Forward Nnanna Njoku, who has missed Villanova's last three games due to "knee soreness," underwent successful knee surgery on Friday and will be out indefinitely, per the school.

Tough break for Njoku, who had been showing some signs of growth this season, and for the team, whose already thin frontcourt takes another hit.

Some eerie parallels have emerged between Villanova's disappointing 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 campaign.


Things haven't played out exactly the same, but the similarities are striking, and concerning.

Well, we have a new nominee for worst performance of the season. St. John's exerted its will on Villanova Wednesday night, leaving the Cats in a precarious position regarding the NCAA Tournament.


There were recurring issues (end-of-half blunders, conceding huge runs to the opponent, poor shooting) as well as a complete inability to prevent the opponent from doing what it wanted and questions about effort. What's your biggest beef with the performance? Will this team make the NCAA Tournament?

Pretty important game coming up on Wednesday against St. John's. Is it a must-win for Nova's NCAA Tournament hopes?

I think 19 wins will be enough to get into the tournament but would still be sweating on Selection Sunday. 20 wins and I think Nova is comfortably in the field.

Currently sitting at 11 wins with 13 games to play, things are a little tighter than one would like. There aren't nearly as many "gimme" games on the Big East slate as maybe were expected prior to the season, and Nova has already played two of the few that remained expected wins (DePaul twice). The Cats have two games that on paper appear gimmies, both against Georgetown, which is currently ranked No. 175 in KenPom (Nova, however, is just 1-2 against teams ranked between 100-199 in KenPom). Outside of the Georgetown games, no remaining Nova opponent is currently ranked worse than No. 56 on KP (Nova is 6-4 against KenPom top 70 teams so far this season).

If you count the two G-Town games as wins (dangerous, I know), that gets you to 13. So you need at least six, probably seven, to be comfortable come Selection Sunday. KenPom projects Nova to go 5-6 in those 11 games (including projecting a loss to St. John's on Wednesday), finishing with a record of 18-13. Beyond Wednesday, there are a few projected losses that would seem to be games Nova could reasonably steal (road games at Butler, Seton Hall, Xavier and Providence), but there are also a couple projected wins that you certainly can't put in the bank (Marquette, Creighton). It's worth noting that Nova carries a better KenPom ranking than 10 of its final 13 opponents, but between some tough road games and not knowing what Villanova team will show up on any given night, it's difficult to chalk up any remaining game as a definite win.

Obviously, a loss on Wednesday doesn't mathematically eliminate the Cats. But they are playing with a razor-thin margin for error right now, with bad losses to St. Joe's, Penn and Drexel and near-misses against Kansas State and UConn looming large. While Wednesday's game might not technically a must-win, in my opinion it's about as close as you can get unofficially.

What do you think?

First, apologies for not getting a write-up on the game posted, I got violently ill shortly after the game ended.

Nova had it's chances to pull off the major upset, but couldn't quite get it done. Two offensive fouls against Justin Moore late were tough, and Nova simply conceded too many big runs to UConn, including falling behind 11-0 to start the game. The Cats also allowed a 13-0 UConn run after taking a four-point lead in the second half. Credit to Nova for fighting back each time and being in position to steal the game late, but ultimately it was too much to overcome.

This is another game that really makes you lament the losses to Penn, St. Joe's and Drexel. If you win even two of those games, this one hurts a lot less and it would be much easier to focus on the positive of taking the No. 1 team in the country to the wire. Instead, it's another crucial missed opportunity that further complicates the path to the NCAA Tournament.

The hope is that the team can take the effort, resiliency and the other positives from this game and carry them over throughout the rest of the schedule. If it can, it should be able to secure enough wins to earn a tournament bid.

Patriotic Concept Helmets

A disappointing outcome for Nova in Milwaukee, where it looked like the Cats had a chance to steal one if not for an inexplicable defensive performance and second-half miscues.


Unfortunate that Nova decided to pair its best offensive showing since the Bahamas with arguably its worst defensive performance of the entire season. Lots to be frustrated about here. Go ahead and vent.

Cats get back in the win column with another blowout of DePaul.


Good to see Nova handle business in a game it was expected to win easily. Some good things on both ends of the floor. Hard to put too much stock in the win based on the opponent, but what did you find most encouraging? Anything that still concerned you? How do you feel as Nova gets set to enter a really tough stretch of the schedule?

