Under coach Kyle Neptune, Villanova looks nothing like the Final Four program built by Jay Wright

Kyle Neptune

VILLANOVA, Pa. — The once mighty Nova Nation was scaled down to a block party as the final seconds ticked off of the latest and easily most ignominious defeat of the last three seasons for Villanova.

The smattering of fans who turned up rushed for the Pavilion exits with about 3 minutes left and with no indication that a rally was coming under coach Kyle Neptune. The main attraction for some: stopping for a courtside selfie with rapper OT7 Quanny in the house.

Villanova went down once more to another perennial lightweight, the kind of team a program that recently boasted the likes of NBA stars Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges would have steamrolled by halftime not so long ago.

The final: Columbia 90, Villanova 80.

Yes, Columbia, with four winning Ivy League seasons since 1991 and a 16 1/2-point underdog, scored 90 points in regulation for the first time since 2018, and scored 21 points off turnovers. It joined the likes of Portland and Penn; Drexel and DePaul; Temple and Saint Joseph’s — humdrum teams that have beaten Neptune’s no-longer feared squads over his two-plus seasons.

Down times

Fan unrest is growing around the Main Line campus with Neptune at a pedestrian 36-34 since he replaced Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright. The next home game against NJIT suddenly seems make-or-break for NCAA Tournament expectations.

“Listen, I’m as competitive as everyone else. If you don’t get the result you want, it does suck sometimes,” Neptune said. “You get an hour or so to say, it’s horrible, then, fine, you move on.”

Move on?

He might want to skip social media to avoid the question raised if Villanova would indeed move on from the 39-year-old Neptune as the program shaped under Wright into a two-time national champion and a perennial tough out for anyone has taken a nose dive into one that can’t escape the first round of the NIT.

UConn has soared past the Wildcats as the class of both the Big East and college basketball. The program that once…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/under-coach-kyle-neptune-villanova-164310358.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-08 16:43:00

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