In winning the 2018 National Championship, their second in three years, the Villanova Wildcats have solidified their place in the upper echelon of college basketball history. Villanova’s storied program is impressive in its own right, but even more so because its success represents the last vestige of the late 20th century Big East dominance. Titans like Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, and others have been felled--only Villanova remains.
Through the ‘70s and ‘80s, basketball was an urban game with hotbeds in northeastern cities like New York, Boston, and Washington DC. Led by all-time great coaches like John Thompson at Georgetown, Dave Gavitt at Providence, and Lou Carnesecca at St. John’s, a gauntlet of northern Catholic schools was a dominant force in college basketball. In 1979, led by Dave Gavitt, these giants came together to form the Big East, one of the nation’s top conferences. The dominant schools were all of a similar brand: medium-sized, Catholic universities near major northern cities. This classification includes many teams that were part of the Big East, including Georgetown, St. John’s, Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova, as well as Marquette and DePaul.
Leading up to the formation of the Big East and then through the 1980s, these teams were true top-tier competitors. The Big East, combined with its midwest brethren in DePaul and Marquette, put together a total of thirteen Final Four appearances and four national titles. Georgetown made the tournament for fourteen seasons straight (between 1979 and 1992). Over that time, the Hoyas made the Sweet Sixteen six times, the Final Four three times, and won one national title. St. John’s boasted a similar streak, reaching the tournament fourteen times (1970-1990) and making the big dance in five (1976-1980) and seven (1982-1988) consecutive seasons. In the 1980s, half of the final fours had at least one Big East team--in 1985, three of the Final Four teams (Villanova, Georgetown, and Seton hall) were from the Big East, and the championship between Villanova and Georgetown was all Big East. These numbers are unparalleled.
Fast forward to today, where the sun has largely set on the Big East. In the new millennium, St. John’s has made the tournament a mere four times, and only twice in the last decade. Providence, which appeared in the Sweet Sixteen four times and in the final four twice between 1970 and 2000, hasn’t passed the Round of 32 since 2000. Seton Hall has no Sweet Sixteen appearances in the last decade. Since 2000, DePaul, Providence, Marquette, Georgetown, St. John’s, and Seton Hall have combined for two Final Four appearances (neither in the last decade) and no championships. Villanova has been in the Final Four three times and won the championship twice, more than all of its peers combined.
The transformation is also apparent within the Big East (before it was reorganized in 2013). Between 1980 and 1995, Georgetown won the conference title six times, St. John’s and Seton Hall each won it twice, and Providence and Villanova each won it once. Between 2005 and 2018, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Providence have each won it only once, and St John’s hasn’t won the conference title at all. Villanova, meanwhile, has added three Big East titles to put in its overstuffed trophy case.
So, what to make of all this? The game has clearly changed, with more kids playing and the entrance of both international and one-and-done players. Through this massive change in the CBB landscape, Villanova is the only remaining contender among its ilk, a living fossil from a bygone era of college basketball. Austin Barach offers an explanation Guest Blog, but the issue is certainly up for debate.
How Villanova has survived is anyone’s guess. Villanova is very similar to the fallen giants in Providence, St. John’s, and Seton Hall--a medium-sized, quality academic school close to a major northern city. Its program is, by all appearances, a clean organization boasting accomplished student athletes. Some might credit Jay Wright’s coaching, but is he really any better than the Thompsons and Carneseccas who dominated the league in decades past?
Whatever the reason, Villanova has managed to defy history and maintain its place among college basketball’s top programs. The Wildcats’ continued success where storied peers have failed should be another reason for celebration as they defy history and raise their trophy as 2018 Division I College Basketball Champions.
(Appearance statistics via NCAA.com)
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