Seton Hall’s great stretch, Bryce Hopkins’ injury among Big East Basketball storylines
By John Makuch
3. Villanova has not impressed
The Villanova Wildcats have continued to confuse the Big East with us all wondering how good they may be. They started Big East play off with an overtime win over Creighton, a blowout of DePaul, and a one-point win against the Xavier Musketeers. Winning is winning, but Villanova had not looked like the team that defeated quality Power 5 opponents in non-conference play.
It all caught up to them after losing a game to St. John’s where it felt like they did not compete for most of that game. The Wildcats lost by 10, and now have to rebound with a tough stretch coming up after the DePaul game. They go through the gauntlet the rest of the month, with both of their Marquette games, a home matchup against UConn, and road trips to Butler and St. John’s. Things will need to change quickly, and that DePaul game will have to be a tune-up that gets them back in shape.
Villanova and Kyle Neptune have all the talent to be one of the best teams in the Big East Conference, but they have to put it together and figure out why they have not been up to par during conference play. They still sit at 3-1, so alarm bells do not have to be turned on just yet, but with some potential losses coming up on their schedule, there may be tough times ahead for Villanova.