Villanova’s shooting woes remain apparent in another early season loss, this time to Virginia

While players battled on the court, it was perhaps the coaches at the helm who had the most to prove on Friday night.

Villanova’s third-year head coach, Kyle Neptune, and Virginia’s interim head coach, Ron Sanchez, went head-to-head after entering the 2024-25 season in unique positions. Sanchez ended the night earning his third straight win with the Cavaliers following a 70-60 defeat of the Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Series from the CFG Arena in Baltimore.

Meanwhile, the pressure has continued to ramp up for Neptune and the Wildcats. The loss was Villanova’s third in its last four games after stinging losses to Columbia and St. Joseph’s.

Despite not scoring more than 65 points in its first two games, Virginia’s offense came out as an instant threat against Villanova, especially from behind the arc. The Cavaliers produced a balanced attack in the first half, shooting 47.8% from the field and 57.1% from three.

The Wildcats could not stop junior guard Andrew Rohde, who shot 3-for-3 from outside the arc in the first half. Virginia junior guard Isaac McKneely also bullied Villanova throughout the game behind near-perfect shooting, going 8-of-9 from the field and 6-of-6 from the three-point range for a team-high 23 points.

Although the Wildcats finished the first 20 minutes with three more shots than the Cavaliers, sloppy shooting caused them to trail for most of the half. Falling to St. Joe’s earlier this week on 40.9% shooting, Villanova had even more offensive struggles and finished on just 34.6% shooting against Virginia.

Behind an 18-2 scoring run, Virginia surged ahead, 28-16, with under four minutes left in the first half.

The Wildcats achieved one of the night’s offensive sparks in the final moments of the first half, going on a 7-0 run ahead of the buzzer.

In the last 45 seconds, redshirt freshman guard Kris Parker notched a steal and got the ball to graduate forward Eric Dixon. Dixon, who was fouled, hit the ground while still managing to sink a three-pointer. He added on a free throw to narrow the deficit to just five at halftime.

Villanova’s offense revolves around Dixon, and a difficult night for the sixth-year forward reflected larger shooting struggles across the roster. After halftime, Villanova continued to have trouble finding the net.

Dixon went into the game averaging 26.3 points per game this season and led the Wildcats with 20 points and eight rebounds. But Dixon’s five turnovers stopped him from establishing his usual impact on the attack against Virginia.

Both sides of the court repeatedly gave up the ball. Villanova recorded 13 total turnovers and Virginia committed 12.

The other Wildcat to reach double-digits in points was senior guard Jordan Longino, who finished with 10 points, two rebounds, and an assist.

The Cavaliers climbed throughout the second half. With just under two minutes left, Virginia reached an 18-point lead, its highest of the game. Freshman forward Jacob Cofie added a pair of dunks in the final minutes to cap off a win for the Cavaliers.

Villanova will return to familiar territory for another Hall of Fame Series matchup against Penn on Tuesday at the Finneran Pavilion (7 p.m., Peacock).

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