Amid losing streak, Villanova remains focused despite turmoil and upcoming Georgetown game

In a time of turbulence on the Main Line, the Wildcats are remaining focused on their end goal; to be the best team they can be by the end of the year.

What does that look like in the eyes of head coach Kyle Neptune?

“That looks like us coming out and playing as hard as we can for 40 minutes,” Neptune said. “It looks like us coming out and trying to execute, and have the thought process that we are going to try to execute what we can, as best we can for forty minutes”.

Frustration levels are mounting and the Wildcats aren’t blind to the pressure and frustration from the fanbase either, but the Wildcats are relying on their veteran leadership to carry them through the storm.

“Everyone’s frustrated because we are not playing Villanova basketball to the best of our ability,” said senior guard Chris Arcidiacono “Everyone is frustrated but we are also hungry to get back to being a team we know we can be.”

Caleb Daniels seemed to echo Arcidiacono’s message in full.

“I just always tell the guys to stay in it, don’t drift away from this, stay as a team, stay as a family and just trust in it overall,” Daniels added “It’s all about our attitude. We know life in general isn’t going to be the way we expect it to be sometimes, but it’s all about how we respond to it and how we bounce back.”

Kyle Neptune then made it three-for-three, repeating the sentiment that while frustration levels are naturally rising, this team is staying focused.

“It’s pretty frustrating because I think we’ve been in every game,” Neptune said. “We’ve had our moments and our chances in every game and sometimes that can be a frustrating thing because you know one or two bounces, one or two decisions will cost you the game. So, it’s a precarious situation when you’re right there in every single game and you know you can do better.”

One of the biggest aspects of the game that is plaguing that Wildcats is their inability to finish in close games. Villanova is 0-3 in games decided by less than four points, which goes to Neptune’s point regarding the frustration levels.

“We got to get a stop at a high level, or execute what we’re looking to do at a high-level, and unfortunately we have not done that with consistency,” said Neptune.

The Wildcats will turn their attention to the Georgetown Hoyas when they host them at the Finneran Pavilion on Monday afternoon. The Hoyas have not won a conference game in 673 days and will almost certainly be smelling blood in the vulnerable water Monday afternoon.

The Wildcats took care of business on the road against Georgetown just 12 days ago as of Monday. Caleb Daniels reflected on the win and what he took away from their visit to the nation’s capitol.

“I would say that we came out with a lot of defensive intensity, defensive fire. I think if we come out again with the same intensity we’ll be fine,” said Daniels. “Just being confident offensively as well, and making plays for each other, I think that is what we did a really good job of.”

The Wildcats enter with an 8-10 overall record (2-5 in Big East). Meanwhile, Georgetown is 5-13 and winless through its seven Big East games so far.

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