A Wednesday night news dump has sent shockwaves through the college basketball world.
Jay Wright is stepping down as the men's basketball coach at Villanova, according to multiple reports.
Wright is known as one of the best coaches in basketball. He has won two national championships at the Wildcats’ helm and led them to four Final Four appearances, including this past season.
Villanova started the day at +2000 on DraftKings to win the 2023 national title. After the Wright news, they have moved to +2200 odds. The Wildcats are also +3000 currently at FanDuel and moved to +2800 at Caesars.
Obviously, Wright’s departure will likely be tough for the school’s fan base. However, longtime Villanova bettors might be the saddest of all.
Across all six major sports (NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, NHL, MLB), Villanova is the most profitable betting team over the last decade: 196-133-9 ATS (59.6%).
And just how profitable has Villanova been under Wright? A $100 bettor would be up $5,062, a ROI of +15 percent.
Wright was the head coach at Hofstra from 1994 to 2001 before taking over at Villanova ahead of the 2001-2002 season. He posted a 520-197 (.725) record during his time at Villanova, winning eight Big East regular-season titles and four Big East Tournament crowns.
The sport has gotten used to seeing prominent college coaches retire, with Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski announcing their departures over the last year. Coach K was 75 when he retired and Williams was 70 years old.
The 60-year-old Wright is one of the few college basketball coaches to retire while still in the prime of their coaching career.
CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein has reported that Fordham Head Coach Kyle Neptune is expected to be Wright’s successor. Neptune spent seven seasons on Wright's staff at Villanova before taking over as the head coach of Fordham last year. He went 16-16 during his first year with the Rams.
NCAA Basketball Title Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Duke | +900 |
| Kentucky | +1000 |
| North Carolina | +1100 |
| Kansas | +1200 |
| Arkansas | +1400 |
| Houston | +1400 |
| UCLA | +1600 |
| Baylor | +1800 |
| Arizona | +1800 |
| Gonzaga | +1800 |
| Villanova | +2200 |
| Texas | +2500 |
| Alabama | +2800 |
| Michigan | +2800 |
| Texas Tech | +3500 |
| Auburn | +4500 |
| Tennessee | +4500 |
| Purdue | +4500 |
| Virginia | +4500 |
| Illinois | +5000 |
| Oregon | +5000 |
| Creighton | +5000 |
*Only displaying odds 50-1 or shorter, as of April 20 at DraftKings
