The last entry for the Class of 2009 has yet to be written. For these Wildcats there is still another 4-6 (hopefully just a bit more than 6...) weeks left on this season. This however, is the night set aside to honor the class; a moment to reflect on accomplishments and consider the possibilities seems, therefore, appropriate. The Class of 2008 (Sumpter, Nardi, Sheridan) holds the record for most victories, 96. That record may well be eclipsed by the Class of 2009: There are 6 more games left (counting Rutgers) in the regular season. Consider that the Wildcats will play a minimum of 1 game in the BET and 1 in a tournament after the BET. The season then has at least 8 more games. If this squad plays just .500 ball from here on out (4-2 in the regular season, with 1st round losses in the BET and NCAA), the Class of 2009 will tie 2008 for most wins. Surely this class will do better than .500 ball going out. Can they be the first Villanova class to win 100 games over their four year run on the Mainline? Ken Pomeroy's projection suggests either a 4-2 (Pythagorean wp) or 5-1 (individual games, Off/Def efficiencies) finish, important less for the BET seed (virtually certain to be 5th seed) than for getting to 100 wins.
At 4-2, the 'Cats would need 6 more wins, problematic in that there are few paths to 100 wins,with little room for misjudgements. They would need a run to the BET final (2-1, 3-0), followed by at least a run to the Elite Eight (3-1 or 4-0 and on to the Final Four!). A 5-1 run to finish the regular season would give an inch of breathing room.
The 15 classes with the most wins over their 4 year time at Villanova...
Note the Class of 2009 (highlighted in green) is already tied for 3rd with the Class of 1985 (Dwayne McClain, Gary McLain, Ed Pinckney and Dwight Wilber) and the Class of 2007 (Ross Condon, Mike Nardi, Bump Sheridan and Curt Sumpter) -- not bad company at all. Beat Rutgers and they are ranked #3. The Classes of 1971 and 1972 are listed here as well, although rules then prohibited freshmen from playing on the varsity squads. Howard Porter was not a member of the 1967-68 squad. Note that while those squads won 86 & 85 games respectively, their winning percentages (.768 & .759) are well above the winning percentages of the other squads. The 1971 squad ran to the Final Four, losing to UCLA in the Championship Game.
At 4-2, the 'Cats would need 6 more wins, problematic in that there are few paths to 100 wins,with little room for misjudgements. They would need a run to the BET final (2-1, 3-0), followed by at least a run to the Elite Eight (3-1 or 4-0 and on to the Final Four!). A 5-1 run to finish the regular season would give an inch of breathing room.
The 15 classes with the most wins over their 4 year time at Villanova...
| Class | Senior Season | Overall | |||||
| of... | W | L | Pct. | W | L | Pct. | |
| 2008 | 22 | 13 | 0.629 | 96 | 37 | 0.722 | |
| 1997 | 24 | 10 | 0.706 | 95 | 37 | 0.720 | |
| 1985 | 25 | 10 | 0.714 | 92 | 38 | 0.708 | |
| 2007 | 22 | 11 | 0.667 | 92 | 41 | 0.692 | |
| 2009 | 20 | 5 | 0.800 | 92 | 34 | 0.730 | |
| 1983 | 24 | 8 | 0.750 | 91 | 35 | 0.722 | |
| 1986 | 23 | 14 | 0.622 | 91 | 44 | 0.674 | |
| 1984 | 19 | 12 | 0.613 | 87 | 39 | 0.690 | |
| 1998 | 12 | 17 | 0.414 | 87 | 42 | 0.674 | |
| 1972 | 20 | 8 | 0.714 | 86 | 26 | 0.768 | |
| 1971 | 23 | 6 | 0.793 | 85 | 27 | 0.759 | |
| 2006 | 28 | 5 | 0.848 | 85 | 46 | 0.649 | |
| 1980 | 23 | 8 | 0.742 | 84 | 40 | 0.677 | |
| 1982 | 24 | 8 | 0.750 | 82 | 40 | 0.672 | |
| 1981 | 20 | 11 | 0.645 | 81 | 41 | 0.664 | |
Note the Class of 2009 (highlighted in green) is already tied for 3rd with the Class of 1985 (Dwayne McClain, Gary McLain, Ed Pinckney and Dwight Wilber) and the Class of 2007 (Ross Condon, Mike Nardi, Bump Sheridan and Curt Sumpter) -- not bad company at all. Beat Rutgers and they are ranked #3. The Classes of 1971 and 1972 are listed here as well, although rules then prohibited freshmen from playing on the varsity squads. Howard Porter was not a member of the 1967-68 squad. Note that while those squads won 86 & 85 games respectively, their winning percentages (.768 & .759) are well above the winning percentages of the other squads. The 1971 squad ran to the Final Four, losing to UCLA in the Championship Game.
