1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University during the 1981–82 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 Big East Conference. The team won the regular season Big East title and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina. Villanova finished with a 22–8 record (11–3 Big East).

1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Big East Regular season champions
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	22–8 (11–3 Big East)
Head coach	Rollie Massimino (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Mitch Buonaguro (5th season) Marty Marbach (3rd season) Harry Booth
Home arena	Villanova Field House

1981–82 Big East men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Villanova	11	–	3		.786			24	–	8		.750
No. 6 Georgetown†	10	–	4		.714			30	–	7		.811
St. John's	9	–	5		.643			21	–	9		.700
Boston College	8	–	6		.571			22	–	10		.688
Syracuse	7	–	7		.500			16	–	13		.552
Connecticut	7	–	7		.500			17	–	11		.607
Providence	2	–	12		.143			10	–	17		.370
Seton Hall	2	–	12		.143			11	–	16		.407
† 1982 Big East tournament winner As of March 29, 1982 Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Stewart Granger 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Brooklyn, New York G 20 Brian Harrington 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Pound Ridge, New York G/F 33 Dwayne McClain 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Worcester, Massachusetts G 22 Gary McLain 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Hempstead, New York F/C 54 Ed Pinckney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Bronx, New York F 45 John Pinone 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Hartford, Connecticut F 25 Steve Pinone 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Wethersfield, Connecticut G 14 Jeff Sherry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Macungie, Pennsylvania	Head coach Rollie Massimino (Vermont) Assistant coach(es) Mitch Buonaguro (Boston College) Marty Marbach (Saint Francis (PA)) Harry Booth (Saint Joseph's) 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 1, 1981*		at St. Francis (NY)	W 93–63	1–0	Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (2,000) Brooklyn, New York
Dec 4, 1981		vs. Boston College	W 97–75	2–0 (1–0)
Dec 8, 1981		Providence	W 65–54	3–0 (2–0)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Dec 12, 1981*		at Penn	W 75–61	4–0	The Palestra  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 14, 1981*		at Towson State	W 85–55	5–0	Towson Center  Towson, Maryland
Dec 19, 1981*	No. 18	vs. Temple	L 48–52	5–1
Dec 28, 1981*	No. 20	vs. No. 11 Indiana ECAC Holiday Festival	W 63–59	6–1	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 29, 1981*	No. 19	vs. St. John's ECAC Holiday Festival	L 89–94	6–2	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Jan 6, 1982		Boston College	W 54–53	7–2 (3–0)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Jan 9, 1982		Syracuse	W 84–83	8–2 (4–0)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Jan 11, 1982		St. John's	W 64–62	9–2 (5–0)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Jan 16, 1982		at Seton Hall	W 71–70	10–2 (6–0)	Brendan Byrne Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Jan 19, 1982*		at Notre Dame	W 48–46	11–2	Joyce Center  Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 23, 1982		at Connecticut	L 51–53	11–3 (6–1)	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Jan 25, 1982		at Georgetown	L 56–72	11–4 (6–2)	Capital Centre  Washington, D.C.
Jan 27, 1982*		vs. La Salle	W 117–82	12–4
Jan 31, 1982*		vs. Saint Joseph's	L 64–84	12–5
Feb 3, 1982		Georgetown	L 72–83	12–6 (6–3)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 6, 1982*		Maine	W 81–65	13–6	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 10, 1982		Seton Hall	W 66–53	14–6 (7–3)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 13, 1982		at St. John's	W 73–68	15–6 (8–3)	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Feb 17, 1982		at Syracuse	W 81–69	16–6 (9–3)	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Feb 24, 1982		Connecticut	W 67–63	17–6 (10–3)	Villanova Field House  Villanova, Pennsylvania
Feb 27, 1982		at Providence	W 54–53	18–6 (11–3)	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Big East tournament
Mar 5, 1982*		vs. Seton Hall Quarterfinals	W 88–73	19–6	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 6, 1982*		vs. Boston College Semifinals	W 74–71	20–6	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 7, 1982*		vs. No. 8 Georgetown Championship Game	L 54–72	20–7	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1982*	(3 E)	vs. (11 E) Northeastern	W 76–72 3OT	21–7	Nassau Coliseum
Mar 19, 1982*	(3 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 9 Memphis State East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 70–66 OT	22–7	Reynolds Coliseum  Raleigh, North Carolina
Mar 21, 1982*	(3 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina East Regional final – Elite Eight	L 60–70	22–8	Reynolds Coliseum  Raleigh, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Awards and honors

• John Pinone – Robert V. Geasey Trophy (2x)