1987–88 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 1987–88 season. The head coach was Rollie Massimino. The team played its home games at The Pavilion in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Big East Conference.

1987–88 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	24–13 (9–7 Big East)
Head coach	Rollie Massimino (15th season)
Assistant coach	Jay Wright (1st season)
Home arena	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (Capacity: 6,500)

1987–88 Big East men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Pittsburgh	12	–	4		.750			24	–	7		.774
No. 9 Syracuse†	11	–	5		.688			26	–	9		.743
Georgetown	9	–	7		.563			20	–	10		.667
Villanova	9	–	7		.563			24	–	13		.649
St. John's	8	–	8		.500			17	–	12		.586
Seton Hall	8	–	8		.500			22	–	13		.629
Boston College	6	–	10		.375			18	–	15		.545
Providence	5	–	11		.313			11	–	17		.393
Connecticut	4	–	12		.250			20	–	14		.588
† 1988 Big East tournament winner As of April 4, 1988 Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1987–88 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 34 Barry Bekkedam 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) — So G 4 Greg Downs — — Fr G 10 Pat Enright 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — Jr C 33 Tom Greis 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) — So G 44 Eric Leslie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — So G 21 Chris Masotti 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Fr G 22 Gary Massey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr G 32 Tim Muller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr F 31 Mark Plansky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr F 35 Rodney Taylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — So G 12 Rob Tribuiani — — Fr G 42 Doug West 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr G 3 Kenny Wilson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) — Jr	Head coach Rollie Massimino (Vermont) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 27, 1987*		vs. Nebraska Hawaiian Airlines Maui Classic Quarterfinal	W 70–53	1–0	Lahania Civic Center (1,200) Lahaina, Hawaii
November 28, 1987*		vs. Illinois Hawaiian Airlines Maui Classic Semifinal	W 78–76	2–0	Lahania Civic Center (1,200) Lahaina, Hawaii
November 29, 1987*		vs. No. 11 Iowa Hawaiian Airlines Maui Classic Championship	L 74–97	2–1	Lahania Civic Center (3,200) Lahaina, Hawaii
December 2, 1987*  PRISM		Penn Big 5	W 84–55	3–1	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,222) Villanova, Pennsylvania
December 6, 1987*		California	W 65–50	4–1	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference regular season
December 8, 1987  Big East TV		Connecticut	W 63–61	5–1 (1–0)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
Non-conference regular season
December 12, 1987*  PRISM		St. Joseph's Big 5	L 52–53	5–2	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
December 18, 1987*  PRISM		at La Salle Big 5/Jostens Philadelphia Classic Semifinal	W 83–80	6–2	The Palestra (8,144) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 19, 1987*		vs. Wake Forest Jostens Philadelphia Classic Championship	W 83–70	7–2	The Palestra (5,114) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 29, 1987*		vs. Auburn Cotton State Kiwanis Classic Semifinal	L 64–65	7–3	The Omni (11,033) Atlanta, Georgia
December 30, 1987*		vs. William & Mary Cotton State Kiwanis Classic Consolation	W 76–57	8–3	The Omni (13,111) Atlanta, Georgia
January 2, 1988*		Virginia	W 63–54	9–3	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference regular season
January 4, 1988  ESPN		at St. John's	W 69–62	10–3 (2–0)	Alumni Hall (6,008) Jamaica, New York
January 9, 1988  Big East TV		Boston College	W 66–54	11–3 (3–0)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
January 11, 1988  ESPN		No. 7 Syracuse	W 80–78	12–3 (4–0)	The Spectrum (16,284) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 16, 1988  Big East TV		at No. 6 Pittsburgh	L 73–85	12–4 (4–1)	Fitzgerald Field House (6,798) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
January 20, 1988  Big East TV		at Connecticut	W 69–58	13–4 (5–1)	Hartford Civic Center (13,077) Hartford, Connecticut
January 23, 1988  Big East TV		Seton Hall	W 69–63	14–4 (6–1)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
January 27, 1988  ESPN	No. 19	St. John's	L 55–60	14–5 (6–2)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
January 30, 1988  Big East TV		Providence	L 76–82	14–6 (6–3)	Providence Civic Center (13,041) Providence, Rhode Island
February 1, 1988  ESPN		No. 15 Georgetown	W 64–58	15–6 (7–3)	The Spectrum (18,059) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 6, 1988  Big East TV		at Boston College	W 66–54	16–6 (8–3)	Boston Garden (7,427) Boston, Massachusetts
Non-conference regular season
February 10, 1988*  PRISM	No. 20	at No. 1 Temple Big 5	L 86–98	16–7	McGonigle Hall (4,500) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference regular season
February 13, 1988  Big East TV	No. 20	No. 5 Pittsburgh	L 75–87	16–8 (8–4)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
February 15, 1988  ESPN		at Georgetown	L 54–56	16–9 (6–5)	Capital Centre (11,816) Landover, Maryland
February 20, 1988  Big East TV		Providence	W 96–68	17–9 (9–5)	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
Non-conference regular season
February 22, 1988*		Drexel City 6	W 90–73	18–9	John Eleuthère du Pont Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference regular season
February 27, 1988  Big East TV		at Seton Hall	L 58–84	18–10 (9–6)	Meadowlands Arena (13,101) East Rutherford, New Jersey
March 1, 1988  Big East TV		at No. 12 Syracuse	L 69–71	18–11 (9–7)	Carrier Dome (30,139) Syracuse, New York
Non-conference regular season
March 3, 1988*		at Vermont	W 92–62	19–11	Patrick Gym (1,893) Burlington, Vermont
Big East tournament
March 11, 1988*  Big East TV	(4)	vs. (5) St. John's Big East tournament Quarterfinal	W 71–68	20–11	Madison Square Garden (19,591) New York City, New York
March 12, 1988*  Big East TV	(4)	vs. (1) No. 5 Pittsburgh Big East tournament Semifinal	W 72–69	21–11	Madison Square Garden (19,591) New York City, New York
March 13, 1988*  CBS	(4)	vs. (2) No. 13 Syracuse Big East tournament championship	L 68–85	21–12	Madison Square Garden (19,591) New York City, New York
NCAA tournament
March 18, 1988*  ESPN NCAA Productions	(6 SE)	vs. (11 SE) Arkansas NCAA tournament first round	W 82–74	22–12	Riverfront Coliseum (16,562) Cincinnati, Ohio
March 20, 1988*  CBS	(6 SE)	vs. (3 SE) No. 16 Illinois NCAA tournament second round	W 66–63	23–12	Riverfront Coliseum (16,562) Cincinnati, Ohio
March 24, 1988*  CBS	(6 SE)	vs. (2 SE) No. 6 Kentucky NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen	W 80–74	24–12	BJCC Coliseum (16,816) Birmingham, Alabama
March 26, 1988*  CBS	(6 SE)	vs. (1 SE) No. 4 Oklahoma NCAA Tournament Elite Eight	L 59–78	24–13	BJCC Coliseum (16,816) Birmingham, Alabama
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast.

Awards and honors

• Doug West, 2nd Team All-Big East
• Doug West, 1st Team All-Big East tournament
• Doug West, NCAA Tournament All-Southeast Region
• Mark Plansky, 3rd Team All-Big East
• Mark Plansky, 1st Team All-Big East tournament
• Tom Greis, 3rd Team All-Big East
• Kenny Wilson, NCAA Tournament All-Southeast Region
• Gary Massey, Big East Defensive Player of the Year

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1989	2	38	Doug West	Minnesota Timberwolves