Philadelphia: So far in the 23-24 season, it has been a bumpy road for the Villanova Wildcats as they were on a five-game game losing streak and the fanbase is starting to second guess if Kyle Neptune can turn things around. The Wildcats needed to make changes and fast as they took on the Providence Friars on Sunday Night at the Wells Fargo Center.
One of the questions coming into the game was: how would the crowd respond to Kyle Neptune? You be the judge.
Today’s Kyle Neptune introduction. pic.twitter.com/C81mpkwaO6
— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) February 4, 2024
How the game went:
Both Villanova and Providence would get off to slow starts, but the Wildcats would bring the defense – especially Lance Ware with a huge block.
Defense -> offense #Attitude pic.twitter.com/7eTdCl6Mt6
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 4, 2024
During one of the timeouts in the first half, Villanova would honor Jalen Brunson for making his 1st All-Star team & would receive a nice ovation
During timeout#Villanova honored Jalen Brunson for making the NBA All-Star team#NovaNation #NBAAllStar #NOVAvsProvidence pic.twitter.com/1KB6JBGSiU
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) February 4, 2024
What could the Wildcats do to keep whatever momentum they had and at the same time end their 5-game losing streak? The Wildcats would start the second half with a 13-0 run and, at that point, Providence had that look like they just did not know what hit them.
Later on in the game, Wildcats freshman TJ Bamba would have a sick pass to Justin Moore for the layup and the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center was enjoying what they were seeing.
.@TjBamba_ with the feed to @YooJustoo 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9sqQFLJUdJ
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 5, 2024
A crowd of 13,168 would say, “FINALLY” as the Villanova Wildcats would take down Providence 68-50 and their 5-game losing streak would be OVER. This was the type of game that the Wildcats needed to show that they could still be a threat to make the NCAA Tournament. Now the question is: Can they build off of this win and start a winning streak?
Post Game:
Villanova Coach Kyle Neptune:
I asked #Villanova Coach Kyle Neptune on what was the big difference in tonight win compared to other night against Marquette#NovaNation #NOVAvsProvidence pic.twitter.com/DoeEI3Hy3N
— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) February 5, 2024
Villanova’s TJ Bamba:
Final Numbers:
What’s next:
Now that the five-game losing streak is over, Villanova will now attempt to make it back-to-back wins with an encounter against Xavier on February 7. Providence will attempt to figure out what happened as they take on Creighton, also on February 7.
