The new Big Five format has proven nothing short of disastrous for Villanova.

After losing both games in their “pod” to Penn and St. Joe’s, the Wildcats found themselves in the fifth-place game at the inaugural Big Five Classic, playing against newly welcomed Drexel for the honor of not finishing in last place in the city series. And for the third time this season, the Wildcats came up short against a city opponent, falling to the Dragons 57-55.

Saturday’s loss is pretty easy to break down. Villanova simply didn’t do the most important thing in the game of basketball: put the ball through the net. The Wildcats shot an abysmal 32.8% from the field and just 18.5% from three. Drexel, meanwhile, shot 49% overall and 50% from three.

“I thought they did a great job keeping us off balance,” Kyle Neptune said. “I thought we got some good looks. I thought they made some tough shots early, got some confidence off the shots they made early. And then late they made some timely, tough shots and we just couldn’t get stops down the stretch.”

Villanova cleaned up its turnover issues, committing just six on Saturday. The Wildcats won the rebounding battle handily (38-30) and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds to just four for Drexel. But as the ‘Cats struggled to put the ball in the basket, they managed just a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.

The Wildcats again struggled to dissect the zone defense, and when they were successful, they often failed to convert the open look.

“I thought we got some good looks, just didn’t make them,” Neptune said.

In a vacuum, the loss could be brushed aside. Sometimes you’re going to miss some shots, sometimes your opponent is going to play well, etc. But in the context of the last two weeks, and the week ahead, it takes on a much more ominous tone.

First, there’s the fact that Villanova played so well in beating three quality opponents at the Battle 4 Atlantis and then has looked like a completely different team in losing consecutive games as double-digit favorites. Then, there’s the fact that Villanova is heading into a difficult three-game stretch and will now suddenly be fighting not just to right the ship but to avoid the danger of the entire season going off the rails, a position that seemed unfathomable as of Black Friday.

The ’Cats will look to do just that and ease the concern enveloping Nova Nation on Tuesday when they take on Kansas State.

“We just gotta be consistent,” Neptune said. “It’s a long year. We gotta continue to get better.”