Villanova Basketball: 3 takeaways from Jay Wright’s sudden retirement

3. The rest of the Big East breathes a sigh of relief… but could more help be coming?

With the exception of Gonzaga in the WCC, there hasn’t been a team that has dominated their respective conference more than Villanova in the Big East. Even Kansas had more competition in the Big 12, thanks to Baylor and Texas Tech. But there was no question as to who the best in the Big East was for the past eight years.

It hasn’t always been that way for Coach Wright and the Wildcats. When the Big East was at its height, programs such as UConn, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Cincinnati were regular NCAA Tournament mainstays. Them leaving created a huge whole that Villanova took complete advantage of, rising to the top of not only the conference but nationally as well.

That’s not to say that the rest of the Big East hasn’t played well. Providence and Seton Hall have made the NCAA Tournament a number of times, while Xavier is the only other team in the league to make an Elite 8 appearance since the realignment in 2013. But only Villanova Basketball has made it to the Final Four and has carried the conference once the other teams have left.

UConn is back in the Big East and has made the NCAA Tournament since its return but has gone out in the Round of 64 both times. The conference has been able to rely on Jay Wright and the Wildcats to win in March but if Coach Neptune isn’t able to get the job done, what will the league do going forward?

One rumored answer is the Gonzaga Bulldogs, one of the most dominant teams in the country. Moving from the WCC to the Big East has many logistical issues (mainly travel) but they fit the basketball-only and catholic identity of the conference and no other team from a realignment standpoint makes sense. If Villanova struggles in the next couple of years and the Big East doesn’t have teams in the second weekend, maybe Coach Mark Few and the Bulldogs get a call?