The 2019–20 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 19th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 24–7, 13–5 in Big East play which put them in a three-way tie for first place. As the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament, they were slated to play DePaul in the quarterfinals, but the Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the NCAA postseason. The team officially finished ninth in the Coaches Poll and tenth in the AP Poll, which served as de facto selectors during the season.
Previous season The Wildcats finished the 2018–19 season 26–10, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in first place. They defeated Providence, Xavier, and Seton Hall 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 losing to Purdue in the Second Round.
Awards & Accomplishments
Big East Co-Regular Season Champion
Philadelphia Big 5 Champion
Saddiq Bey
NCAA AP Honorable Mention
Julius Erving Award
All-Big East First Team
Robert V. Geasey Trophy
All-Big 5 First Team
Collin Gillespie
All-Big East Second Team
All-Big 5 First Team
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Big East Freshman of the Year
Big East All-Freshman Team
Big 5 Freshman of the Year
All-Big 5 Second Team
Jermaine Samuels
All-Big 5 Second Team
Nova Hoops Mania Dunk Contest Champion
Justin Moore
Big East All-Freshman Team
Cole Swider
Nova Hoops Mania 3-Point Contest Champion
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown NotesJahvon Quinerly1G6'1"175Hackensack, NJTransferred to AlabamaEric Paschall4F6'8"255Dobbs Ferry, NYGraduatedPhil Booth 5G6´3¨194Baltimore, MD GraduatedPeyton Heck22G5'11"175Wilmington, DEGraduatedJoe Cremo24G6'4"191Scotia, NYGraduatedDylan Painter42G6'10"225Hershey, PATransferred to Delaware
2019 recruiting class
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Caleb Daniels 14 G 6'4" 205 New Orleans, LA Transferred from Tulane. Under NCAA transfer rules, Daniels will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=|Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=|Regular season
!colspan=9 style=|Big East tournament
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
References