A critical season for third-year Villanova coach Kyle Neptune is already off to a shaky start after the Wildcats fell 90-80 to Columbia at home on Wednesday night. The loss dropped Villanova to 1-1 and puts an early blemish on its resume as the program continues struggling to find its footing in the post-Jay Wright era.
Fifth-year senior Eric Dixon led the Wildcats with 33 points, but Villanova struggled defensively against a Columbia team picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League. The veteran-laden Lions got scoring contributions from nine players and hit 24 of 26 free throws while notching their first win over a Big East foe since the 2012-13 season. Columbia's 90 points were the most scored against Villanova since Butler scored 101 on the Wildcats in the 2017-18 season.
Columbia ranked No. 217 at KenPom entering the night and hasn't finished above .500 since the 2015-16 season, making it just the latest embarrassing loss for Villanova under Neptune's watch. Last season, the Wildcats lost to Penn on Nov. 13 before also falling to Saint Joseph's and Drexel.
Those confounding losses stood in contrast to wins over Texas Tech, North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA during an erratic non-conference slate for Villanova. Ultimately, the Wildcats were bogged down by those ugly defeats and finished the 2023-24 season 18-16 (10-10 Big East), missing their second straight NCAA Tournament.
With the program missing the Big Dance in back-to back seasons for the first time since 2003 and 2004, Neptune entered the 2024-25 season facing significant pressure after succeeding Wright, who guided the Wildcats to national titles in 2016 and 2018 before surprisingly retiring after the 2022 campaign.
Getting Dixon to return for his final season of eligibility was a jolt for the Wildcats after he explored the NBA Draft process, but Villanova has suspect depth around him.
Dixon and senior guard Jordan Longino are the only returners who were part of Villanova's rotation last season. While Neptune, who is now 36-34 as Villanova's head coach, added a handful of transfers, only one -- former Miami guard Wooga Poplar -- brings significant power conference experience. Poplar finished with 16 points Wednesday while guards Tyler Perkins (Penn) and Jhamir Brickus (La Salle) combined for just nine points on 4 of 12 shooting in 26 and 24 minutes, respectively, and big man Enoch Boakye (Fresno State) had only two points and six rebounds in 26 minutes.
Now Neptune is tasked with finding a way to get his new-look Wildcats to mesh, or the pressure on him will only continue to intensify.