NEW ORLEANS – Jay Wright already has the orange jacket in his closet. 
 
Just 201 nights ago, the Villanova head coach and two-time champion was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 
 
Wright’s accomplishments speak for themselves. His program has owned the past decade. Last Saturday night in San Antonio, though, when the Wildcats won their third regional title in six years, it felt like the furthest thing from a fairytale story. The reason: The young man Wright calls his most valuable player was limping off the court on crutches. Justin Moore was done for the season. 
 
So many times, for a team to lose such a high-impact player this late in the season, it could derail a team. On Thursday at Caesars Superdome, it still felt like ho-hum for Villanova. It’s not to diminish Moore’s presence, but it says that much more about a program that’s been labeled as one conducted in a professional manner. 
 
“I think it’s the same thing we heard last year when we lost Collin (Gillespie),” said Jermaine Samuels, who joined Gillespie for a fifth season at Villanova after the Wildcats point guard suffered the season-ending MCL injury late last year. “Yes, it’s very tough that we lost Justin. And it does hurt. But these guys are ready. The same guys put in the same work as Justin all year.” 
 
Now, these are uncharted waters for those other players. Chris Arcidiacono and Bryan Antoine, the two replacement options off the bench for Wright, have only averaged nine minutes per game this season. Neither has scored in double-figures. 
 
There’s no mistaking that with Caleb Daniels entering the starting lineup – fun fact: Villanova is 9-2 when he scores in double figures – the Wildcats will rely upon their five to do the heavy lifting. But at some point, if there is a need for a reserve, this stage offers a test like no other. 
 
“It’s not just Bryan and I filling in for the minutes or having to fill Justin shoes,” said Arcidiacono. “Everyone else is going to step up – Jermaine, (Brandon) Slater, Caleb, Eric (Dixon) – everybody will play a role to fill what Justin did for us.” 
 
“It’s definitely going to impact our gameplan offensively,” said Wright. “But, we do have a week here to adjust what we do without him, which is what is unique about a Final Four. It gives you a chance to adjust.”
One interesting dynamic to the Moore situation is that Villanova will not play much differently, because the Wildcats’ system could actually help when scoring is lacking. That’s evidenced by the fact that this team is only allowing 55 points per game in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas would prefer to run, holding an average tempo that ranks 61st in the country. The Wildcats sit at 345th out of 358. 
 
With another shot of adversity hitting the Wildcats, one interesting element? What Wright had thoughts of regretting back in January could now prove to be beneficial – scheduling the most difficult non-conference slate in college basketball. 
 
“I thought of that as a mistake,” said Wright. “But when you think of what we saw at UCLA and at Baylor, and then see what we were able to do against Houston (50-44 win), it shows that we can grind out that type of game.” 
 
It may take that kind of game to beat the explosive style of the Jayhawks, who have two all-American caliber talents in the senior duo of forward Ochai Agbaji and guard Remy Martin.
 
But, Bill Self said it best: “In our sport, there’s more games lost than there are won. And Villanova’s not going to help you beat them.”
 
Regardless of what happens this week, Wright’s orange jacket from Springfield isn’t leaving his closet. But, if he can lead this Villanova program to two wins in New Orleans, it’s hard to believe but it’s true: considering the circumstances, this could be his finest hour.