Villanova still could make the tournament after a loss to Xavier. Another stumble could be costly.

In January, Villanova faced Xavier at the Finneran Pavilion. Both teams battled defensively and struggled offensively. Xavier had the ball in the final seconds down one point and got an open shot, which fell short. Villanova eked out a 66-65 win, maintaining its unbeaten Big East record and sending Xavier back to .500.

Thirty-five days later, the teams played again Wednesday in Cincinnati. They battled defensively. The offenses struggled. Looking for a three to tie it in the final seconds, Villanova could not even manage a shot, sealing a 56-53 loss.

The Wildcats (12-11) are now 5-7 in the Big East, miles away from their 4-1 start. Now they’re the ones flirting with .500 while Xavier (13-10, 7-5) is trending toward March.

The loss, Villanova’s seventh in nine games, doesn’t sink the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes. However, the next stumble could cost them those chances.

The ending was not the one fans wanted. It left Kyle Neptune bent over at the waist, hands on his knees, before quickly composing himself enough to shake Xavier coach Sean Miller’s hand.

Down three with 18 seconds remaining, Mark Armstrong dribbled up the court. Eric Dixon set a screen for him, then set another meant to free Brendan Hausen. Hausen briefly lost his footing coming off it, then dribbled backward toward halfcourt before giving the ball to Dixon. He ran around Dixon to switch onto the slower defender and got the ball back but couldn’t find a shot. Instead of throwing up a prayer, he gave it back to Dixon. With a second left, Dixon dribbled, then threw a pass to Armstrong. Time had expired before the ball met Armstrong’s hands.

Many, many things went wrong on the play. Xavier deserves credit for a great defensive stand, but the Wildcats didn’t attempt a shot with the game on the line. That situation requires someone to be aware. Hausen had time to pass, but as Villanova’s best three-point shooter and the game’s leading scorer, he should be demanding to take the final shot. Dixon had no time to pass but did so anyway.

Neptune had a timeout. Even as the play broke down, he chose not to use it.

“We had two options out of the play. I thought we were close to getting one,” Neptune told CNLS Media. “We had another shot. Thought about calling timeout. I thought we were going to get a shot, and we were close to it. We just didn’t get a shot off.”

Hausen finished with 15 points. Dixon had 13. No other Wildcat had more than seven.

The immediate good news for Villanova was that it built off its impressive defensive showing against Providence. Xavier shot 34.4% in the game, 22.2% from three, and needed a buzzer-beating triple just to score 26 points in the first half. The Wildcats held the Musketeers without a field goal for more than six minutes in the first half, going on a 16-1 run.

The Wildcats got off to yet another slow start, scoring just four points in the first 8 minutes, 55 seconds. They didn’t make a field goal in the first four minutes after halftime, either.

As poor as the final play was, the bigger issue was at the rim. Villanova finished 13-for-25 on layups, missing what in theory should have been easy offense. Xavier forward Abou Ousmane was a big part of Villanova’s struggles, blocking five shots, but the Wildcats missed shots regardless of how well-defended they were. They were also 0-for-1 on dunk attempts.

Villanova’s last two games have shown what looks to be its blueprint for the rest of the season: slow games down, rely on defense, attack the paint.

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Neptune drew criticism online not just for the final play, but because it seemed he dodged the postgame press conference. A reporter posted that Neptune had issued a 15-second opening statement, then left before reporters could get there to ask questions. However, Neptune returned to the media room after Miller’s press conference for additional questions.

Villanova likely needs to win six of its eight remaining games, plus a game in the Big East tournament, to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats looked like a tournament guarantee when they first faced Xavier, but their 2-7 slide has put them on the wrong side of the bubble. There certainly are winnable games, but Villanova no longer has room for a slipup.

What a difference 35 days can make.