Villanova Reaction: Microscope On Kyle Neptune After Ugly Win

Villanova eked out a road win against the moribund Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday, Feb. 26, needing a 25 point second half from star forward Eric Dixon in order to come out on top 59-54.

With the Wildcats’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament on life support — if they don’t win the Big East Tournament and secure an automatic bid, they’ll need to win out and pick up at least two wins at Madison Square Garden in order to feel remotely secure about picking up an at-large bid — the lackluster performance was about as bad of a result as possible without actually losing.

With their spot on the tournament bubble already tenuous heading into the game, Villanova fell one spot in the NET rankings, increasing the difficulty of their already uphill climb. Even with a standout performance from their superstar, one that put him within striking distance of the program’s all-time scoring record, Wildcats fans didn’t have many positive takeaways from the win.

The discussion inevitably turned to head coach Kyle Neptune and his team’s maddening inconsistency, picking up wins over conference powerhouses like St. John’s, Marquette and UConn before needing Herculean efforts to beat the bottom feeders.

Here’s a look at what fans and media had to say about Villanova’s Wednesday night win.

If Shaheen Halloway and Kyle Neptune switched jobs, Villanova would be in the NCAA Tournament and Seton Hall would be 3-24.

— Jonathon Warriner (@Bracketologist3) February 27, 2025

https://twitter.com/bigeastbarroom/status/1894953983132774546?s=46&t=YudxU6kRtHrvEctSDcskLg

Eric Dixon had 54% of Villanova’s points tonight

He is the teamhttps://t.co/EseSz7Uh7t

— Nova Starting 5 (@NovaStarting5) February 27, 2025

Halftime thoughts: pic.twitter.com/zy0MEUn5pP

— Villanova Enthusiast 😿 (@NovaKnowsBall) February 27, 2025

Never said a bad thing about this team. Just knew they would come back. #Villanova #NovaNation

— NovaNationV (@NovaNationV) February 27, 2025

Forget using a timeout to stop Villanova’s momentum en route to a 15-0 run. Shaheen Holloway will call his first once the Pirates 16 point second half lead has evaporated. Really unbelievable stuff.

— SOrangeJuice (@SOrangeJuice) February 27, 2025

Villanova beating a ranked team and then losing to bottom feeder defines the last 3 years

— Sultan of America 🇺🇸 (@TheRoot57252511) February 27, 2025

Villanova SURVIVES a life or death scare at Seton Hall 59-54 thanks to Eric Dixon.

32 points & 10 rebounds. One of the most dominant individual performances I’ve ever seen in CBB.

All-American.
NPOY.

Life after Dixon will be a tough one on the Main Line.

— Zac (@zacvoynow) February 27, 2025

why is it that every year villanova and seton hall play one of the most hard to watch games of the season

— Ryan Duff (@ryanduff55) February 27, 2025

Villanova holds on to Seton Hall in one of the weirder games you could ever imagine.

Eric Dixon outscored the ENTIRE Seton Hall team in the second half: 25-21, after Dylan Addae-Wusu almost outscored Villanova (21-16) in the first half!

That game should NOT be shown to kids…

— Big East Bar Room 🎙 (@BigEastBarroom) February 27, 2025

The Kyle Neptune experience has been one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed in my entire life

— Nova Dan (@dan_apps2) February 27, 2025

The Kyle Neptune effect: https://t.co/TIhHRHphcQ

— Zac (@zacvoynow) February 27, 2025