Wright Way: Hall of Fame coach keeps Villanova in title hunt

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Jay and Patty Wright held hands as they weaved their way around the Madison Square Garden court, trying —- if only for a second or two — to thank the crowd that stuck around after the Big East Tournament title game until ushers blocked anyone from approaching the couple.

For the students, the band, the coach flashed the “V” as he does after a victory. The former Villanova players get a quick wave or a hug. No one who wants a moment with the coach is left unrecognized amid the hoopla and Kool and The Gang blaring over the sound system.

“You go to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it’s not like this,” Wright said about the New York championship scene. “And you’re not in this arena. And you’re not in New York City. This is a big jolt. This is big time. And we all know it and we feel it.”

Now with that party over, the trick is avoiding the comedown as the second-seeded Wildcats (26-7) head to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Tournament opener Friday against No. 15 Delaware.

“When you go through that experience at Madison Square Garden, and you’re in that excitement, and then you come down from that and people are hyping you up, you’ve got to get yourself refocused,” Wright said. “It concerns me. It’s something we’ve done before.”

Yes, they have.

Wright has been as masterful at avoiding the upsets in recent years in the NCAA Tournament as he is schmoozing donors and fans. He can refocus in a snap - with two national national titles since 2016 to show for it.

This time he'll attempt to do it against a neighbor; just 43 miles separate the schools. But the gap in budgets, talent and national prominence between the basketball programs is wider than their seeding: Villanova is 15-0 against the Blue Hens...