Being the Villanova basketball head coach comes with high expectations. And head coach Kyle Neptune could be losing his grip on his job position with the Wildcats.
Columbia pulled into Philadelphia and shocked Villanova 90-80 Wednesday night. The Lions, in the process, created a rare Ivy League victory over a Big East foe. But more intensifying is Neptune's current coaching seat with Villanova. The loss not only dropped Neptune's record to 36-34 overall but set off the “five-alarm fire,” according to CBS Sports senior men's basketball reporter Matt Norlander.
“You allow 90 points on your home floor to an Ivy League team that wasn't even picked in the top half of an eight-team Ivy League? To Columbia, which hasn't started 2-0 against Division I opponents since 2005? That's a five-alarm fire for Kyle Neptune, unfortunately,” Norlander declared.
The Lions watched nine different players fill the scoring sheet at Finneran Pavilion. Columbia was even near-flawless from the white stripe – hitting 24-of-26 free throws to will its way to the upset. But for Villanova, it's the most number of points surrendered in a home game since Butler piled up 101 in the 2017-18 season.
Norlander did more than mention the embarrassing Columbia loss. He reminded the audience how Neptune's ‘Nova teams have fallen to Portland, Drexel, Penn, and St. Joseph's. All four are mid-major programs Neptune's teams have lost to.
“Villanova was operating as a top-five program in the sport when Jay Wright abruptly and shockingly retired in 2022. Neptune now finds himself in need of big answers and big answers quickly,” Norlander said.
Neptune first took over a program coming off a Final Four appearance. Now, season three for the 39-year-old is off to a turbulent start following the home upset.
Villanova's Kyle Neptune is facing another dilemma with job
To make matters worse for Neptune on campus, Norlander mentioned another dilemma that could sway his job status.
“With the A.D. who hired him no longer at Villanova, it only makes the pressure that much more,” Norlander said.
Mark Jackson previously approved Neptune's hire after Wright's retirement. Jackson since relocated to Northwestern and is in his first season as Athletic Director for the Big 10 Conference university.
Lynn Tighe currently serves as interim athletic director for Villanova. What could potentially help Neptune is he's worked with Tighe before. She was senior associate athletics director and the chief athletics administrative officer before her immediate promotion to A.D. Tighe is also a Villanova alum.
However, Norlander doesn't sound confident in Neptune's coaching chances for the rest of the season or Villanova's chances with its next opponent, St. Joe's.
“St. Joe's just might have more talent than Villanova this season,” Norlander said.
The Hawks opened 2024-25 with a 70-63 win over Navy. Neptune and ‘Nova will have to account for guards Erik Reynolds II and Xzayvier Brown, who scored 29 and 22 points, respectively, in St. Joe's opener.
But a loss, per Norlander's words, will increase Neptune's chances of losing his Villanova head coaching duties soon.
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