It was a rough Monday for the Big East -- inside and outside of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Xavier fell to Purdue, 83-71. No shame there. But Villanova and St. John's also lost (as favorites) — the Wildcats to Penn, 76-72, and the Red Storm to Michigan, 89-73. Those results caused Villanova and St. John's to be removed from Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
They've been replaced by Colorado and Virginia.
Kansas remains No. 1.
A lot of attention has been paid to what Kenny Payne has done to Louisville's program since taking over in advance of last season, but it should be noted that things aren't going too well for Kyle Neptune at Villanova either. To be clear, the situation at Louisville is way worse and likely to end following this season, if not sooner, based on how Payne guided the Cardinals to an embarrassing 4-28 record in Year 1 and is now 1-1 in Year 2 with an 81-71 loss at home to Chattanooga. After finishing an unimaginable 290th at KenPom.com last season, the Cardinals have already dropped from 109th to 179th in this season that is still only eight days old.
So, again, the situation at Louisville is way worse.
Don't get it twisted.
But Neptune did miss the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Year 1 after being ranked 16th in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, and now he's suffered what was only Villanova's second loss in its past 20 games against Penn.
Can things be turned around?
Of course.
It's possible we'll look up in a few years and say that though Neptune's time at Villanova got off to an uneven start, he ultimately settled into the job and returned the Wildcats to a place where they're annually considered Big East favorites, or at least contenders. I wouldn't rule that out. But there's no getting around the fact that Neptune lost to a sub-100 KenPom team (Temple) in the first week last season, another sub-100 KenPom team (Penn) in the second week this season, and a total of five sub-100 KenPom teams in his first 37 games at Villanova. For some context, consider that Neptune's predecessor, Jay Wright, only lost to sub-100 KenPom teams twice in his final 321 games as Villanova's coach. Again, Neptune has already done it five times in just 37 contests.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 99-61 win over Manhattan. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 6-0 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's 83-71 win over Xavier. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Gonzaga. | -- | 6-1 |
| 3 |  | Keshad Johnson finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Monday's 97-59 win over Southern. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Belmont. | -- | 3-3 |
| 4 |  | Duke gave up 15 offensive rebounds in Friday's 78-73 loss to Arizona. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | -- | 4-2 |
| 5 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 75-62 win over Loyola Chicago. The Owls' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. | -- | 4-4 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 point and six rebounds in Friday's 95-65 win over Rider. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | -- | 7-0 |
| 7 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 21 points and two steals in Monday's 79-48 win over Stetson. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against Towson. | -- | 4-2 |
| 8 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 107-67 win over Stonehill. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State. | -- | 4-3 |
| 9 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 89-60 win over North Dakota State. The Bluejays' next game is Tuesday against Iowa. | -- | 4-3 |
| 10 |  | Matthew Cleveland finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 86-80 win over FIU. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday against Georgia. | -- | 3-3 |
| 11 |  | El Ellis finished with 17 points and eight assists in Monday's 86-77 win over Old Dominion. The Razorbacks' next game is Friday against UNC Greensboro. | -- | 5-2 |
| 12 |  | Isaiah Collier finished with 19 points and 5 assists in Thursday's 85-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Trojans' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | -- | 5-2 |
| 13 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-70 win at Wisconsin. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | -- | 7-0 |
| 14 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 21 points and four assists in Friday's 73-66 win at Ohio State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at SMU. | -- | 5-2 |
| 15 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 74-51 win over Southern Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 6-2 |
| 16 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday's 81-61 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 6-0 |
| 17 |  | Ja'Kobe Walter finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 77-62 win over Gardner-Webb. The Bears' next game is Tuesday against UMKC. | -- | 5-2 |
| 18 |  | Anton Watson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 86-71 win over Yale. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Oregon. | -- | 6-1 |
| 19 |  | Max Abmas finished with 19 points and five assists in Friday's 86-59 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | -- | 5-1 |
| 20 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 70-55 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Alabama State. | -- | 6-1 |
| 21 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds in Sunday's 90-68 win over Lehigh. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against UC Riverside. | -- | 4-3 |
| 22 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 15 points and five assists in Friday's 64-53 win over Oakland. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Marquette. | -- | 6-1 |
| 23 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 102-80 win over Indiana State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against South Alabama. | 2 | 6-1 |
| 24 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 86-55 win over Idaho State. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Grambling State. | 2 | 5-1 |
| 25 |  | Tristan da Silva finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 95-63 win over Grambling. The Buffaloes' next game is Tuesday against Milwaukee. | NR | 5-2 |
| 26 |  | Blake Buchanan finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 73-70 win over Florida. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday against North Carolina A&T. | NR | 4-2 |
IN: Colorado, Virginia
OUT: Villanova, St. John's
