Villanova knows it’s now or never if it is going to turn around its season and get back into NCAA contention
The Wildcats (12-10, 5-6 Big East) will need a major late-season push over their final nine games of the season.
The 2024-25 Villanova men’s basketball season has been anything but linear. Instead, it’s been a roller coaster.
The Wildcats (12-10, 5-6 Big East) lost three of their first five games to begin the season and at the end of November stood at .500, with their most impressive win coming against a Penn team that is currently 6-13.
But after defeating No. 14 Cincinnati on Dec. 3, Kyle Neptune’s Wildcats slowly but surely started to turn things around. Including that win, Villanova went 7-1 in December and early January, capped by the biggest win of the Neptune era against No. 9 Connecticut on Jan. 8.
That was the peak.
Villanova is 1-5 since defeating UConn, and after a 62-60 loss at home to Creighton on Saturday, the Wildcats are tied with four other teams for fifth in the Big East.
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It’s now or never
Villanova has nine conference games left before the Big East tournament commences on March 12. For the Wildcats, it’s now or never if they are going to turn their season around and give themselves any hope of an NCAA Tournament berth.
“There really are no upsets in the Big East,” Neptune told The Inquirer last week. “There’s not many leagues where, no matter who you’re playing, no matter what day, that team is going to be a good team, extremely well coached, and have really good players.”
Since Neptune replaced Jay Wright as Villanova’s head coach three seasons ago, the Wildcats have not made the NCAA Tournament. During Neptune’s first season as coach, Villanova fell to Creighton in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament and lost to Liberty in the first round of the NIT.
Last season was a similar tale as Villanova again lost in the quarters of the Big East and first round of the NIT.
But it wasn’t long ago that Villanova was a national powerhouse, and veterans Eric Dixon and Jordan Longino — the longest-tenured Wildcats — have seen all the recent highs and lows of the program.
During the 2021-22 season when Dixon was a redshirt sophomore and Longino was a freshman, Wright led Villanova to a Big East championship and a Final Four run.
“One thing that I know about that Final Four team was we were together for three years,” Dixon said. “We didn’t have anybody new coming in for a really long time. So, you know that core group really knew each other well, and I think this group has the chance to get as close as that group was.”
Let’s go dancing
With the ups and downs of a season, the Wildcats leaders have one job: Keep the team dancing. Literally.
There’s nothing the team loves more than a dance party at the end of practice.
“You’re with each other every single day since the summertime,” Longino said. “I think just little stuff like that, dancing in the circle [after practice], dancing in the locker room, telling jokes. That’s just something that coaches [say] to me and Eric: Try to just keep [the] season somewhat fun.”
This season, Longino and Dixon have been the ones to lead the dance party, while also taking on more responsibilities on the court.
“Leadership is something that obviously didn’t come easy to me,” Longino said. “I’m obviously more of a reserved, quiet type of guy as it is, but Eric and coaches have helped me. [They] give me confidence to be able to step out of my comfort zone. Lead by example. Lead vocally. I try to come in every day, when I wake up, when I go into practice, when I go into these games, making sure leadership’s at the forefront that day.”
Meanwhile, Dixon’s leadership stems from leading by example, particularly on the court.
“For me, my team trusts me a lot, getting involved in situations,” Dixon said. “So [I’ve] just been trying to watch a lot of film, getting some different reads, how teams have been guarding me since, how they guarded me in the past, and kind of just making good decisions for myself and for my team.”
The nation’s leading scorer is averaging 24.2 points and 5.3 boards, while Longino averages 11.5 points. The duo also lead the team in minutes played per game, with Dixon at 34.3 and Longino at 32.7.
Outside of Dixon and Longino, the Wildcats are leaning on a quartet of transfers in Wooga Poplar, Jhamir Brickus, Tyler Perkins, and Enoch Boakye. But mixing in a bunch of transfers on the fly is easier said than done and comes with some growing pains.
“[A team] is not something that you build overnight,” Dixon said. “You come in every single day and you work hard. I think this team has a great mindset of coming in and wanting to be a part of something bigger and wanting to get the job done. I think that’s a good building block.”
Now, with the camaraderie at a high and the second half of Villanova’s Big East slate ahead, the Wildcats are doing the only thing they know how to do: taking the ride one roller coaster at a time.
“We try not to look at March Madness bids, rankings, or standings now,” Longino said. “Obviously, I’m not blind to it … but [we] just take it game by game, day by day, try to get better, and hopefully by the end of the season, we can be the best team we can be.”