1979–80 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

1979–80 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
1979–80 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
EAA Regular season champions; EAA Tournament champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Second round
Conference	Eastern Athletic Association
Record	23–8 (7–3 EAA)
Head coach	Rollie Massimino (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Mitch Buonaguro (3rd season); Marty Marbach (1st season); Harry Booth;
Home arena	Villanova Field House
	Seasons ← 1978–79 1980–81 →

1979–80 Eastern 8 men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Villanova †	7	–	3	.700	23	–	8	.742
Duquesne	6	–	3	.667	18	–	10	.643
Rutgers	6	–	3	.667	14	–	14	.500
Pittsburgh	5	–	4	.556	17	–	12	.586
George Washington	5	–	5	.500	15	–	11	.577
St. Bonaventure	1	–	3	.250	16	–	11	.593
West Virginia	4	–	4	.500	15	–	14	.517
UMass	0	–	9	.000	2	–	24	.077

† 1980 Eastern 8 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979–80 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University during the 1979–80 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. The team won the regular season Big East title and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Syracuse. Villanova finished with a 23–8 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)	—	Sr	Paterson, New Jersey
G	10	Stewart Granger	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Brooklyn, New York
F	44	Alex Bradley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Long Branch, New Jersey
F	45	John Pinone	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Hartford, Connecticut
G	14	Jeff Sherry	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Macungie, Pennsylvania

Head coach

Rollie Massimino (Vermont)

Assistant coach(es)

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
Dec 10, 1979*		at Princeton	W 57–55	3–0	Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 28, 1979*		vs. Saint Francis (PA)	W 93–66	6–1	Rochester Community War Memorial Rochester, New York
Dec 29, 1979*		vs. No. 9 Syracuse	L 84–92	6–2	Rochester Community War Memorial Rochester, New York
EAA tournament
Feb 26, 1980*		UMass Quarterfinals	W 85–62	19–7	Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 27, 1980*		at Pittsburgh Semifinals	W 72–59	21–7	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 1, 1980*		vs. West Virginia Championship game	W 74–62	22–7	Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NCAA tournament
Mar 7, 1980*	(8 E)	vs. (9 E) Marquette First round	W 77–59	23–7	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
Mar 9, 1980*	(8 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 6 Syracuse Second round	L 83–97	23–8	Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

^[1]^[2]

Rankings

^[3]

References

^ "1979-80 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
^ "2019–20 Villanova Men's Basketball Media Guide". Villanova University Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 866–867. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1] "1979-80 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

[2] "2019–20 Villanova Men's Basketball Media Guide". Villanova University Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

[ESPN-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 866–867. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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 (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