NCAA Basketball: 10 hot takes after 1st week of 2024-25 season

The season may only be a week old but there is still enough information for there to be some Hot Takes that we will be talking about all season.

By Bryan Mauro | Nov 10, 2024

Nov 4, 2024; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle (99) celebrates a three-point basket against the Baylor Bears in the second half at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

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Columbia is a top team in the Ivy League?

I saw the potential in the offseason. The Lions are ranked the highest in my preseason rankings that they have ever been, and it is because they have their entire roster returning from last year. I figured the Lions had an outside shot at making the Ivy Madness event but if the first week is any indicator it looks like they will make it easily. Columbia is fresh off a win over Villanova and have the potential Player of the Year in the league. The Lions are a top four team in the Ivy and should qualify for Ivy Madness for the first time this season.

Kyle Neptune is on the hot seat?

Let’s step back and think about this and realize that this isn’t that much of a hot take but a statement. In the three years Neptune has been at Villanova they have failed to make the postseason once and have taken some inexcusable losses. In the last three seasons the Wildcats have lost to Temple, Drexel, Saint Joseph’s, Pennsylvania, Portland, and Columbia. Those are games that a program like Villanova should never lose especially since they are not winning games in the Big East at a high rate. The Wildcats do not look good enough this year to make the postseason either.

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