A disappointing end to a disappointing season.


Let's hear it. How much danger is the program in? Or is the damage already done? Move forward with Neptune or move on? Any hope for next year? For the next five years? Who do you want to see stay/go? Biggest need for next season?

Some work in the 2026 class as an offer has gone out to four-star guard Deron Rippey Jr. Rippey Jr. plays at Blair Academy in New Jersey and is currently ranked No. 34 in his class.

Villanova's 2023-24 season will continue, as the Cats earned a 1-seed in the NIT. Obviously not the tournament invite everyone was hoping for at the beginning of the season, but personally I believe the program made the right decision to participate.


What do you think? Are you glad the team accepted? Would you have preferred it declined? Why?

Cats hold a 29-28 lead at half. How we feeling?

Feels like a lot of missed opportunity there in the first 10-12 minutes and that the lead should be more. On the other hand, if you would have told me before the game it would be a one-point lead at halftime I would have taken that in a second.

A valiant effort and a disappointing end.


A lot to process here, both in the game and for the season. What did you think of the game? What frustrated you the most? What are your thoughts on the last two Villanova possessions in regulation, and not calling a timeout?

We'll address the season as a whole soon, but immediate what are your immediate reactions. To think that this team was 6-1 with wins over Texas Tech and UNC, it's almost unfathomable that they aren't going to make the NCAA Tournament. Does a change need to be made?

Villanova's Big East Tournament opener was...something. I guess that's why they say survive and advance.


How you can't build a double-digit lead when your opponent starts 2-18, I have no idea. How you can't put away a 3-28 team that you destroyed twice in the regular season, with your season on the line, I don't know. Despite whatever that performance was, Nova managed to get itself another opportunity. I don't even know what questions to specifically ask after that...so I'll just say what is your reaction and general thoughts?

Not a huge surprise here, but Villanova has officially announced that Jordan Longino is out against Marquette. Listed as day-to-day with a left knee sprain.

The Rivals Big East sites got together to vote on all-conference teams and season awards. Here's how things shook out.


Agree? Disagree? Any major gripes here? How would your selections differ?

Villanova got off to an unacceptably abysmal start Saturday against Creighton only to see an epic comeback fall short on a buzzer-beating bucket, likely sending the Cats to the NIT for a second consecutive season.


How is it possible to come out that poorly in a game with these circumstances? Why is this team incapable of playing a full 40 minutes? How devastating will it be long term to miss the tournament again, especially with relatively bleak prospects next year? How frustrated are you with this season? How far will the program fall? What are your thoughts after what will likely be another lost season barring something crazy happening at the Big East Tournament?

Nova was once again let down by the offense as it missed a chance to essentially lock up a NCAA Tournament bid.


Nova is now in an unenviable position, needing a win over No. 10 Creighton to keep its tournament hopes alive. The loss was particularly frustrating because the game plan was pretty good and executed well enough.

An offer in the 2025 class, this one to guard Acaden Lewis, who attends Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC.

Lewis hasn't cracked the Rivals150 yet, but a new update of the rankings is coming this week so we'll see if he makes an appearance. Neptune has had success identifying talent and getting offers out ahead of the analysts, and it will be interesting to see if this proves to be another example of that. It appears that Ash Howard is taking the lead in Lewis' recruitment. (Well, he's listed as unranked on his profile page, but he's listed at No. 89 if you go to the Rivals150 list for his class.)

Some other schools that have offered include Florida State, Georgetown, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Providence, St. John's, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Villanova need to have it, and it got it.


A lot to like on Saturday. Moore looks good again, he and Dixon lead the way. Hausen bringing great energy. Armstrong continuing to show flashes, making timely plays. Balanced effort. Totally dominant defensive effort in the second half. Stepping up under extreme pressure. What did you like most? How are we feeling about the last two games of the regular season? The BET? NCAA Tournament chances?

Patriotic College Football Helmets

Nova didn't have much to gain and a lot to lose facing lowly Georgetown, but still managed to spur optimism with a dominant performance.


What's your biggest takeaway? What did you find most encouraging? How are you feeling heading into one of the most crucial regular season stretches in recent memory?

Villanova hung with No. 1 UConn for about 30 minutes Saturday night, but was ultimately doomed by an inability to put the ball in the basket consistently.


Are you just shaking this one off knowing there's a clear path to an NCAA Tournament berth ahead? Or will the frustration of another missed opportunity/wasted performance at one end of the floor stick with you for a bit? Are you feeling more optimistic, less optimistic or the same as you felt prior to the game after Saturday night's result?

Nova got a huge win Tuesday night, handling Butler 72-62. I hit a ton of traffic getting back into town today, so I missed the first half. As a result, not going to do traditional game coverage. We'll just note a few key numbers and I'll share some quotes from coach Neptune.

Villanova dominated the glass (37-20 in total rebounds, 9-3 in offensive rebounds and 9-2 in second chance points.
Nova defended the paint, holding a 22-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Cats hit a solid clip from beyond the arc (10-24, 42%).

Eric Dixon was a +14 and Brendan Hausen was a +13.

