When a college basketball resume consists of 642 wins, four Final Four appearances, two national championships and a 2021 induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, retirement is more like a career celebration. Jay Wright spent 21 seasons refining his craft at Villanova and hung up his fashionable, head coaching wardrobe Wednesday.
But what was the reputation of Jay Wright within the sports betting community? In a word: respect.
The Jay Wright Effect on Sports Betting
Although the 60-year-old began his prestigious career at Hofstra, his first NCAA tournament surge was manufactured 16 years ago. So let’s start there.
Since 2005, Wright is 295-246-13 against the spread, including a surprising 47-51-6 record as an underdog ATS. A bettor would be up $2,245 if $100 was the “unit” for each of those games.
But that’s just scratching the surface.
Villanova is the most profitable team across all six major sports – college basketball, college football, NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. Under Wright, Nova tallied a 196-133-9 ATS (59.6%) mark, over the last decade. A $100 bettor would be up $5,062 from a program that Wright elevated from the dead and developed into a blue blood.
From Kyle Lowry to Ryan Arcidiacono to Jalen Brunson to Collin Gillespie, Wright’s premier squads were directed by a remarkably savvy point guard. You could even see his stylistic fingerprints on Brunson’s 41-point performance in Game 2 of the Mavericks-Jazz series — with the two-time national champ shot faking Utah to sleep.
The sport has seen both Wright and Mike Kryzewski, the all-time winningest coach in Division I men’s basketball history, say goodbye in the last three weeks.
Villanova’s Next Head Coach
Kyle Neptune, who spent 11 total seasons on Wright’s coaching staff before taking over Fordham for a single campaign, will take over the Wildcats’ head coaching duties. Following the unexpected news, FanDuel Sportsbook raised Villanova’s title odds from +2200 to +3000. The best available odds across legal U.S. sportsbooks sit at .
Moreover, Matt Lindeman, WynnBET’s senior lead trader, noted he won’t be posting title futures for a while because of the newfound version of the transfer portal. Nevertheless, Lindeman remained skeptical of Neptune’s ability to dramatically impress the betting market in the early goings.
“I’d be really shocked if Neptune has Villanova within five points of Wright’s average power rating in the next three seasons,” he said.
In particular, he could have a difficulty retaining 2022 five-star prospect Cam Whitmore, who may decide to reopen his recruitment entirely. The Wildcats will already be losing to aforementioned Gillespie to graduation.
Free Pick’Em Contests! Compete for prizes every day by entering our free betting games. NBA, MLB, golf and more!
More College Basketball Betting News
Oscar Tshiebwe
The 2021-22 Wooden Award winner, announced his return to Lexington, Ky. on Wednesday. FanDuel Sportsbook lowered the Wildcats’ national title odds from +1500 to +1200 as a result. The best available odds across sportsbooks are .
Even without five-star freshmen TyTy Washington and Shaedon Sharpe, who will head to the NBA draft, John Calipari’s team could very well avenge its first-round NCAA tournament loss to St. Peter’s and win the championship next season.
Florida Gators
If you’ve already joined me in becoming a Gators basketball futures ticket holder, their title odds have dipped from 120-1 to as low as 70-1 after Colin Castleton jumped back into the fold and transfers Alex Fudge (LSU) and Will Richard (Belmont) tagged along. They’re in the mix for Morehead State transfer Johni Broome too, who accrued the seventh-highest block percentage in DI last season.
Continue the discussion in our Discord betting chat, where bettors chat about their favorite college basketball futures bets. Follow TheLines on Twitter.
