The 2018–19 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

2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...

. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 18th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the

Philadelphia 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 ...

suburb of

Villanova, Pennsylvania Villanova is census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Philadelphia, the community straddles the border of Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the cen ...

and

Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: * Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California * Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo C ...

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 ...

. They finished the season 26–10, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in first place. They defeated Providence, Xavier, and

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 ...

to win the Big East tournament. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. There they defeated Saint Mary's before being defeated by

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in the Second Round.

Previous season

The

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

finished the 2017–18 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 Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

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 has been called among the most dominant ever.

Offseason

Coaching changes

Following the season, longtime assistant coach Ashley Howard left the Wildcats to become the head coach at La Salle.

Departures

Incoming transfers

2018 recruiting class

2019 Recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team Villanova Villanova Wildcats men's basketball seasons Villanova Villanova Villanova