1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University. 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 is famous for one of the biggest upsets in sports history – a 66–64 win over #1 Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament final on April 1, 1985.

1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record25–10 (9–7 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaVillanova Field House
Seasons
1984–85 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 St. John's 15 1   .938 31 4   .886
No. 1 Georgetown 14 2   .875 35 3   .921
No. 15 Syracuse 9 7   .563 22 9   .710
Villanova 9 7   .563 25 10   .714
Pittsburgh 8 8   .500 17 12   .586
Boston College 7 9   .438 20 11   .645
Connecticut 6 10   .375 13 15   .464
Providence 3 13   .188 11 20   .355
Seton Hall 1 15   .063 10 18   .357
1985 Big East tournament winner
As of April 1, 1985[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 50 Connally Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Orange, Texas
G 10 Veltra Dawson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Highland Park, Illinois
C 41 Chuck Everson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Brentwood, New York
G 20 Brian Harrington 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Pound Ridge, New York
G 32 Harold Jensen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Trumbull, Connecticut
C 43 Wyatt Maker 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Salinas, California
G 13 Roland Massimino 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Villanova, Pennsylvania
G/F 33 Dwayne McClain 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Worcester, Massachusetts
G 22 Gary McLain 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Hempstead, New York
F/C 54 Ed Pinckney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Bronx, New York
F 25 Steve Pinone 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Wethersfield, Connecticut
F 31 Mark Plansky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Wakefield, Massachusetts
F 21 Harold Pressley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Mystic, Connecticut
G 4 Dwight Wilbur 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Paterson, New Jersey
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

[2]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 24*
7:30 pm
at Vermont W 80–56  1–0
Patrick Gym 
Burlington, Vermont
November 28*
8 pm
at Marist W 56–51  2–0
McCann Field House 
Poughkeepsie, New York
December 1*
2:30 pm, PRISM
vs. Temple
Big 5
W 68–65  3–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 7*
9 pm
Monmouth W 77–62  4–0
Villanova Field House 
Villanova, Pennsylvania
December 15
7 pm
at Penn
Big 5
W 80–67  5–0
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 22*
2:30 pm, PRISM
at La Salle
Big 5
W 80–63  6–0
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 28*
9:30 pm
vs. BYU
Cotton State-Kiwanis Classic Semifinal
W 91–61  7-0
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
December 29*
9:30 pm
vs. Georgia
Cotton State-Kiwanis Classic Championship
L 68–75  7–1
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
Big East Conference Regular Season
January 2
8 pm, USA
No. 5 Syracuse W 82–70  8–1
(1–0)
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 5
8 pm
Connecticut W 70–59  9–1
(2–0)
Villanova Field House 
Villanova, Pennsylvania
January 7
8 pm, ESPN
TCS Metrosports
at No. 4 St. John's L 71–76  9–2
(2–1)
Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
January 12
2:30 pm, NBC
No. 16 No. 1 Georgetown L 50–52  9–3
(2–2)
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 15
8 pm, ESPN
No. 18 Boston College W 85–66  10–3
(3–2)
Villanova Field House 
Villanova, Pennsylvania
January 19
3 pm
No. 18 at Seton Hall W 86–74  11–3
(4–2)
Meadowlands Arena 
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Non-Conference Regular Season
January 21*
9:30 pm
No. 18 at Drexel
City 6
W 63–55  12–3
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference Regular Season
January 23
8 pm
No. 14 Providence W 65–57  13–3
(5–2)
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Non-Conference Regular Season
January 27*
12:30 pm, NBC
No. 14 at Maryland L 74–77  13–4
Cole Field House 
College Park, Maryland
Big East Conference Regular Season
January 29
7 pm, ESPN
No. 18 Pittsburgh W 70–63  14–4
(6–2)
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 1
8 pm, ESPN
No. 18 at No. 9 Syracuse L 79–92  14–5
(6–3)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
February 5
8 pm
No. 19 at Connecticut W 79–71  15–5
(7–3)
Hugh S. Greer Field House 
Storrs, Connecticut
February 9
2 pm, CBS
No. 19 No. 1 St. John's L 68–70  15–6
(7–4)
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 11
8 pm, ESPN
No. 19 at No. 2 Georgetown L 50–57  15–7
(7–5)
Capital Centre 
Landover, Maryland
February 16
12 pm, TCS MetroSports
No. 16 at Boston College L 61–62  15–8
(7–6)
Roberts Center 
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Non-Conference Regular Season
February 19*
9 pm
vs. St. Joseph's
Big 5
W 47–44  16–8
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Big East Conference Regular Season
February 23
8 pm
at Providence W 88–82  17–8
(8–6)
Providence Civic Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
February 27
8 pm
Seton Hall W 80–75  18–8
(9–6)
Villanova Field House 
Villanova, Pennsylvania
March 2
2 pm, CBS
at Pittsburgh L 62–85  18–9
(9–7)
Fitzgerald Field House 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Big East tournament
March 7*
9:30 pm, TCS MetroSports
(4) vs. (5) Pittsburgh
Big East tournament quarterfinal
W 69–61  19–9
Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
March 8*
9:30 pm, TCS MetroSports
(4) vs. (1) No. 2 St. John's
Big East tournament semifinal
L 74–89  19–10
Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
NCAA Tournament
March 15*
9:37 pm, ESPN
NCAA Productions
(8 SE) vs. (9 SE) Dayton
NCAA Southeast first round
W 51–49  20–10
University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
March 17*
12:20 pm, CBS
(8 SE) vs. (1 SE) No. 2 Michigan
NCAA Southeast Second Round
W 59–55  21–10
University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
March 22*
8:07 pm, ESPN
NCAA Productions
(8 SE) vs. (5 SE) Maryland
NCAA Southeast Regional semifinal
W 46–43  22–10
BJCC Coliseum 
Birmingham, Alabama
March 24*
1:58 pm, CBS
(8 SE) vs. (2 SE) No. 7 North Carolina
NCAA Southeast Regional Final
W 56–44  23–10
BJCC Coliseum 
Birmingham, Alabama
March 30*
3:42 pm, CBS
(8 SE) vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Memphis State
NCAA National semifinal
W 52–45  24–10
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
April 1*
9:12 pm, CBS
(8 SE) vs. (1 E) No. 1 Georgetown
NCAA national championship
W 66–64  25–10
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.

[3] [4] [5]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
1985 1 10 Ed Pinckney Phoenix Suns[6]
1985 2 27 Dwayne McClain Indiana Pacers[6]
1985 7 144 Gary McLain New Jersey Nets[6]
1986 1 17 Harold Pressley Sacramento Kings[7]
1986 6 130 Chuck Everson Utah Jazz[7]
1987 6 122 Harold Jensen Cleveland Cavaliers[8]

Legacy

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In 2013, author Frank Fitzpatrick released his book The Perfect Game: How Villanova’s Shocking 1985 Upset of Mighty Georgetown Changed the Landscape of College Hoops Forever focusing on the team's victorious season.[9]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1984-85 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1985 NCAA Final Four program". March 1985. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ Basketball State Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Mar-22.
  4. ^ 2014-15 Villanova men's basketball media guide. Retrieved 2015-Mar-22.
  5. ^ College Basketball @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Mar-22.
  6. ^ a b c "1985 NBA Draft". BasketballReference.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "1986 NBA Draft". BasketballReference.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
  8. ^ "1986 NBA Draft". BasketballReference.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
  9. ^ Frank Fitzpatrick (2013). The Perfect Game: How Villanova's Shocking 1985 Upset of Mighty Georgetown Changed the Landscape of College Hoops Forever. Macmillan.