2016 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champions

THE ROAD TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

STRONGER TOGETHER

You couldn’t have scripted a more dramatic finale to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. For 4.7 seconds, the entire Nova Nation collectively held its breath. One incredible, last-second shot later, and Villanova became the 2016 national champions!

Aside from the great moments on the court, I will always remember what a wonderful group of young men and coaches were a part of this 2016 national championship team. The humility and the teamwork they displayed in every contest were mentioned often during the tournament. These qualities perfectly exemplify our Augustinian Catholic values, and I believe that they were key elements of the Wildcats’ success.

Thank you again to the players, Coach Wright and his coaching staff for an amazing season. I am extremely proud of how you represented Villanova to a national and international audience, and I congratulate you on this remarkable accomplishment.

I would also like to thank the Philadelphia region for the outpouring of support for Villanova throughout the tournament. And thanks to the entire Nova Nation for being such dedicated fans. Your enthusiasm and energy also played a huge part in getting the team to this point. The victory is yours to share in and savor. It just goes to show that, as Villanovans, we are truly STRONGER TOGETHER!

These are exciting times for Villanova University, and I hope you feel enormous pride in being a Villanovan. Congratulations again to the team. Go Cats!

Sincerely,

VILLANOVA vs. UNC ASHEVILLE

The Wildcats got off to an explosive start with a 30-point victory over the No. 15 seed. A surge just before halftime put Villanova up by 14 points, and they never looked back. Daniel Ochefu led the team with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and four other players also scored in the double digits.

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Villanova advanced to the Sweet 16 after dominating No. 7 seed Iowa. Defense was the key for the Wildcats again, as they held the Hawkeyes to 40 percent scoring accuracy in the first half. Josh Hart was the top scorer with 19 points, and Ochefu had 11 rebounds.

VILLANOVA WILDSTATS

Villanova spent three weeks in February ranked No. 1 in both major national polls for the first time in school history.

The Wildcats recorded 30 wins in a season for the third time ever.

Villanova earned its third consecutive BIG EAST regular-season championship (16-2).

During the tournament, Ryan Arcidiacono set a school record for most games played in a career, finishing with 144.

The Wildcats shot 58% from the field through the first two rounds.

Villanova advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time since 2005.

“EVERY GUY ON THIS TEAM IS WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN. THIS DEFINITELY IS

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VILLANOVA vs. MIAMI

Intheirthirdstraightgamescoringmore than 85 points, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight with a commanding performance over the No. 3 seed. Both Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono finished with 21 points, and Villanova’s defense held off the Hurricanes while allowing the Wildcats to score 49 points in the second half.

FINAL

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VILLANOVA vs. KANSAS

It was pandemonium on the court as Villanova sealed its hard-fought victory over Kansas and punched its ticket to Houston for the Final Four. The Wildcats’ perfection at the free-throw line in the final 33 seconds and two big steals by Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges in the final minute were key to the game’s outcome.

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VILLANOVA WILDSTATS

Kris Jenkins was named the South Regional’s Most Outstanding Player. Villanova made 85% of its free throws throughout the tournament. For the second time in his Villanova tenure, Jay Wright was named the Naismith Memorial National Coach of the Year. Villanova advanced to its fifth Final Four appearance.

VILLANOVA vs. OKLAHOMA

It was supposed to be an even matchup: two No. 2 seeds battling for the right to play for the national championship. In the end, it was a game dominated by the Wildcats, whose 44-point margin of victory was the largest in Final Four history.

Villanova was relentless on both offense and defense, suppressing Oklahoma’s expert shooters and tallying points with dizzying frequency. In the second half, the Wildcats missed just five shots and ended the game with another historymaking statistic: the second-highest field goal percentage ever recorded in the Final Four. Villanova’s 95 total points were the most scored in a national semifinal game in 13 years.

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Villanova’s players and coaches left NRG Stadium that night confident and focused on the task at hand: the national championship game that would write the final chapter of the 2015-16 season.