Justin Moore had his best game in quite some time, scoring 13 points on 4-7 shooting, including 3-5 from three. It was great to see Moore have his shot working after really struggling from the field pretty much since he returned from injury. He added four rebounds, an assist and a block.

It wasn't perfect, and there were some truly atrocious turnovers committed by the Wildcats. It's bad enough that they had 12 turnovers to seven for Butler (13-8 Butler edge in points of turnovers), but the way some of them happened added to the frustration. But they were able to overcome those and did a very good job in most other aspects of the game, getting a much needed win as they try to claw their way back into the NCAA Tournament picture.

Some quotes from coach Neptune:

“I was really proud of the way our guys came out. I thought we withstood a pretty good run from them in the beginning, they were drilling some shots, some tough ones. I thought throughout the game they made some tough shots that were contested, they made some runs, they strung together some stops, they forced us into some turnovers but our guys were resilient and they kept fighting. Eventually we got some breathing room.”

“I thought we just kept grinding. They were making some tough shots. They’re capable of scoring in bunches and they got guys that can make shots even if there’s good defense. I thought we withstood that punch and we just kept coming.”

“It’s (rebounding) something we’ve been focusing on. Last time we played them they really got us on the glass on some key, key possessions down the stretch. To our guys credit I thought they did an unbelievable job being nasty and going after the ball.”

“I think we’re getting better in all facets of the game, especially defensively and on the glass. We started the year, we had a juice to us in the beginning, I think we’re getting better at it now. I still think we can get better but I’m proud of where we are right now.”

Hey everyone, just a heads up that I'll be traveling tonight through Tuesday. Am going to try to catch the game Friday and get an article up, but I can't guarantee I will be able to. If there's no posts after the Georgetown game, that's why. Hopefully the team will handle business as expected and there won't be a whole lot to break down. I should be back in time to resume regular coverage for the Butler game on Tuesday, which is obviously a huge game. Apologies for any slip in coverage this weekend, and appreciate the understanding.

Good Villanova returned Sunday, as the Cats dominated Seton Hall.


What did you like most about the performance? Did it serve to add to your frustration about the season as a whole or change your outlook on the season? Are you a believer in the path to the NCAA Tournament?

Villanova suffered another close loss Wednesday night.


Lots to be frustrated about as another winnable game slips away. What bothers you the most? The missed layups? The slow starts? More end-of-half/end-of-game execution issues? The last possession? The Moore foul with 18 seconds left?

Villanova has a Justin Moore problem.

It's painful to acknowledge, because one he's done so much for the program and two he's clearly not 100%. You have to give him credit for wanting to gut it out and try to help the team. But he simply isn't able to right now.

Over the last five games, Moore is averaging 4.8 ppg. He's shot 8-36 (22.2%) overall and 2-17 (11.7%) from three. He's a -26 over that span, averaging a -5.2 per game.

The bigger issue, in my opinion, is mistakes being made that aren't physical. The most glaring example is his late foul against Xavier where he reached in on a driving Quincy Olivari. A player with his experience has to know better there and find a way to challenge the shot without fouling. He certainly has to know you can't reach there. Another example is the poor shot he took late in the first half of the first loss to Marquette that gave the Golden Eagles a buzzer-beating layup and a huge momentum boost. There was no way that Marquette should have gotten another shot in the half, and someone with the experience of Moore HAS to know that. Even if he's limited physically, he should be able to make some kind of positive impact with his knowledge and experience, but that's just not happening right now. Again, it's one thing to not be the scorer or defender that he was pre-injury, but to be hurting the team with mental mistakes is concerning.

I'd also like to argue that his mere presence provides a boost, that him being out there provides some stability, some confidence, some smoothing of execution. Intuitively, it makes sense. But there's just not a whole lot of evidence indicating any of that is happening right now.

As crazy as it sounds, and as much as it hurts to acknowledge, it's hard to justify him being out there in crunch time at this point. It's an incredibly delicate situation for Kyle Neptune to handle, and I don't envy his position. But you have to consider making a drastic change at this point.

The Cats are finally back in the win column.


What did you like most about the performance? Is there any belief in a tournament berth? Or does the swing back to the positive end of the pendulum simply add to the frustration regarding this team's inconsistency and what could have been?

The Cats nearly pulled off an epic comeback against No. 9 Marquette, but an atrocious start proved too much to overcome.


Running out of things to say. This team keeps finding new ways to lose, can't find any consistency and keeps putting itself in bad positions. We're left with a second consecutive season of what ifs.

Ozzy Osbourne Passed Away

An inexcusable, astounding loss on Saturday at Hinkle.


Blown leads. Terrible defense late after really good defense much of the day. Terrible late-game offense. And sadly, there were a few positives that will be overshadowed because there's no point in talking about them following a loss that likely ended NCAA Tournament hopes, especially one that happened the way this one did. Go ahead and vent.

I'd love to get a sense of where everyone is on this. What do you think? Is Neptune on the hot seat? Should he be? Does he need to make the tournament to keep his job? Is there anything about this season or his tenure as a whole that you're particularly concerned about? Has he shown you enough (or anything) that makes you want him to get more time?