1977–78 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

1977–78 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
1977–78 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
EAA Regular season champions; EAA Tournament champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Eastern Athletic Association
Record	23–9 (7–3 EAA)
Head coach	Rollie Massimino (5th season);
Assistant coach	Mitch Buonaguro (1st season)
Home arena	Villanova Field House
	Seasons ← 1976–77 1978–79 →

1977–78 Eastern 8 men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Rutgers	7	–	3	.700	24	–	7	.774
Villanova †	7	–	3	.700	23	–	9	.719
Pittsburgh	5	–	5	.500	16	–	11	.593
UMass	5	–	5	.500	15	–	12	.556
West
Duquesne	5	–	5	.500	11	–	17	.393
George Washington	4	–	6	.400	15	–	11	.577
Penn State	4	–	6	.400	8	–	19	.296
West Virginia	3	–	7	.300	12	–	16	.429

† 1978 Eastern 8 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977–78 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Rollie Massimino. The team played its home games at Villanova Field House in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Eastern Athletic Association (EAA). The team won the regular season EAA title and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to Duke.^[1] Villanova finished with a 23–9 record (7–3 Big East).

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	3	Rory Sparrow	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	So	Paterson, New Jersey
F	33	Keith Herron	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr	Washington, D.C.
F	44	Alex Bradley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Long Branch, New Jersey

Head coach

Rollie Massimino (Vermont)

Assistant coach(es)

Mitch Buonaguro (Boston College)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1977*		Merrimack	W 102–70	1–0	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Nov 30, 1977*		Philadelphia Textile	W 61–57	2–0	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Dec 3, 1977		at West Virginia	W 72–62	3–0 (1–0)	WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
Dec 6, 1977		at Rutgers	W 61–54	4–0 (2–0)	Rutgers Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey
Dec 10, 1977*		vs. Penn	W 69–68	5–0	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 13, 1977*		at Princeton	W 58–56	6–0	Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 22, 1977		Duquesne	W 86–70	7–0 (3–0)	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Dec 28, 1977*		vs. Washington Far West Classic	W 78–73	8–0	Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon
Dec 29, 1977*		at Oregon State Far West Classic	L 57–58 ^OT	8–1	Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon
Dec 30, 1977*		vs. Washington State Far West Classic	L 56–62	8–2	Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon
Jan 7, 1978*		Boston College	W 102–76	9–2	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 11, 1978		UMass	W 71–64	10–2 (4–0)	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 14, 1978*		vs. Temple	L 73–81	10–3	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 17, 1978*		Rider	W 76–60	11–3	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 19, 1978*		at No. 7 Notre Dame	L 69–70	11–4	Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 21, 1978		George Washington	W 90–83	12–4 (5–0)	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Jan 25, 1978		Penn State	W 98–76	13–4 (6–0)	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Jan 28, 1978*		at St. John's	L 64–65	13–5	Alumni Hall Queens, New York
Jan 31, 1978*		at No. 16 Providence	W 73–66	14–5	Providence Civic Center (10,229) Providence, Rhode Island
Feb 4, 1978		at George Washington	W 59–58	15–5 (7–0)	Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C.
Feb 8, 1978*		St. Bonaventure	W 91–76	16–5	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 11, 1978		at Pittsburgh	L 81–97	16–6 (7–1)	Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 1978		at UMass	L 72–87	16–7 (7–2)	Curry Hicks Cage Amherst, Massachusetts
Feb 18, 1978*		at La Salle	W 82–79	17–7	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 22, 1978		Rutgers	L 78–81 ^OT	17–8 (7–3)	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 25, 1978*		vs. Saint Joseph's	W 72–64	18–8	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EAA tournament
Mar 2, 1978*	(2)	vs. (7) Penn State Quarterfinals	W 73–65	19–8	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 3, 1978*	(2)	at (3) Pittsburgh Semifinals	W 72–70	20–8	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 4, 1978*	(2)	vs. (8) West Virginia Championship game	W 63–59	21–8	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1978*	(E 2Q)	vs. (E 4L) La Salle First round	W 103–97	22–8	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 17, 1978*	(E 2Q)	vs. (E 1L) No. 13 Indiana East Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 61–60	23–8	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Mar 19, 1978*	(E 2Q)	vs. (E 1Q) No. 7 Duke East Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 72–90	23–9	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[2]^[3]

Rankings

^[4]

References

^ "Duke Routs Villanova In Eastern Final, 90-72". The New York Times. March 20, 1978. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ "1977-78 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ "2019–20 Villanova Men's Basketball Media Guide". Villanova University Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1] "Duke Routs Villanova In Eastern Final, 90-72". The New York Times. March 20, 1978. Retrieved August 5, 2023.

[2] "1977-78 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 5, 2023.

[3] "2019–20 Villanova Men's Basketball Media Guide". Villanova University Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2023.

[ESPN-4] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. pp. 846–847. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Jake Nevin Field House (1932–1986) William E. Finneran Pavilion (1986–2017, 2018–present) First Union Spectrum (alternate; 1967–2009) Wells Fargo Center (alternate; 1996–present)
Rivalries	Saint Joseph's
Culture & lore	Will D. Cat City 6 Philadelphia Big 5 Big 5 Classic Robert V. Geasey Trophy "V for Villanova"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics