2016 Villanova basketball roster revisited: How star-studded team won NCAA championship, reunited with Knicks | Sporting News Australia

When teams excel at the collegiate level, it is incredibly rare to see that success repeated with the same personnel. Some players go to the NBA, where their careers take them to different locations and clubs. Others may transfer to a different school, looking to make an impact elsewhere. 

The bottom line is that a championship squad in the NCAA very likely never gets together again to make another run, at the collegiate or professional level.

That is, unless you are the 2016 Villanova Wildcats. 

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo all were members of the dominant Wildcats team that won the 2016 National Championship. The trio found themselves together this past NBA season on New York, as the threesome, dubbed the “Nova Knicks”, helped the club to one of its best seasons in years. 

The Nova Knicks have since been increased to four. The Knicks went out and landed star forward Mikal Bridges in a deal with the Nets, reuniting the No. 10 overall pick in 2018 with three of his teammates from Jay Wright’s program. 

MORE: Knicks lands Mikal Bridges to reunite star with former Villanova teammates 

Here is more to know about that 2016 Wildcats team and Villanova’s presence in the NBA. 

Villanova NBA players

There are 11 active players currently in the NBA. With the recent trade of Bridges to the Knicks, that means four of them are playing in New York — over a third of the Wildcats playing in the league. 

A majority of the Villanova alum entered into the league in 2017 or after, but Kyle Lowry is the veteran among the group. The current 76ers guard was drafted in 2006 by the Grizzlies. 

In total, there have been 54 players from Villanova drafted to the NBA in league history, according to Basketball RealGM. 

2016 Villanova championship roster

The 2015-16 Villanova season was special. The Wildcats had not won a national championship in over 30 years, with the last coming in 1985. 

After a 16-2 Big East mark gave the Wildcats the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, Villanova fell short of a conference championship, losing to Seton Hall in the Big East title game. 

MORE: Full trade grades for the Knicks, Nets after the Mikal Bridges deal

The team earned a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. While Villanova was denied a conference championship, it would not be denied the March Madness title. Jay Wright’s team took out No. 15 seed UNC Asheville, No. 7 seed Iowa, and No. 3 seed Miami with ease to reach the Elite Eight. Going against No. 1 seed Kansas, Villanova squeaked out a 64-59 win against the AP No. 1 squad, earning a place in the Final Four. 

In the national semifinals, Villanova blew out No. 2 seed Oklahoma 95-51 to punch its ticket to the National Championship. Going against No. 1 seed UNC, the Wildcats managed to emerge victorious with a 77-74 win. 

The team finished the season with a total record of 35-5, breaking the school’s win record (33) set the previous season. 

Hart was the star of that team, as he averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game, while adding 6.8 rebounds and shooting 51.3% from the field. While the roster was filled with future NBA talents, it was Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono that were the focal points behind Hart, averaging 13.6 and 12.5 points, respectively. 

2018 Villanova championship roster 

Two years after winning the National Championship, Villanova once again reached the peak of college basketball in 2018 — and did so in even more dominant fashion. 

The Wildcats ended conference play in second place, posting a 14-4 record in the Big East. Like two years prior, the team fell short of a conference title, as Villanova was on the receiving end of an upset, losing to No. 8 seed Wisconsin in the second round. 

Despite the poor finish at the Big East tournament, Villanova earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. What followed is widely regarded as one of the most superior runs in March Madness to date. 

MORE: Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart react to Mikal Bridges trade

The Wildcats started off by wiping the floor with No. 16 seed Radford and No. 9 seed Alabama in the first two rounds. Then, Villanova got by No. 5 seed West Virginia and No. 3 seed Texas Tech to reach the Final Four. 

Like in 2016, the Wildcats defeated No. 1 seed Kansas in the national semifinals, this time setting up a date with No. 3 seed Michigan for the title. DiVincenzo’s 31 points in the championship led Villanova to a 79-62 win over the Wolverines, capturing the program’s third national championship and second in three years. 

The 2018 Villanova squad won every game in March Madness by double digits, putting a stamp on another excellent season in the Jay Wright era. This time, it was three of the current Knicks paving the way for the Wildcats, as Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo averaged 19.7, 17.7 and 13.4 points respectively that season.