2024 Concept Helmets

A 2025 Villanova target recently discussed the state of his recruitment with Rivals' basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy.

Allen listed Villanova as a team that has been in contact the most, also mentioning Notre Dame, Arkansas, Michigan, UCF and Alabama. It sounds as though Nova, Michigan and UCF have been the most consistent in their contact with Allen. The guard is the son of former Wildcat Malik Allen.

The younger Allen is currently a four-star prospect who is ranked No. 54 in the class.
You can read the full article on the discussion with Allen at the link below:

Cats fall to St. John's 81-71.


Pretty disappointing performance at both ends on Saturday. Another slow start, more shooting woes, inconsistent defense. What do you make of this team right now? What was the most concerning aspect of Saturday's loss?

It was another rollercoaster ride, but the Cats held on for the win and took sole possession of first place in the Big East.


Are you more pleased with the 30 or so minutes of good basketball or concerned with the the 10 minutes where the wheels nearly fell off? Will the return of Moore alleviate some of the issues that cropped up in the last 10 minutes? Can the defense continue to save the offense? Do you feel better or worse about the team's season-long prospects after this game?

Rivals' national analyst Rob Cassidy recently caught up with intriguing 2026 prospect Jordan Smith Jr., who is currently ranked No. 22 in the class. The 6-3 guard discussed the early portion of his recruitment, and noted Villanova as a team that has been involved early, including a visit to campus, and had some encouraging comments. Smith Jr. noted that 'Nova "felt like home a little bit" while citing the energy in the building, the culture and the style of play as things that caught his attention. You can read his full comments at the link below.


Smith Jr. plays at Paul VI in Virginia, a familiar spot for 'Nova recruiting. It appears he will become a name to watch in the 2026 class.

Villanova built on Wednesday's win over No. 12 Creighton with a dismantling of DePaul on Saturday.


Great to see them not play down to their competition nor let the gains from the Creighton win slip away in a bad loss. How encouraged are you? Has your outlook for the rest of the season changed?

Nova kicked off Big East play with a huge road win over No. 12 Creighton.


What did you think? What are you biggest takeaways? Bigger win than UNC in the Bahamas? How are you feeling about the team's prospects? Are you confident or do you need to see more?

The Cats ended non-conference play on a positive note, earning a victory over UCLA.


It wasn't the prettiest performance, but Nova got the job done. How concerned are you about the offensive struggles? How impressed with the team's ability to overcome those struggles Saturday night? Who were you most impressed with individually?

The Origins of College Football Team Names

Justin Moore, who suffered a knee sprain in Tuesday's loss to Kansas State, will not play Saturday against UCLA, per Kyle Neptune.

Moore is officially designated as day-to-day, but there is no set timeline for his return. However, with a long layoff between the UCLA game and Villanova's next game at Creighton, there is at least some hope that he won't miss multiple games, although that's purely speculation on my part.

A tough one for the Cats who have now lost three in a row.


What did we think of the performance? Have you ever seen an offensive drought like the one Nova ended the first half on? Are you proud of the fight to get back in it? What's your outlook for the rest of the season?

The new Big Five format has been a disaster for Villanova, as the Wildcats fell to Drexel on Saturday to finish last in the inaugural Big Five Classic with an 0-3 record against city opponents.


Is it panic time? Was the Battle 4 Atlantis a mirage?

Villanova suffered a disappointing loss to St. Joe's on Wednesday after its impressive run at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Here are three concerns we have after the performance.


Do you agree? Did we miss anything? Are we overreacting? How do you feel about the state of the team right now?

Where do these weird sports team names originate?

No way around it, just a bad performance from the Cats.


Hoping to be able to dig into this game a little deeper before we move on to the next one, but feel free to vent here in the meantime. Biggest concern? Most frustrating part of the performance? Or are you just chalking this one up and moving on?

Patriotic College Football Helmets

Villanova rounded out an excellent trip to the Bahamas with another strong performance, stifling Memphis for a 79-63 win and a third Battle 4 Atlantis crown.


What did you make of the Cats' trip to the Bahamas? How impressed are you? How confident are you going forward/what are your expectations for the rest of the season? Did this tournament change your expectations at all? Is there anything you remain concerned about?