NCAA Basketball: 12 teams with most pressure to win in 2023-24 season

2. Villanova Wildcats

In the Jay Wright era, Villanova has become as close to a modern-day “blue blood” as you can imagine. The program won multiple national titles and has been landing five-star talents to keep things going as the Big East power. But after Wright retired, former long-time assistant Kyle Neptune took over after one great season at Fordham.

Things didn’t go well in his first year with the Wildcats. Injuries did play a role but they never looked good all year, finishing .500 overall and missing out on the postseason altogether. Still, when you’re used to a program winning at a high level and the common denominator isn’t around anymore, you’re automatically going to wonder if the replacement is up to the task.

Villanova has given Neptune everything and everyone possible to succeed. Not only both Justin Moore and Eric Dixon are back but the team added some quality transfers in TJ Bamba, Hakim Hart, and Tyler Burton. All of that offensive firepower should make them a national contender again and if not, Neptune could be on the hot seat.

It’s also important to note that UConn, a conference rival, just won it all while the Wildcats were down and right now, is the kind of the Big East. So there’s added motivation for Villanova to claim its title back from a league perspective too.