Villanova Wildcats
Big East (25-9, 13-5)
Coming off their second National Championship in the last three years, the expectations were high for Villanova heading into the 2018-2019 campaign. The Wildcats have struggled at times though. They lost non-conference games to Furman and Penn and had a tough stretch of games in February, losing four out of five contests. They put an end to that losing run with a win over Marquette though and proved that they can be just as dangerous as they have been the last few years.
Big Wins: 11/25 vs Florida State (66-60), 12/5 Temple (69-59), 2/27 Marquette (67-61)
Bad Losses: 11/17 Furman (68-76), 12/11 at Penn (75-78), 2/24 at Xavier (54-66)
Coach: Jay Wright
Why They Can Surprise:
Seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are the leaders of the 2018-2019 version of the Wildcats. Booth leads the team with 18.6 points and 3.8 assists per game, while Paschall, a 6-9 forward, adds 16.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. Paschall is a dangerous outside shooter for a player of his size and this is a Villanova team loaded with shooters. After Booth and Paschall, Coach Jay Wright has Collin Gillespie, Saddiq Bey and Joe Cremo, who can all knock down three-pointers.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The problem with all of those shooters is that none of them have been particularly consistent. Villanova has shot themselves into two national championships, but this group is hitting just 35.5 percent of their attempts from long range. Last year they hit 40.1 percent of their attempts. For a team that will continue to shoot whether they are going in or not, it will take just one bad day to send the Wildcats home. And those bad days have been much more prevalent this season than it has been over the last few years.
Probable Starters:
Phil Booth, Senior, Guard, 18.6 ppg, 3.8 apg
Collin Gillespie, Sophomore, Guard, 11.1 ppg, 2.8 apg
Saddiq Bey, Freshman, Forward, 8.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Jermaine Samuels, Sophomore, Forward, 6.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Eric Paschall, Senior, Forward, 16.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Key Role Players:
Joe Cremo, Senior, Guard, 4.3 ppg, 1.3 apg
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Sophomore, Forward, 5.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.6 (120th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.1 (61, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (185, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.5 (170, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 10.7 (11, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.5 (119, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.7 (102, 4)
Rebound Margin: 2.4 (104, 5)
Assists Per Game: 14.2 (115, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.1 (38, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Radford |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Alabama |
| 2018 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over West Virginia |
| 2018 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Texas Tech |
| 2018 | NCAA | National Semifinal win over Kansas |
| 2018 | NCAA | National Final win over Michigan |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Mount St. Mary's |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Wisconsin |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over UNC Asheville |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Iowa |
| 2016 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Miami (FL) |
| 2016 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Kansas |
| 2016 | NCAA | National Semifinal win over Oklahoma |
| 2016 | NCAA | National Final win over North Carolina |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Lafayette |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to North Carolina State |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Milwaukee |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Connecticut |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to North Carolina |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to George Mason |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Robert Morris |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to St. Mary's |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over American University |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over UCLA |
| 2009 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Duke |
| 2009 | NCAA | Regional Final win over Pittsburgh |
| 2009 | NCAA | National Semifinal loss to North Carolina |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Clemson |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Siena |
| 2008 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Kansas |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Kentucky |
*all team stats through 3/10
