John Calipari, Tony Bennett Headline Naismith Coach of the Year Finalists

Kentucky head coach John Calipari leads four finalists for the 2015 Naismith Coach of the Year Award, joining Virginia's Tony Bennett, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan and Villanova's Jay Wright, the organization announced Tuesday.

Calipari, 56, was previously named Coach of the Year in 1996 at UMass and in 2008 at Memphis. His likely third award comes as part of a historic regular season for the Wildcats, who enter the NCAA tournament looking to become the sport's first undefeated team since 1976. Kentucky (34-0) enters the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and is the 13th team in history to go wire-to-wire as the nation's top-ranked squad in the AP poll.  

“It’s no wonder I’ve won so much,” Calipari said Monday, per Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Look at the players I’ve coached. I’ve got all the best players. I’m supposed to win.”

Bennett, 45, won the award in 2007 while at Washington State. In his sixth season stewarding the ship at Virginia, Bennett has the Cavaliers at 29-3 and as the No. 2 seed in the East region. Virginia has taken the regular-season ACC championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time in three decades.

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Wright, 53, took home the Naismith a year before Bennett and could be in line for a second after rebuilding the Villanova program yet again. The Wildcats have earned championships each of the first two years in the new Big East and enter the tournament as one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country. Wright led them to a school-record 32 wins heading into the Big Dance.

Ryan, 67, would be the only first-time winner on the list. He was a finalist in 2005 before losing to Bruce Weber and in 2007 before losing to Bennett. The Wisconsin stalwart has led the Badgers to back-to-back 30-win seasons and enters the tournament as arguably Kentucky's biggest threat. With a win over Coastal Carolina on Friday, Ryan will set an all-time record for wins in a season.

The Naismith Coach of the Year Award will be announced April 5 as part of Final Four festivities.

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