Villanova basketball (2-3) is off to its worst five-game start to the season since the 1997-98 season.
The Wildcats could not find a rhythm or way to stop UVA, losing 70-60 to the Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 15, in CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD.
Villanova basketball played the game from behind from the tipoff to the final buzzer. Early turnovers and inconsistent three-point defense allowed UVA to go on a 21-5 run in the first half.
Graduate forward Eric Dixon had 20 points and 8 rebounds, marking his fourth 20-point game. Villanova attempted to keep it close multiple times, but they all fell short.
Takeaway #1: Three-point defense
UVA made its game plan clear early: shoot three-pointers and stay out of the paint. The Cavaliers did that to perfection, and Villanova had no answer.
Junior guard Issac McKneely was lights out, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 on three-pointers.
McKneely finished the night with a season-high 23 points. He leads the team with an average of 16 points per game. UVA as a team shot 60% on three-pointers, hitting 14 of its 25 attempts.
Kyle Neptune on Villanova’s three-point defense issues: pic.twitter.com/Hx4lJvd7Br
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Freshman forward Jacob Cofie continues to be a huge threat off the bench. The 6-10 forward contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes. He has been a weapon off the bench, something Villanova has not had consistently this season. Cofie is second in average points per game (13 ppg) for the Cavaliers.
In the first half, the Cavaliers only had four points in the paint. Villanova could not adjust to UVA’s game plan and it was costly.
Takeaway #2: Overall scoring
Dixon and senior guard Jordan Longino were the only two Wildcats to score double digits.
Villanova missed open shots throughout the game. The Wildcats shot 35% on field goals and 28% on three-pointers.
Throughout the season the Wildcats have not found a way to consistently score points outside of Dixon. The bench comes up big in wins and falls short in losses.
Villanova’s bench accounted for only 10 of 60 points with eight of the bench points coming from sophomore guard Tyler Perkins. The only other bench player to score was freshman forward Josiah Moseley (2 points). Other than those two, the Wildcats’ bench did not score.
UVA’s bench outscored Villanova’s bench, 26-10. Bench scoring seems to be a key factor in deciding games for Villanova. When the bench can score, Villanova looks like a completely different team.
Takeaway #3: Coaching
It would be wrong to not address the coaching of the Villanova basketball program. It is the third season of Villanova coach Kyle Neptune’s tenure. The last two seasons have ended in a first-round loss in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Those two seasons of falling short came right after Jay Wright led the team to a Final Four in 2022, marking his final season as head coach before retirement.
The program’s energy and performance have completely shifted since Wright left the program to Neptune and the staff.
Villanova is on the path to not making the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.
After the loss, Neptune commented on what Villanova needs to do.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get a lot better,” Neptune said. “Virginia is a good team. They’re a high-level team, well-coached, very disciplined. So there’s no shame in going into that game and not getting the results we want. But I think there are a lot of things that we have to get better at, and we’ve got to get better at them quickly.”
Things are getting interesting on the Main Line and not in a good way. Villanova needs to decide what it has to do to be successful again.
Up next for Villanova (2-3): vs. Penn (2-1) – Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Up next for UVA (3-0): at Tennessee (3-0) – Nov. 21 at 7 or 9:30 p.m. in the Bahamas.
[…] instead, choosing to give the nod to first-year, Jacob Cofie. Earlier in the season, following a win over Villanova, Sanchez referenced that this year’s team would have to match up to the […]