Villanova’s title defence builds on busy 2018-19

ended in 1973, the other two being Duke in 1991-92 and Florida in 2006-07.

“We really feel humbled and blessed to be in this position,” Wright said after the Michigan win.

It’s unclear how the Wildcats will look next year. Associated Press national player of the year Jalen Brunson and NBA prospect Mikal Bridges could decide to leave a year early to pursue a professional career after winning two national championships.

Michigan lost in the national championship game for the second time under John Beilein. Can the Wolverines get back there?

Much will depend on whether juniors Moe Wagner (14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds) and Charles Matthews (13.0 points) decide to return for their final season.

The Wolverines can at least look to some recent history for inspiration; North Carolina lost to Villanova in the 2016 final, then made it all the way back to win the title last year.

Duke checked in at No. 1 in the AP’s way too early ranking for next season based on the latest wave of touted incoming recruits. That includes Duke’s sweep of the nation’s top three recruits — No. 1 R.J. Barrett, No. 2 Cameron Reddish and No. 3 Zion Williamson — though they play the same position as wing forwards.

The Blue Devils also have a top-10 recruit in point guard Tre Jones.

Virginia made an unexpected climb to end the regular season as a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 — only to become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed against UMBC in the tournament.

The Atlantic Coast Conference champion Cavaliers could have plenty of guard talent back with Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter. But coach Tony Bennett — named the AP coach of the year last week — said his players can build from that only if they apply lessons learned from the season.

“Everybody will say, you know, you’re going to be better because of this,” Bennett said in an interview with the AP. “There’s nothing further from the truth. If you don’t do anything with it, just because you suffered a loss, that’s not going to make you better.”

Arizona had a tumultuous year, which started when an assistant coach was one of the 10 people charged in the federal case. There were also questions about the future of coach Sean Miller.

The Wildcats could face a difficult situation next year. Star freshman Deandre Ayton is going pro along with high-scoring junior Allonzo Trier and guard Rawle Alkins. And their recruiting class fell apart amid the uncertainty of the federal probe.

No matter what Miller manages to pull together in recruiting, the Wildcats will look very different.

LoyolaChicago was the story of the NCAA Tournament by reaching the Final Four for the first time since winning the 1963 title.

The Ramblers lose key seniors, but return Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Clayton Custer. Loyola could also see a recruiting boost, especially if coach Porter Moser stays in place. Louisville has a new coach in Chris Mack as well as a new athletic director in the wake of an embarrassing sex scandal and connections to the federal case. Mack left Xavier to take over the Cardinals, who spent last year under interim coach David Padgett after the ouster of hall of famer Rick Pitino.

Several prominent programs have new coaches, including Duke assistant Jeff Capel taking over at Pittsburgh and former Indiana coach Tom Crean stepping in at Georgia.

Some other new coaches to watch include promoted Xavier assistant Travis Steele, Mississippi’s Kermit Davis (from Middle Tennessee), Connecticut’s Dan Hurley (from Rhode Island) and Memphis’ Penny Hardaway.