NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2023-24 season

18. Villanova Wildcats

2022-23 season record: 17-17 (10-10 Big East)

The first year post-Jay Wright didn’t go well for Villanova and new coach Kyle Neptune. The hope though is that they can move on and with a new roster can climb back into Big East contention. They did lose three key starters in Caleb Daniels, Cam Whitmore, and Brandon Slater.

An argument can be made that the team has three players in similar positions who are better via the transfer portal. TJ Bamba is a 6’5 scoring guard from Washington State who averaged 15.8 ppg on 37% shooting from deep. Hakim Hart is a double-digit transfer from Maryland who can guard multiple positions on the court. Tyler Burton was one of the top scorers in the Atlantic 10 for the past couple of years at Richmond, producing 19.0 ppg and 7.4 rpg last season.

The most important thing for the Wildcats is that they’re getting a healthy Justin Moore to start the season. He averaged 13.5 ppg and 3.2 apg when he returned midway through the season and the team was clearly better when he was running the offense. But can he be a lead guard and run point the whole time? If not, Villanova needs sophomore guard Mark Armstrong to be an impact player.

The frontcourt should be in good shape as well, with returning starter Eric Dixon backed up by Kentucky transfer Lance Ware at center. And former top-100 recruit Nnanna Njoku is still on the roster as well. There are no excuses this time around for Coach Neptune, who has something to prove himself this year.