggie Redding had a career-high 12 points. Villanova 86-Stony Brook 64, Villanova, PA, November 9, 2007 Shane Clark scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Wildcats won their 40th consecutive home opener. Freshman Malcolm Grant scored 16 points, including four three-pointers, in his college debut. Dante Cunningham registered 14 points and six rebounds, and

added 13 points and six assists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons Villanova