Things were stacked against Villanova well before the opening tip against No. 1 UConn in Storrs on Saturday night. The Huskies were coming off a 19-point loss, would be retiring the number of program legend Rip Hamilton at the game and it was $2 beer night at Gampel Pavilion. With all that to contend with, the Wildcats didn’t do themselves any favors either in what turned into a blowout 78-54 loss to the Huskies.

“I thought they came out, they were extremely physical to start the game, they played well defensively to start the game and then really got out in transition in both halves," Kyle Neptune said. "I thought that was the difference in the game.”

The first half started like so many have for Villanova this season, with the Wildcats making just one of their first seven shots. The offensive struggles would continue, as the ‘Cats at one point were 4-19 (21%) overall and 0-7 from three.

Adding to the frustration for the Wildcats was the fact that they were playing quite well on the defensive end. As a result, they were able to take a 10-8 lead with 12:38 to play in the half. It was a short-lived lead, however, as UConn answered with a 9-0 run to reestablish a seven-point advantage with 7:45 to go.

‘Nova tried to hang in there, and when Justin Moore hit Villanova’s first three of the night at the 5:57 mark it pulled the ‘Cats within three. But ‘Nova would be outscored 13-6 over the rest of the half to take a 10-point lead into the break.

It felt like the game could be much closer, and Villanova had to be lamenting the fact that it had held UConn to 39% shooting overall and 33% from three while committing zero turnovers to UConn’s five yet still faced a double-figure deficit. It was hard not to feel like the defensive effort was wasted.

The three-point line really stood out in the first half, as the ‘Cats were just 1-10 from deep and were outscored by 15 points from beyond the arc. ‘Nova was also dominated on the glass (24-14), but held UConn to six second chance points, a decent number considering the Huskies are an elite offensive rebounding team and excel at converting those extra chances. Ultimately 8-20 shooting from two and 1-10 from three was simply too much to overcome, and so the ‘Cats faced a sizeable deficit despite strong defensive play and plenty of opportunities to alter the game.

Things changed in the second half, but not the way Villanova hoped they would. The offensive struggles continued, while the defense slipped. The result was a 14-point edge for the Huskies and a 24-point loss for the Wildcats.

Villanova did have one opportunity to make a game of it, using a 7-0 run early in the second half to pull within five with 15:08 to play. The ‘Cats were able to hang around for the next few minutes, still trailing by five with 11:34 to play, but a 12-0 from UConn pushed the deficit back to 17 with 8:47 to go and ‘Nova would never threaten again. The Huskies topped things off by scoring the games final 11 points to put the game in blowout territory.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the problem Saturday night. In a sport in which the entire premise is to put the ball in the basket, Villanova simply couldn’t do so. The ‘Cats shot an abysmal 33% overall and an even worse 13% from three, where they were outscored by 21 points. They hit just 9-22 layup attempts.

“They’re a really good defensive team," Neptune said of the offensive struggles. "In the halfcourt, it’s tough to score on them. They’re really physical, they’re extremely disciplined, they have good size at each spot.”

‘Nova was also dominated on the glass (46-32) and despite each team grabbing eight offensive rebounds, the Huskies outscored ‘Nova 11-0 on second chance points. Villanova was also outscored 18-4 in fast break points, something coach Neptune emphasized as a key factor in the loss.

“They’re a tough team," Neptune said. "They’re constantly making adjustments. They got some timely offensive rebounds. I thought they overall guarded us in the halfcourt really well, made it tough to score. But I’ll keep going back to the fast break points, I thought in the first half and second half that was the difference.”

The optimist will say that Villanova was playing with house money Saturday night, that a win would have gone a long way to boost the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes but a loss would do little to damage those hopes. Regardless of how you view the performance, the optimist isn’t necessarily wrong. Villanova has four games remaining in the regular season: one that, at least on paper, looks like a win and three tough but winnable matchups. Should the ‘Cats go 4-0 to close the season, they will almost certainly punch their ticket to the Big Dance, and going 3-1 still puts them right in the mix. So, despite things getting out of hand Saturday night, and despite the frustrating and disappointing and at times confounding losses throughout the season, the path is clear. It’s up to the ‘Cats to handle business knowing full well what needs to be done.

That journey kicks off Tuesday when ‘Nova hosts Georgetown.