{"id":26639,"date":"2019-10-25T08:13:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=26639"},"modified":"2019-10-25T08:13:50","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:13:50","slug":"villanova-basketball-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2019\/10\/25\/villanova-basketball-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Villanova Basketball Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming into the 2018-19 season after winning a National Championship the prior year and losing stars Jalen Brunson<\/a><\/strong>, Mikal Bridges<\/a><\/strong>, Omari Spellman<\/a><\/strong>, and Donte DiVincenzo<\/a><\/strong>, naturally, the Villanova basketball program came into the season due for some regression.<\/p>\n

Mostly that was true, as Villanova had a good season, but not on par with the success of the teams of the previous five seasons. That\u2019s not to say the Wildcats underachieved. Far from it.<\/p>\n

Previewing the Villanova Wildcats 2019-20 Season<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Recapping the 2018-19 season<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As expected, Villanova took some time to gel, as it had some ugly losses (be it either lopsided losses or by measuring the caliber of the opponent). In the non-conference portion of the schedule, Villanova got crushed at home by Michigan (73-46) and losing to both Furman and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

As you would expect under a Jay Wright<\/a><\/strong>-led squad, Villanova quickly got things in gear. The Wildcats ripped off 10-straight league wins to begin Big East play. They won the Big East regular season (13-5) as well as won the conference tournament title.<\/p>\n

It was business as usual for the Villanova basketball program.<\/p>\n

The Wildcats would receive a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Saint Mary\u2019s in the first round, before ending their season to Purdue in the second round.<\/p>\n

From a personal standpoint, seniors Eric Paschall<\/a><\/strong> and Phil Booth<\/a><\/strong> both went out in style by being named to the All-Big East First Team. Paschall averaged 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Booth led the Wildcats in scoring with 18.6 points while adding 3.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

Whose Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wright returns three key starters in Collin Gillespie<\/a><\/strong>, Saddiq Bey<\/a><\/strong>, and Jermaine Samuels<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

With Booth gone, Gillespie will probably assume the lead-guard duties. He was third on the team in scoring with 10.9 points, while adding 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Gillespie is Villanova\u2019s best shooter, as he shot 37.9 percent from three-point territory.<\/p>\n

Bey is an athletic wing that can play and cover many positions. He is coming off of a freshman campaign in which he was named to the All-Big East Freshmen team after averaging 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Bey is just scratching the surface of his immense potential.<\/p>\n