1981–82 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season

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
Seasons← 1980–81 1982–83 →

1981–82 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	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

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).

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)

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	21–7	Nassau Coliseum
Mar 19, 1982*	(3 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 9 Memphis State East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 70–66	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)

References

sports-reference.com 1981-82 Big East Conference Season Summary
"1981-82 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
"2019–20 Villanova Men's Basketball Media Guide". Villanova University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

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 Big 5 Classic 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

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