With Philadelphians riding high following Sunday’s big win by the Eagles, Villanova failed to keep the good times rolling, falling to a St. John’s team that entered the game winless in Big East play.

Frankly, there’s not a whole lot of good to say about this loss, no way to sugar coat it. It was a bad performance that led to a bad loss.

At times, the team appeared disinterested. There were flashes of typical great effort, but overall the energy was lacking. Villanova’s lead for just 1:41 of game time and its largest lead was one. St. John’s led for 36:21.

The offense was disjointed for much of the game, not firing like the well-oiled machine we have grown accustomed to. Part of it was shots not falling, which will happen from time to time over the course of the season. ‘Nova shot 42% from the floor and 24% from three. But the ‘Cats also settled for long jumpers way too easily. For much of the season when the shots haven’t been falling Villanova continued to calmly run the offense, understanding when to look for something different and continuing to find good shots. Tonight, they simply kept jacking. The fact that ‘Nova managed just 11 assists highlights the fact that they got away from what they usually do.

The defensive performance was reminiscent of the struggles the team was going through early in Big East play. St. John’s got to the basket at will. There were miscommunications and breakdowns and bad decisions. The first half was particularly problematic, as the Johnnies shot 56% from the floor and knocked down 5-10 from deep while building a five-point lead. It’s pretty clear that this isn’t a typical Jay Wright team defensively, at least when it comes to consistency. After holding the Johnnies to just one three-pointer and one double-figure scorer in the last meeting with St. John’s, tonight the Red Storm knocked down six shots from beyond the arc and four players scored in double figures.

Honestly, it felt as though the team thought they could play for five minutes or so and get the win. And while that’s not a good mindset, and is atypical for this team, they were almost right. After the Johnnies extended the lead to nine a couple of times, the ‘Cats went on a furious run to nearly steal the game and avert disaster. During that four or five-minute stretch, ‘Nova played intense defense, forcing turnovers and bad shots and attacked the basket offensively. They played with the kind of energy and intensity that has come to be expected of them. But it proved to be too little too late, and the comeback came up short.

We also have to note that St. John’s played well. The Johnnies executed on the offensive end and played hounding, disciplined defense. The play of St. John’s certainly impacted the way Villanova performed. That doesn’t mean the loss should be excused, but it would be unfair to St. John’s to simply paint the picture of the game as a poor game by Villanova.

Ok, now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way, let’s dig for some positives. The most glaring note isn’t exactly a positive, but something that certainly contributed to the performance. That is the fact that Villanova was without Eric Paschall, who was out with a concussion. That left ‘Nova short two starters and forced freshman Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree into the starting lineup. Paschall was clearly missed, and his absence was felt at both ends of the floor. While Paschall doesn’t always stuff the stat sheet, his presence is invaluable to what Villanova does, and that was evident tonight. This isn’t to say that that tonight’s performance should be excused, simply that Paschall was sorely missed and could have affected the outcome.

As if Paschall’s absence wasn’t a big enough issue in itself, it also meant that freshmen were forced into extra minutes. Overall, they acquitted themselves well, but it certainly played a role in the lack of fluidity at both ends of the floor.

The fact that ‘Nova played one of its poorest games of the season, down two starters, and still had a chance to steal the game is a small source of encouragement. It is unlikely the ‘Cats will shoot that poorly in too many more games, and even more unlikely that they will handle it so poorly when they do.

Perhaps the biggest positive to come from Wednesday night was the return of Jermaine Samuels. Samuels returned to practice yesterday, and likely would have played very little if at all tonight if not for Paschall’s being unavailable. After a brief stint in the first half, Samuels was forced into action in crunch time after Donte DiVincenzo fouled out. In five minutes he had three rebounds, an assist and a block. One of his rebounds was a huge offensive board that aided in the ‘Nova comeback attempt. More important is the timing of Samuels’ return. With seven regular season games remaining, Samuels will have the opportunity to get some key experience under his belt heading into the postseason.

Villanova failed to play Villanova basketball for 40 minutes. Really, it failed to play Villanova basketball for even 10 minutes. And it cost them. Luckily, the ‘Cats still have one of the best bodies of work in the nation and still control their own destiny in the Big East and in the quest for a one seed in March. Hopefully the lessons were learned and the team responds to a loss the way it has over the past few years. They’ll look to get back on track on Saturday in a revenge game against Butler.