Villanova Basketball: 5 Pieces of Trivia Every Wildcats Fan Should Know

Just like all college basketball programs with a strong legacy, Villanova has had plenty of trivia questions asked about them.

For some diehard fans of the Wildcats, answers to such trivia questions come to them easily. 

For those not so close to the program, but who still consider themselves fans, here are five pieces of Villanova basketball trivia that you must instill in your noggin. 

Everything and Everyone Associated with the 1984-85 Team

Villanova has had plenty of quality seasons throughout its basketball history, but one specific season sticks out to everyone involved with the program.

In the 1984-85 season, head coach Rollie Massimino lead the Wildcats on a fairytale journey through the postseason that ended in one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. 

In the final of the 1985 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the Wildcats defeated rival Georgetown in the final, 66-64. 

Besides the score and opponent of the final game, Wildcats fans must make sure they know the names of the key players to that squad as well.

Final Four Most Outstanding Player Ed Pinckney was the star of the team, but that roster also contained school legends like Harold Jensen, Dwayne McClain, and Gary McLain. 

Basically, to sum this slide up, the more you know about the championship winning team of 1985, the better off you are when approached by a stranger asking about Villanova basketball. 

Small Number of Head Coaches

Since Villanova began playing basketball in 1920, they have had just eight, yes eight, men lead them out on the floor with the title of head coach.

Starting with Michael Saxe and ending with current head coach Jay Wright, the Wildcats have had just eight men occupy the coveted position.

The longest tenured Wildcats head coach was Alexander Severance, who was in charge of the Wildcats from 1936 to 1961. 

The coach with the shortest tenure on the Main Line was John Cashman, who spent just three seasons with the program from 1926 to 1929. 

Who the Rivals Are

For a relatively small school in Division I, Villanova has quite the fair share of rivals. 

The Wildcats have five geographical rivals in Temple, La Salle, Drexel, St. Joseph's, and Penn, but none of those Big Five schools play in the same conference as them. 

While they do play all of the Big Five schools each year in a round-robin-esque competition, the biggest game of the year for the Wildcats comes when they take on Georgetown. 

Luckily for Villanova, Georgetown has stayed with them in the conference realignment process, and the two schools will play twice a year for the foreseeable future in the newly re-configured Big East Conference. 

As long as the Wildcats are able to play all of the Big Five schools and Georgetown each season, all will be right on the Main Line basketball scene. 

NCAA Tournament Tidbits

Any fan of any college basketball program should also have a working knowledge of their team's history in the most prestigious of postseason competitions, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. 

Some fun facts about the overall tournament resume of the Wildcats include 33 appearances in March Madness, four Final Four appearances, and of course the 1985 National Championship.

Now, if you really wanted to impress your friends and family with some of these tournament tidbits, you can also add that the Wildcats rank eighth all-time on the list of NCAA Tournament appearances by a program.

If you wanted to really knock the socks off of your close friends and family, you can also rattle off the fact that the Wildcats have appeared in the NIT 17 times and have one title from that postseason tournament in 1994. 

All of the Specifics About Scottie Reynolds and His Drive

Other than the quality plays made during the National Championship run in 1985, there are a few specific plays that Villanova fans can all agree on as memorable. 

The most memorable of those moments came to us from point guard Scottie Reynolds in the Elite Eight of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. 

On March 29, 2009, Reynolds, who was a bit of big man on campus at the time, went from end to end to deliver the Wildcats a berth in the Final Four.

As his layup fell into the basket, not only did Reynolds advance the Wildcats to the Final Four, he also eliminated then-conference rival Pittsburgh from the competition. 

Reynolds' miraculous end-to-end run was the icing on the cake to his spectacular career, and Villanova fans will never forget the excitement he delivered on that fateful night in March of 2009. 

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