NCAA Basketball: Baylor rises, Kentucky falls in latest 2023-24 WTE power rankings
By Joey Loose
20. Villanova
Replacing a legendary head coach is never an easy task but things still went quite poorly for Kyle Neptune in year one leading the Wildcats. After reaching the Final Four in Jay Wright’s final season, the Wildcats stumbled to a 17-17 record last year. They started the season in the Top 25 and might just do that again this season, but will this year be any better?
Caleb Daniels and Cam Whitmore are among the departures, but the Wildcats are excited to get a full season out of Justin Moore, who missed significant time last season. Leading scorer Eric Dixon also returns and Villanova got a decent boost through the Transfer Portal. The program added TJ Bamba from Washington State, Tyler Burton from Richmond, and Hakim Hart from Maryland, giving them a deeper and more experienced lineup this season.
After nearly a decade of dominating the Big East, Villanova came back down to earth last season, though the Wildcats should be more competitive in that tough league this year. Though they’ll be working some new pieces into the mix, this is a very talented and experienced lineup. Villanova is hoping for better point guard play this season and leaning heavily on Dixon and Hart to do great things at the back end.