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“I’M HAPPY WE HAD ONE

IT WAS SIMPLY ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS.” –Jay Wright

the highest field goal percentage national semifinal contest. The only Final Four team that shot a higher percentage: the 1985 Wildcats in the title game (78.6%).

Villanova defeated Oklahoma by 44 points, the largest margin of victory in Final Four history.

Six players scored in double digits: Josh Hart (23), Kris Jenkins (18), Ryan Arcidiacono (15), Mikal Bridges (11), Daniel Ochefu (10) and Phil Booth (10).

Villanova advanced to its third national championship game and its first since 1985.

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VILLANOVA vs. UNC

With 4.7 seconds remaining on the clock, the Wildcats set up the play that became an instant legend.

Daniel Ochefu vigorously mopped the floor where, seconds earlier, he had dived in an unsuccessful attempt to block a UNC three-pointer that tied the game. Ryan Arcidiacono, racing sure- footedly over the same spot where his teammate had just mopped, drove in to dish the perfect pass. Kris Jenkins smoothly took the ball, squared his shoulders and fired off the three-point shot that, as the clock ticked down to zero, swished through the hoop. Cheers, confetti, tears erupted. Game over.

In the end, it was a play that the team had practiced every day that brought the national championship trophy back to Villanova for the first time since 1985. It’s a signature play with a singular name: Nova. 77

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“I KNEW IT WAS GOING IN. MY TEAMMATES SET ME UP PERFECTLY.” –Kris Jenkins

VILLANOVA WILDSTATS

The Wildcats won the national championship game with a first-ever buzzer-beater three-point shot. Villanova outscored its opponents 501-377 in the tournament—winning games by an average of 20.7 points.

Villanova won its second national championship and its first since 1985.

GLORY DAIS

When a kneeling Dwayne McClain trapped an inbound pass between his body and the floor, Villanova upset Georgetown by the margin of a field goal to win the 1985 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. For 31 years, it’s been called the perfect game.

When an airborne Kris Jenkins arced a nothing-but-net from beyond the perimeter, Villanova beat UNC by the margin of a field goal to win the 2016 title. Within minutes, it was being called one of the best games ever. Two unforgettable finishes; one beaming Nova Nation.

As confetti filled NRG Stadium in Houston April 4, Wildcats from 1985 celebrated in the stands: Dwayne McClain, Ed Pinckney, Harold Pressley and others. In the thick of it was Rollie Massimino—Coach “Mass”—as exuberant as he had been in Lexington, Ky., in 1985.

Watching that night’s heroes on the dais, trophy held high, the former players and coach whose names are engraved in NCAA history felt no twinge of overshadowed greatness—had no thought of “them” versus “us.” ”I love how Jay has connected a bridge between the ’85 team and the current guys,” said McClain.

At Villanova, it’s always “we,” the shared pride of every Wildcat and every fan. “Dreams have come true tonight,” said senior Daniel Ochefu after the buzzer-beater. “We play for those who came before us.”

The magic of 1985 has enchanted Villanovans for three decades. But it’s no longer a cliffhanger. A new, thrilling chapter in the Wildcats’ storied tradition has been writ large.

2016 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

CHAMPIONS

A NATION ROARS

Throughout March Madness, Villanova was the tournament’s most buzzed-about team, thanks to its big victories and constant displays of teamwork. The buzz only grew louder as the team brought the championship trophy home to Philadelphia.

HOLY SHOT!

THRILLANOVA PhiladelphiaDailyNews

“The scoreboard suddenly read 77-74, and Villanova, a sturdy men’s basketball program with an eternal Monday night glittering from its distant past, had found another Monday night all witnesses will find impossible to forget.

“On this freshest Monday night, a No. 2-seeded Villanova reached a 35-5 peak in Coach Jay Wright’s 15th season and looked very much like it had become, by the end— especially the very end—the nation’s hardiest, most united, most resourceful team.”

–Chuck Culpepper,

–Dana O’Neil, ESPN

“These Wildcats do not win because they have flashy pro picks or one superstar. Four players scored in double figures in this title game, and three more found their way into the box score. They are, always, a collective effort, winning because they string one small act with another, connecting tiny building blocks into major victories.”