NCAA Basketball: Top 10 seasons for Jay Wright at Villanova

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 02: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats talks with his team during a timeout in the second half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Villanova Wildcats 81-65. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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Villanova Basketball Jay Wright Corey Fisher (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /

7. 2008-09

Record: 30-8

Big East Record: 13-5

Big East Tournament Champion: No

NCAA Tournament finish: Final 4 (L) vs North Carolina

Highest Ranking: #12

Top scorer: Dante Cunningham 16.1 ppg

You noticing a common theme here? Maybe it was bad luck. Maybe it was the college basketball gods not favoring ‘Nova. Maybe it just wasn’t their time, which we will get to later.

Reaching his first Final Four as a college basketball head coach and as the Villanova head coach; Wright finally got to a place where legends are made. Getting to that point wasn’t an easy task. In one of the March Madness classics we have in recent memory Wright and the Wildcats cemented themselves in history.

The Elite 8 thrilling finish with another top-tier Big East team, Pittsburgh Panthers, showcased that ‘Nova was here to stay amongst the college basketball elite. The game was back and forth, it wasn’t until Scottie Reynolds going almost the full length of the court hitting a game winning layup that ‘Nova was firmly in their first Final Four since 1984-85.

The beauty of this ‘Nova team was their ability to play physically on both ends. Wright was able to go eight deep with this team. Corey Fisher provided a necessary scoring spark off the bench. Dante Cunningham displayed a tough inside presence.

This was a very good ‘Nova team. Eventually they would get over the hump right?

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