NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 20 best head coaches from past 5 seasons
By Ryan Kay
. Jay Wright. 1. player. 479. .
Coach Accomplishments the past 5 seasons
NCAA National Championships: 2 (2016, 2018)
NCAA Tournament Final Four: 3 (2009, 2016, 2018)
Big East Regular Season Champion: 4 (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Big East Tournament Champion: 3 (2017, 2018, 2019)
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (2016 and 2018)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Coaching Points Breakdown
80 points for National Championships
75 points for Final Four Appearances
80 points for Regular Season Conference Championships (Big East)
45 points for Conference Tournament Championships (Big East)
30 points for Sweet Sixteen Appearances
15 points for every season with 30 or more wins
8 points for every season with 20 or more wins
8 points for every NCAA Tournament berth
Total Coaching Points: 341
2015-2016 Season
Non-Conference Record: 11-3
Best Non-Conference Victories: Nebraska in the Gavitt Tipoff, Stanford NIT Season Tip, at Saint Joseph’s, and at Temple.
Non-Conference Tournament Championship: Yes, defeated Georgia Tech in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game.
Record versus their main rival: 2-1 versus Seton Hall in the rivalry. Villanova defeated the Pirates on the road 72–71 and beat Seton Hall at home 72-63. The Wildcats lost to the Pirates in the finals of the Big East tournament by a final score of 67-69.
Conference Record: 16-2
Best Conference Victories: No. 6 Xavier, at No. 18 Butler, at No. 11 Providence, at Marquette, at Seton Hall, at Temple, and at Georgetown.
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st place finish, earning a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
Conference Tournament: Lost to No. 3 seed Seton Hall in the Big East championship game.
NCAA Tournament: As the No. 2 seed, defeated the No. 15 seed UNC Asheville in the opening round. In the second round, Villanova beat No. 7 seed and No. 25 ranked Iowa. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Wildcats defeated No. 3 seed and No. 10 ranked Miami (FL).
In the Elite Eight, Villanova beat No. 1 seed and No. 1 ranked Kansas. The Wildcats defeated No. 2 seed and No. 7 ranked Oklahoma in the Final Four. In the national championship game, Villanova beat No. 1 seed and No. 3 ranked North Carolina to become national champions.
Final AP poll ranking: 6
2016-2017 Season
Non-Conference Record: 14-0
Best Non-Conference Victories: at No. 15 Purdue in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, Wake Forest, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 12 Virginia, and at Penn.
Non-Conference Tournament Championship: Yes, defeated UCF in the Charleston Classic championship game.
Record versus their main rival: 3-0 versus Seton Hall in the rivalry. Villanova defeated the Pirates on the road 92–70 and beat Seton Hall at home 76-46. The Wildcats defeated the Pirates in the semi-finals of the Big East tournament by a final score of 55-53.
Conference Record: 15-3
Best Conference Victories: at No. 10 Creighton, No. 15 Xavier, at No. 24 Xavier, No. 23 Creighton, swept Georgetown and St. John’s.
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st place finish, earning a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
Conference Tournament: Defeated No. 6 seed Creighton in the Big East Championship game.
NCAA Tournament: As the No. 1 seed, defeated the No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s in the opening round. In the second round, Villanova lost to No. 8 seed and No. 25 ranked Wisconsin.
Final AP poll ranking: 1
2017-2018 Season
Non-Conference Record: 13-0
Best Non-Conference Victories: Tennessee, No. 12 Gonzaga, at UConn, and at Saint Joseph’s.
Non-Conference Tournament Championship: Yes, they beat Northern Iowa in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.
Record versus their main rival: 2-0 versus Seton Hall in the rivalry. Villanova defeated the Pirates on the road 69–68 OT and beat Seton Hall at home 92-76.
Conference Record: 14-4
Best Conference Victories: No. 10 Xavier, swept Georgetown, at No. 4 Xavier, defeated Marquette three times, beat Butler twice, and swept DePaul.
Regular Season Conference Standing: 2nd place finish, earning the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament.
Conference Tournament: Defeated No. 5 seed Providence in the Big East Championship game.
NCAA Tournament: As the No. 1 seed, defeated the No. 16 seed, Radford, in the opening round. In the second round, Villanova beat No. 9 seed Alabama. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Wildcats defeated No. 5 seed and No. 15 ranked West Virginia.
In the Elite Eight, Villanova beat No. 3 seed and No. 14 ranked Texas Tech. The Wildcats defeated No. 1 seed and No. 4 ranked Kansas in the Final Four. In the national championship game, Villanova beat No. 3 seed and No. 7 ranked Michigan to become national champions.
Final AP poll ranking: 2
2018-2019 Season
Non-Conference Record: 9-4
Best Non-Conference Victories: Oklahoma State, Temple, Saint Joseph’s, UConn, and La Salle.
Non-Conference Tournament Championship: Yes, defeated No. 14 Florida State in the Advocare Invitational championship game.
Record versus their main rival: 2-1 versus Seton Hall in the rivalry. Villanova defeated the Pirates on the road 72–71 and beat Seton Hall at home 72-63. The Wildcats lost to the Pirates in the finals of the Big East tournament by a final score of 67-69.
Conference Record: 13-5
Best Conference Victories: No. 24 St. John’s, No. 10 Marquette, swept Butler and Creighton, beat Xavier twice, and swept DePaul.
Regular Season Conference Standing: 1st place finish, earning a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
Conference Tournament: No. 3 seed Seton Hall in the Big East championship game.
NCAA Tournament: As the No. 6 seed, defeated the No. 11 seed St. Mary’s in the opening round. In the second round, Villanova lost to No. 3 seed and No. 13 ranked Purdue.
Final AP poll ranking: 23
2019-2020 Season
Non-Conference Record: 11-2
Best Non-Conference Victories: Mississippi State in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, No. 1 Kansas
in the Big East/Big 12 Battle, at Saint Joseph’s, Connecticut, and at Temple.
Non-Conference Tournament Championship: No, lost to No. 24 Baylor in the Myrtle Beach Invitational championship game.
Record versus their main rival: 1-1 versus Seton Hall in the rivalry. Villanova defeated the Pirates on the road 79–77 and lost Seton Hall at home 60-64.
Early class of 2021 recruiting takeaways. dark. Next
Conference Record: 13-5
Best Conference Victories: No. 13 Butler, No. 18 Marquette, at No. 8 Seton Hall, swept Georgetown and St. Johns’s, and swept Xavier.
Regular Season Conference Standing: Finished in a three-way time for 1st place in the Big East.
Final AP poll ranking: 10