1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
National Championship Game, W 66-64 vs. Georgetown
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	25–10 (9–7 Big East)
Head coach	Rollie Massimino (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Mitch Buonaguro Marty Marbach Steve Lappas
Home arena	Villanova Field House
Seasons ← 1983–84 1985–86 →

1984–85 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	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

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.

Roster

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

Rollie Massimino (Vermont)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

^[2]

Schedule

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

Ed Pinckney, Final Four Most Outstanding Player
Ed Pinckney, Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year
Ed Pinckney, 1st Team All-Big East
Ed Pinckney, Big East All-Tournament Team
Dwayne McClain, 3rd Team All-Big East
Dwayne McClain, All-Big 5
Dwayne McClain, Final Four All-Tournament Team
Gary McLain, Final Four All-Tournament Team
Harold Jensen, Final Four All-Tournament Team

Team players drafted into the NBA

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

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

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

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 (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
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Villanova Wildcats men's basketball 1984–85 NCAA champions
4 Dwight Wilbur 21 Harold Pressley 22 Gary McLain 31 Mark Plansky 32 Harold Jensen 33 Dwayne McClain 54 Ed Pinckney (MOP) Head coach Rollie Massimino Assistant coaches Mitch Buonaguro Steve Lappas Marty Marbach

v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball champions
1939 Oregon 1940 Indiana 1941 Wisconsin 1942 Stanford 1943 Wyoming 1944 Utah 1945 Oklahoma A&M 1946 Oklahoma A&M 1947 Holy Cross 1948 Kentucky 1949 Kentucky 1950 CCNY 1951 Kentucky 1952 Kansas 1953 Indiana 1954 La Salle 1955 San Francisco 1956 San Francisco 1957 North Carolina 1958 Kentucky 1959 California 1960 Ohio State 1961 Cincinnati 1962 Cincinnati 1963 Loyola (IL) 1964 UCLA 1965 UCLA 1966 Texas Western 1967 UCLA 1968 UCLA 1969 UCLA 1970 UCLA 1971 UCLA 1972 UCLA 1973 UCLA 1974 NC State 1975 UCLA 1976 Indiana 1977 Marquette 1978 Kentucky 1979 Michigan State 1980 Louisville 1981 Indiana 1982 North Carolina 1983 NC State 1984 Georgetown 1985 Villanova 1986 Louisville 1987 Indiana 1988 Kansas 1989 Michigan 1990 UNLV 1991 Duke 1992 Duke 1993 North Carolina 1994 Arkansas 1995 UCLA 1996 Kentucky 1997 Arizona 1998 Kentucky 1999 Connecticut 2000 Michigan State 2001 Duke 2002 Maryland 2003 Syracuse 2004 Connecticut 2005 North Carolina 2006 Florida 2007 Florida 2008 Kansas 2009 North Carolina 2010 Duke 2011 Connecticut 2012 Kentucky 2013 Louisville (Vacated) 2014 UConn 2015 Duke 2016 Villanova 2017 North Carolina 2018 Villanova 2019 Virginia 2020 No tournament 2021 Baylor 2022 Kansas 2023 UConn 2024 UConn

NCAA Division I men's basketball champions