Villanova Wildcats Were Money For Bettors Under Wright; Updated Odds

After leading Villanova to a Final Four earlier 18 days ago, head coach Jay Wright is retiring from coaching according to multiple reports. Wright’s resume during his 21 years at Villanova includes two National Championships and four Final Fours. The news of Wright’s retirement shocked Nova Nation and is bad news for college basketball bettors.

Why did Jay Wright retire?

On Wednesday night, Wright shared a letter on Twitter saying “it’s time for us to enter a new era of Villanova basketball.” Fordham coach Kyle Neptune will be Wright’s successor.

In early April before the Final Four matchup against Kansas, he appeared on Mike Francesa’s new podcast.

Francesa asked Wright about the reasons behind Villanova’s free-throw percentage which set the mark for the best-ever in college basketball history.

“We have all older guys who have been in the program for four or five years that have been through this free throw shooting system for a number of years,” said Wright. “We don’t have a freshman that’s only been through it and revert us back to the mean. Everyone has been in this system for a long time and it’s what has put us in the position to be a great free-throw shooting team.”

Francesa said Wright developed players better than anyone in college basketball and asked how the transfer portal would impact that.

Wright answered:

“That’s the challenge for Villanova basketball going forward. How do we maintain what the program is built on. We teach all the players the same things. They choose to come here and allow us to change their games. Do we have to get involved in this portal where you get this guy for a year…well you aren’t changing that guy. When you come in as a transfer you have certain habits that have to be changed and ours have to be implemented. It takes time. How are we going to handle that going forward…I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

Bettors could usually bank on Villanova

If you bet on Villanova against the spread, you were usually right.

Since 2016, Villanova was 20-4 outright and 19-5 ATS in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats were 27-18-2 ATS as an underdog.
Villanova was 202-134-5 ATS over the past 10 seasons, the best mark in Division I.
In the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the only game they did not cover was in the Final Four against Kansas.