How Many Times Has Villanova Won March Madness?

Every year, NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball hold their annual postseason tournaments, called March Madness. The men’s tournament has taken place since 1939, and the women’s tournament since 1982, both with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, there have been plenty of different winners. One of those teams is Villanova University. While they have never won the women’s tournament, Villanova has won the men’s March Madness tournament three times.

1985 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

When the 1985 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament began, most outside of Villanova were probably not thinking of them as a national title contender. They began the tournament as the eighth seed in the Southeast regional. In their first game, they defeated ninth-seeded Dayton 61-59, and they then followed that up with a shocking upset of the Southeast region’s No. 1 seed, Michigan, by a score of 59-55. In the Sweet 16, they knocked off fifth-seeded Maryland 46-43, and then they pulled off another stunning upset of second-seeded North Carolina 56-44. This allowed them to advance to the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky.

In the semifinals, they knocked off the second seed from the Midwest, Michigan State, 52-45. This brought them to the National Championship game, where they faced National Champion favorite and No. 1 overall seed Georgetown. In one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history, Villanova knocked off Georgetown by playing a near perfect game that ended 66-64. Their 78.9 field goal percentage in the game is the highest in tournament history.

2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

A full 31 years after their first championship, Villanova won their second-ever title in 2016. This time, Villanova was a part of the pre-tournament talk to a much greater extent, and they entered the field as the No. 2 seed in the South region.

They began the tournament with two easy wins, knocking off 15th-seeded UNC-Asheville 86-56 and seventh-seeded Iowa 87-68. In the Sweet 16, the Wildcats continued their run of dominance by defeating third-seeded Miami 92-69. In the Elite Eight, Villanova faced their first true test, but they defeated the South’s No. 1 seed in Kansas 64-59. In the Final Four, they returned to their dominant run by defeating the No. 1 from the West in Oklahoma 95-51 in the biggest blowout in Final Four history.

They then proceeded to play one the greatest championship games of all-time, facing off against the No. 1 seed from East, North Carolina. With the score tied at 74, Kris Jenkins would hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Villanova the championship, 77-74.

2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Two years later, Villanova would win their second championship in three seasons. Once again, they were amongst the championship favorites prior to the tournament, and they were the No. 1 seed in the East region. As they did in 2016, they started the tournament off with a pair of easy wins; 87-61 over 16th-seeded Radford, and 81-58 over ninth-seeded Alabama. In the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, they played some closer games, but they still won a pair of relatively easy games, defeating fifth-seeded West Virginia 90-78 and third-seeded Texas Tech 71-59. Once again in the Final Four, ‘Nova cruised to a win, trouncing the No. 1 from the Midwest, Kansas, 95-79.

Unlike two years prior, the championship was not much of a classic, and Villanova defeated the West’s third seed, Michigan, 79-62. They became only the fourth team ever to win all six games in the tournament by double digits, joining Michigan State (2000), Duke (2001), and North Carolina (2009).

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