Villanova Wildcats
2021-2022 Overall Rank: #4
Conference Rank: #1 Big East
Villanova won another Big East regular season title, their seventh in eight years. The season ended a little earlier than hoped in the Sweet Sixteen at the hands of eventual national champions Baylor. But this is still clearly the team to beat in the Big East. Four starters are back and this group will be hoping for another NCAA Tournament title, not just a return trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
2020-21 Record: 18-7, 11-4
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Jay Wright
Coach Record: 489-190 at Villanova, 609-273 overall
Key Departed Players:
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Forward, 15.7 ppg
Cole Swider, Forward, 5.7 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Collin Gillespie, Senior, Guard, 14.0 ppg
Justin Moore, Junior, Guard, 12.9 ppg
Jermaine Samuels, Senior, Forward, 12.0 ppg
Caleb Daniels, Senior, Guard, 9.6 ppg
Brandon Slater, Senior, Forward, 3.8 ppg
Eric Dixon, Sophomore, Forward, 3.0 ppg
Bryan Antoine, Junior, Guard, 2.3 ppg
Chris Arcidiacono, Junior, Guard, 1.0 ppg
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Senior, Forward, dnp last season
Key New Players:
Angelo Brizzi, Freshman, Guard
Jordin Longino. Freshman, Guard
Nnanna Njoku, Freshman, Forward
Trey Patterson, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
For the fourth year in a row, Collin Gillespie will be the leader of this team. The senior guard averaged 14.0 points and 4.6 assists last season and his absence down the stretch last season played a huge role in Villanova’s late season demise. Following Gillespie’s early March knee injury, the team lost three of their last five games, with the only victories coming against Winthrop and North Texas in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Upperclassmen Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels will rejoin Gillespie in the backcourt. Both are quality outside shooters and Moore had a very good NCAA Tournament when Gillespie was out. Bryan Antoine, Chris Arcidiacono and freshman wing Jordan Longino will add depth on the perimeter. The bigger concern is in the frontcourt where top scorer and second round NBA Draft pick Jeremiah Robinson-Earl needs to be replaced. Jermaine Samuels is a versatile scoring threat who does a lot of the hard work in the paint. He will be asked to increase his 12.0 points per game this year. Brandon Slater has proven that he can play solid defense and shoot the ball on occasion. Eric Dixon could be the breakout player on this team if he can put it all together. He has the talent to turn into a very dangerous scorer. He will get there eventually. But for now, the Wildcats can call on Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, who missed last season with an injury and was a part-time starter back in 2018-2019, and incoming freshmen Nnanna Njoku and Trey Patterson.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.8 (84th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.5 (63, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.3 (95, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.1 (206, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.2 (28, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.3 (100, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.3 (31, 1)
Rebound Margin: 1.2 (148, 4)
Assists Per Game: 15.0 (60, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.1 (2, 1)
Madness 2021 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#57 Jordan Longino
#93 Nnanna Njoku
#147 Angelo Brizzi
