College basketball reacts as Villanova suffers a devastating early loss

by Junna Base November 7, 2024

While schools like Duke and North Carolina move on after losing their institutional coaches, Villanova is having a harder time recovering from the loss of Jay Wright.

In Kyle Neptune’s third season, the Wildcats – who were ousted in the first round of the NIT in Neptune’s first two seasons after nine straight NCAA tournament appearances (excluding 2020, which did not host a tournament) under Wright – may have hit the ground running with a 90 :80 loss at The Pavilion to Columbia in the Ivy League.

Villanova, which didn’t allow more than 90 points in a game during Neptune’s first two seasons, posed a threat to Columbia 26 times. The Lions made 24 of those free throws. They also made 8 of 24 3-point attempts and shot 29 of 54 (53.7%) from the field.

The last time Villanova allowed 90 or more points in a game was Jan. 6, 2018, when the Wildcats defeated Marquette 100-90.

Villanova is now 36-34 under Neptune and 1-1 in the young 2024-25 season.

Here’s what college basketball social media had to say about another devastating loss during Neptune’s tenure.