The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 17th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

as members of the

Big East Conference 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 ...

. The Wildcats finished the season 36–4, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette,

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, and Providence to win the Big East tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East region, their third No.1 seed in four years. They defeated Radford,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four for the second time in three years. In the National Semifinal, they defeated

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

before defeating

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the National Championship game to win their second national championship in three years. They won every game of the tournament by a double-digit margin and the team's tournament run is widely considered the most dominant ever along with being called among the best seasons of all time. The Wildcats' home court, The Pavilion, underwent a temporary closure for a $60 million renovation project during the season. It reopened for the 2018–19 season with the new name of Finneran Pavilion after a Villanova alum who donated $22.6 million to Villanova. Accordingly, all home games for the 2017–18 season but one were played at the Wells Fargo Center. The exception was the November 29, 2017 game with Big 5 rival Penn; it was instead held at Jake Nevin Field House, which had been home to the team before the Pavilion's initial 1986 opening.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 32–4, 15–3 in Big East play to win the regular season championship. In the Big East tournament, they defeated St. John's,

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

, and Creighton to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats were given the Tournament's overall No. 1 seed as a No. 1 seed in the East region. In the First Round they defeated Mount St. Mary's before being upset by No. 8-seeded

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the Second Round. The loss marked the second time in the previous three tournaments that Villanova was upset by an eighth-seeded team.

Offseason

Departures

2017 recruiting class

Future recruits

2018 recruiting class

Preseason

In its annual preseason preview, Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked the Wildcats No. 12 in the country. Jalen Brunson was named a third team preseason All-American. Villanova was picked to win the Big East in the conference's preseason Coaches' Poll for the fourth consecutive year. Jalen Brunson was named the unanimous preseason All-Big East player of the year.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big East tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

^Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time AP did.
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Gallery

File:Villanova Parade 2018 01.jpg, Crowd at parade File:Villanova Parade 2018 11.jpg, Bus with Championship Trophy File:Villanova Parade 2018 07.jpg, Players with trophy File:Villanova Parade 2018 06.jpg, Players on bus File:Villanova Parade 2018 04.jpg, Eric Paschall, Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman, Collin Gillespie, and Jalen Brunson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team Villanova Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons Villanova Villanova Villanova NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons