Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and, since 1985, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. As of 2021, he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference seasons, of which six were undefeated overall seasons, with 11 NCAA Division I national championships, the most in women's college basketball history, and has won eight national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma was the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 through 2016, during which time his teams won the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, going undefeated in all four tournaments. Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jerold Taylor "Jay" Wright Jr. is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of Villanova University from 2001 until 2022. Wright led the Villanova Wildcats to six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 21 seasons as head coach. Under Wright, Villanova reached four Final Fours and won two national championships in 2016 and 2018. Wright is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in NCAA history.
The Temple Owls are the athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson.
The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the Wildcats, Villanova is a member of the Philadelphia Big Five, five Philadelphia college basketball teams who share a passionate rivalry.
The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. On December 15, 2012, Villanova and the other six, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the Big East for a new conference. This conference assumed the Big East name on July 1, 2013.
The Temple Owls men's basketball team represents Temple University in the sport of basketball. The Owls compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference. They play their home games in the Liacouras Center on the university's main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and are currently led by head coach Adam Fisher. Temple is the sixth-most winningest NCAA Division I men's college basketball program of all time, with 1,978 wins at the end of the 2022–23 season. Although they have reached the NCAA Tournament over thirty times, they are one of nine programs with that many appearances to have not won the Tournament and one of four to have never reached the National Championship Game.
Denise Dillon is the head women's basketball coach at Villanova.
The Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represents Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States.
Ryan Curran Arcidiacono is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Arch of Dimes", he has represented Italy in international competition. He attended Neshaminy High School, where he averaged 20.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior to lead Neshaminy to the PIAA playoffs.
The 2014–15 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team is representing Villanova University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats led by thirty-seventh year head coach Harry Perretta, they played their games at The Pavilion and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 22–14, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in third place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big East women's tournament where they lost to DePaul. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Maine in the first round, Old Dominion in the second round, Big East member St. John's in the third round before losing to West Virginia in the quarterfinals.
Josh Hart is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz with the 30th overall pick before being traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2015–16 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team is representing Villanova University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by thirty-eighth year head coach Harry Perretta, they played their games at The Pavilion and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 20–12, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East women's tournament to Creighton. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Liberty in the first round before losing to Bucknell in the second.
Mary Michelle Pennefather, now known as Sister Rose Marie of the Queen of Angels, is a former professional basketball player. Winner of the Wade Trophy in 1987, she went on to play premier league basketball in Japan before retiring to a monastic life.
The 2016–17 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by thirty-ninth year head coach Harry Perretta, played their games at The Pavilion and are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 11–7 in Big East play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East women's tournament to St. John's. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Princeton, Drexel and James Madison in the first, second and third rounds, Indiana in the quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semifinals.
The 2017–18 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represents Villanova University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by fortieth year head coach Harry Perretta, play their games at Jake Nevin Field House due to renovations at The Pavilion and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 23–9, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East women's tournament to Georgetown. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated South Dakota State in the first round before losing to Notre Dame in the second round.
The 2018–19 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 18th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 13–5 in Big East play to finish in first place. They defeated Providence, Xavier, and Seton Hall to win the Big East tournament. As a result, the Wildcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. There they defeated Saint Mary's before being defeated by Purdue in the Second Round.
The 2018–19 Villanova Wildcats women's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by 41st-year head coach Harry Perretta, returned to play home games at the newly updated Finneran Pavilion after a 1-year renovation and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East women's tournament to Georgetown. They received an at-large bid to the WNIT where they defeated Old Dominion in the first round before losing to West Virginia in the second round.
The 2019–20 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 19th year, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 24–7, 13–5 in Big East play which put them in a three-way tie for first place. As the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament, they were slated to play DePaul in the quarterfinals, but the Tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the NCAA postseason. The team officially finished ninth in the Coaches Poll and tenth in the AP Poll, which served as de facto selectors during the season.
Kyle Neptune is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team.
The 2021–22 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Jay Wright in his 21st and final year of coaching, the Wildcats played their home games at the Finneran Pavilion on the school's campus in the Philadelphia suburb of Villanova, Pennsylvania and Wells Fargo Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 30–8, 16–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated St. John's, UConn, and Creighton to win the Big East tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the South region. They defeated Delaware, Ohio State, Michigan, and Houston to advance to the Final Four. There they lost to eventual national champion Kansas.
