This week was a big one for two longtime Big East coaches. Jay Wright hit 500 wins at Villanova when the Wildcats defeated Creighton on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Ed Cooley reached 300 career wins Saturday afternoon as Providence defeated St. John’s.
Wright sits behind only Jim Boeheim (846) and Jim Calhoun (629) in all-time wins for Big East coaches and is the win-leader at Villanova. He made his head coaching debut with Villanova on November 21, 2001, when the Wildcats defeated Grambling. Ricky Wright and Gary Buchanan lead Villanova in scoring as they pulled away in the second half and were nearly perfect from the free-throw line to seal the win.