College Jay Wright Named Finalist for Naismith Trophy Men’s College Coach of the Year by Renee Washington March 20, 2016 Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America Villanova’s Jay Wright was named amongst four finalist for the top coaching honor in college basketball – the Naismith Coach of the Year award. The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the four finalists on Thursday and the winner will be announced on Sunday, April 3 at the Naismith Awards Brunch sponsored by UPS at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in Houston. The other three finalists include, Tom Crean (Indiana University), Chris Mack (Xavier University), and Bill Self (Kansas University). Self and Wright have won the award in the past. The Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy consists of top journalists from around the country, former award winners, conference commissioners, and current as well as former head coaches. The committee votes based on coaching performances throughout the 2015-2016 season. Jay Wright is currently 30-5 after winning the first round of the NCAA tournament over UNC Asheville Friday afternoon. The 2015-2016 marks Wright’s third straight season of winning 25 or more games. There have only been 12 seasons of 25 or more victories since the Villanova basketball program began in 1920 and half of those have come during Wright’s tenure starting in 2006. The Wildcats also finished 16-2 for the third straight season as they clinched the third consecutive Big East regular season title. For the fifth time since 2006 the Wildcats HC was named the Big East Coach of the Year. Wright became the first coach to win the award three straight seasons. Villanova basketball has had a strong season as they were ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches poll of February 8. They remained at the top of the polls for three weeks before dropping. The run at No. 1 marked the first time the Wildcats have been ranked that high in the regular season in program history. The Wildcats and Naismith Coach of the Year Jay Wright face the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday afternoon for a 12:10 tipoff at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Villanova hopes to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2009. Post Views: 1,274 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Renee Washington Renee is a Staff Writer at DoubleGSports.com with a focus on Temple Men's Basketball and other area sports content. Latest posts by Renee Washington (see all) Temple grabs fourth straight win - February 8, 2018 Temple Looks to Bounce Back Against Tulsa Wednesday - January 15, 2018 Analyzing Temple’s season through the halfway point - January 14, 2018 Game On! Temple still Scheduled to Face Cincinnati Thursday night - January 4, 2018 Related TopicsJay WrightVillanova Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Women in Sports: Podcast Host, New York Riptide Sideline Reporter, Dani Wexelman by Luke Porco | posted on March 3, 2020 More in College You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Master P’s Son, Hercy, Commits to Tennessee State Master P’s son, Hercy Miller, is committing to Tennessee State to play basketball. While... EA Sports Plans to Revive College Football Video Game EA Sports announced that they plan on making college football video games again. The... UVM Women’s Basketball Team Quits 2020-2021 Season The University of Vermont (UVM) women’s basketball will be ending their 2020-2021 season early... Rutgers Basketball to Hire Stony Brook’s Steve Pikiell as its New Coach RU WBB: Rutgers Bounced From WNIT