:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59213017/usa_today_10761688.1522415197.jpg)
Villanova is in the middle of a record breaking season... again. In each of the last three seasons, Villanova has broken five or more team and individual school records. To put it mildly, that’s nuts.
But as terrific as those seasons were, 2017-18 is already blowing them out of the water.
UPDATE: The ‘Cats have become just the 4th team in the NCAA tournament’s Expansion Era to win two titles in three seasons. When the final buzzer sounded, the 2018 Villanova Wildcats had set 18 new team and individual school records to go along with at least 4 new NCAA season and tournament records.
Here’s the updated list of new and possible records as the Cats head into Monday’s final game of the season!
School Records Broken Or Tied This Season
Most Wins in a Season (Team): 36
In yet another example of why this may be the greatest Villanova team ever, they could walk away with the most wins in a season. Villanova has broken the school record for wins, passing the 2016 National Championships previous record of 35. Thirty six wins is insane, and just two off the NCAA record.
Most Games Played in a Season (Team): 40
This ties the 2016 team for games played. I think I’m with all Villanova fans for wanting each season to be as long as possible!
Most Games Played in a Season (Player): 40
Omari Spellman, Donte DiVincenzo, and Dahmir Cosby-Roundtree are now three of just ten Villanova players who accomplished this difficult task. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges become the only players in school history to do it twice.
Most Games Started in a Season (Player): 40
It really is difficult to start 40 games in a season, but Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges have done just that. Phil Booth and Eric Paschall missed the mark due to injury, while Spellman missed a start early in the season because he missed weight. Those Freshman 15 are a killer! Brunson and Bridges will join Ryan Arcidiacono and Josh Hart as the only players to start 40 games in a single season in school history.
Most Points Scored in a Season (Team): 3,463
The Wildcats previous record of 3,118 was set in the 2016 Championship season. That means that this year’s team scored 345 more points in the same number of games, an average of over 17 more per game. Unreal.
Highest Scoring Average in a Season (Team): 86.57
Villanova outpaced the 1971 team’s highest scoring average in a season of 86.53, but just barely. The National Title Game actually brought the average down after the Kansas blowout, but a record is still a record.
Most Field Goals Made in a Season (Team): 1220
You don’t become the #1 offense in the country without making a ton of shots. Even before reaching the Championship game, Nova has already broken the FG record set by Howard Porter’s 1971 squad. That team also made the NCAA Tournament Championship Game, but they fell to UCLA.
Most Field Goals Made in a Season by a Sophomore: 188, Donte DiVincenzo
Donte DiVincenzo has been the opposite of sophomore slumping this season. While he’s had his share of “off games”, for the most part he’s been a huge reason why Villanova’s offense is so efficient. He finished second in assists, second in steals, and third in points on the team this season while coming off the bench as the Big East’s 6th man of the year. Oh, and he scored a career high 31 points in the National Championship to break Keith Herron’s record. No big deal.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Game (Team): 19
Villanova’s record 17 3’s against Lehigh in 2005 had stood for over a decade until it was simply crushed this year. Sure, 19 is just two more, but Villanova hit 19 threes in two games this season (@ St. Joes and vs Creighton), as well as hitting 17 threes in two more games (@ Georgetown and vs Alabama), and 18 threes in the Final Four (vs Kansas).
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Season (Team): 464
The 2015 team was one of the best deep shooting teams Villanova had ever seen. They “only” hit a record 326 threes. This team hit 138 more. Again, unreal.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Season by a Junior: 104, Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges tied Gary Buchanan’s record for threes in their junior season against Kansas. While he came up short on the school record for threes in a season, he still had an outstanding year shooting the ball from deep. While the focus of the Championship game was deservedly on DiVincenzo, Bridges still had 15 points in the second half which included three deep balls.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Attempted in a Game (Team): 41
If you’re going to break a record, why not do it on the sport’s biggest stage? Villanova shot 41 threes in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Alabama this season. They connected on 17 of them for 41.5% from deep in the game. That broke a 24 year old record that had stood since Nova attempted 38 threes against Minnesota in 1994.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Attempted in a Season (Team): 1,158
Last season many fans expressed concern that the Wildcats were getting a little “three happy” as they set a school record with 843 three point attempts. Well throw that out the window as this year’s team shot 315 more threes. But if the result is a National Championship, then please keep shooting!
Highest 3-Point % in a Game (Player): 100% (6 of 6), Mikal Bridges
While his perfect shooting night tied the school record of 100% from deep, no player in Villanova history had gone 6 for 6 before Bridges did it against Lafayette. He passed Doug West and John Celestand who both went 5 of 5 from deep.
Most Rebounds in a Season by a Freshman: 321, Omari Spellman
Spellman easily surpassed Ed Pinckney’s record of 249 rebounds in his freshman season, making him the most dominant frosh to roam Villanova’s paint. Sure, many of Villanova’s most talented rebounders weren’t able to play as freshman, but Spellman even stacks up well against them. Spellman is currently only behind Jim Mooney (455), Howard Porter (376), and Jim Washington (354) for most rebounds in their first season with the Wildcats.
Highest Rebounding Avg. in a Season by a Freshman: 8.02, Omari Spellman
We already mentioned that Omari Spellman is crushing it on the boards this season, but this stat shows just how consistent he’s been. He didn’t get the records because he got to play more games, he’s earning it on a per game basis. Simply amazing.
Most Assists in a Season (Team): 655
The school’s 637 assist record is another of the many records set in Villanova’s last Final Four run in 2016. This year’s team has been even better at moving the ball, and showed just how quickly they can swing the ball around by breaking the record with a 20 assist night against Kansas.
Most Blocks in a Game (Team): 13
Way back in the second game of the season, Villanova had themselves a block party against Nicholls State. Six different Wildcats recorded at least one block. Mikal Bridges and Omari Spellman led the way with four blocks each. While it had been tied three teams, the record of 12 blocks had stood since a game against Georgetown in 1988.
NCAA Records That Have Been Broken
Most Wins in a Four Year Period (Team): 136
With their victory over Texas Tech, Villanova broke Duke’s record for most wins in a four year period. And with another Championship in hand, they’ve set a new standard that could last for a long time! The Wildcats have been the best team in college basketball for the past half-decade, and now the record books reflect that.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Season (Team): 464
Setting any NCAA record is impressive, but the way Villanova set the new three point record is remarkable. The old record was set in 2007 by VMI. The difference between this Villanova team and the former record holders is three point attempts. It took VMI 1,383 attempts, or 41.9 per game, to set the record. Villanova took just 1,1158, or 28.9 per game. With over 200 fewer attempts, Nova made 22 more threes.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Single NCAA Tournament (Team): 76
Villanova has made more threes in a season than any other team, why wouldn’t that extend into the tournament? Eric Paschall broke the previous record and the record for most threes in a Final Four simultaneously with a long bomb against Kansas as the shot clock expired. It was just another reminder that Villanova can hit from deep anytime, anywhere.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made in a Final Four Game (Team): 18
The Wildcats have simply re-written the three point record books this season, and this may have been the icing on the cake. In a game that was supposed to be a shootout between two of the best shooting teams in the country, Villanova hit 18 threes to Kansas’ 7. To quote Gary Massey Throw-Down in the comments below, this team is simply “Ruthlessly Efficient”.