The history of Villanova basketball is one that includes three NCAA basketball championships. The Wildcats won the tournament in 1985, 2016 and 2018. However, the 2023-24 Wildcats did not have a championship type of season, and head coach Kyle Neptune has received quite a bit of criticism.

Some of the team's fans have asked the athletic department to fire the head coach after the Wildcats concluded their season with a 70-61 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the National Invitational Tournament that left them with an 18-16 record.

Neptune was quite understanding about it when he was asked by reporters if complaints about his team's performance and calls for his firing had bothered him. He explained that it was a difficult season for Villanova, one that fell beneath the expectations of the players, fans and coaches.

“We're all frustrated, me as well,” said Neptune. “This is definitely not the season that I wanted, our team wanted or the fans wanted.”

Perhaps Neptune was able to stay calm because he knows he has the backing of the school. Athletic Director Mark Jackson said that Villanova has the right coach in place, and that faith means that Neptune will stay employed by the university.

It was a difficult season for Villanova in conference play, as the Wildcats could only manage a 10-10 record in the Big East. Villanova was able to get off to a very solid start as the Wildcats built a 10-5 record before they started to fade.

After beating lowly DePaul by an 84-48 margin in late December, the Wildcats edged Xavier 66-65 to get to their high point. However, they lost 6 of their next 7 games and the Wildcats were not able to recover from that tailspin.

Neptune has had two mediocre seasons

Neptune was named the coach of the Wildcats after 2021-22 season. The team went 17-17 after starting the season with a No. 16 ranking. They clearly were not able to make much progress this season.

Prior to being named as the Villanova head coach, Neptune had been the head coach at Fordham for one season. The Rams had finished the season with a 16-16 record.

The Wildcats were ranked 22nd in the NCAA preseason poll, but they lost all their stature after the start of the new year.

Neptune had some legitimate talent on his side this season and Eric Dixon led the team in scoring this year with an average of 16.6 points per game. The forward also added a team best 6.5 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per night. He shot 46.5 percent from the field and 86.2 percent from the free throw line.

Guard T.J. Bamba was the only other Vanderbilt player to average in double figures this season. He scored 10.1 points per game and added 3.6 rebounds an 1.8 assists per night. Bamba shot 43.0 percent from the field and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. He also did a good job of protecting the ball, as his turnovers were limited to 1.4 per night.

Wildcats hope to return to glory

Former Villanova head coach Jay Wright retired after the 2021-22 season. He led the Wildcats to their two most recent titles. The first came under legendary head coach Rollie Massimino when the Wildcats famously upset the Georgetown Hoyas