Villanova is finding a groove as Big East play nears. Time will tell if its early hole was too deep.

Before Tuesday night, there at least was proof of concept. The rocky start to the Villanova men’s basketball season — four wins in eight games — showed the way wins would come.

Lean on Eric Dixon, who likely will be among the five top scorers in college basketball this season. Get some secondary production from other capable scorers. Play defense.

It is not rocket science.

» READ MORE: Eric Dixon’s 31 points helps Villanova knock off previously undefeated No. 14 Cincinnati

All three of those things happened Tuesday night, when Villanova topped No. 14 Cincinnati, 68-60. It is easily the most consequential win through nine games for the Wildcats, and it may also be the most frustrating, though Dixon, who scored 31 points and drilled two three-pointers to seal the result, disagreed with that characterization.

“I don’t think frustrated is the word I would say,” Dixon said. “I would say motivated to try to come every day in practice and be this tough and be this nasty is something we can try to do.”

Dixon may not have liked the adjective ascribed, but it’s one fans likely are feeling. Because it’s hard to imagine Villanova would be 5-4 at this juncture if the team that showed up Tuesday decided to come around with more frequency over the last month.

“We’ve played well probably in every game in spurts,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “It just comes down to playing our way for 40 minutes. You can make mistakes within that time, but I think the thought process and the mindset was there throughout the full 40.

“We got the result we wanted. More importantly, I think we played the way we wanted.”

There was a lot to like Tuesday night. Jhamir Brickus had 13 points on eight shots and added nine assists against zero turnovers. The Wildcats put him in the two-man game with both Dixon and center Enoch Boakye and found success. Wooga Poplar scored 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line while adding 10 rebounds. Tyler Perkins hit two three-pointers off the bench. Jordan Longino made just one of his six shot attempts, but he bottled up Simas Lukosius on the other end.

» READ MORE: Villanova has a new AD and likely a more bottom-line approach to men’s basketball. Kyle Neptune should be on guard.

Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said he was surprised by some of the things Villanova did defensively, namely the way the Wildcats continued to switch every ball screen when Dixon and Boakye were on the floor, and how often the Wildcats showed a 2-3 zone.

There was always going to be a learning curve for a team that starts three transfers, plays two more off the bench, and has a freshman getting meaningful minutes.

But Villanova wasn’t good enough for long enough stretches over the first month of the season. The Wildcats lost to Columbia by double digits. They led St. Joseph’s by eight late in the first half and then folded. They got their doors blown off in Baltimore against a Virginia team that isn’t expected to be a real threat in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They were great for a half vs. Maryland, but the players not named Dixon didn’t do enough offensively, and the defensive intensity faded in the second half.

Tuesday was much better. But what happens next?

Villanova plays Temple on Saturday in the Big 5 Classic’s third-place game. Then it’s a home game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday to close out the nonconference portion of the schedule. There is no reason Villanova shouldn’t be 7-4 heading into its Big East opener Dec. 17 vs. Seton Hall, though this team hasn’t come close to earning the benefit of the doubt.

While a 7-4 record with this nonconference schedule isn’t the worst-case scenario, it leaves Villanova in an uncomfortable situation. The Big East has had a rough start to the season, though Villanova’s victory and Providence’s win over BYU on Tuesday were positive developments. Marquee wins like Tuesday, albeit against a Cincinnati team missing one of its best players in Roman Catholic grad Dan Skillings Jr., won’t be as easy to find.

Cincinnati entered Tuesday ranked ninth by KenPom metrics and 15th by Torvik, another analytics site. There is just one Big East team, Marquette, with a higher KenPom ranking currently, meaning Tuesday could be as good as it gets. That puts a lot of pressure on the 50-50 games ahead.

» READ MORE: Hiring K.C. Keeler will define Temple AD Arthur Johnson’s tenure

Neptune balked at the idea of momentum as it relates to moments in a game, the context being Brickus’ buzzer-beating three-pointer before halftime. But what about momentum-building wins?

“Just human nature, I think, sometimes when you lose a game, it can tear your team apart, 100%,” Neptune said. “I don’t think that would happen to our guys, and it didn’t.”

In that respect, maybe the loss to Virginia in Baltimore was a wake-up call.

“Sometimes it’s a great motivator,” Neptune said. “I think sometimes human nature says when you win, you take a deep breath and say: ‘We got it now.’ I think that’s a challenge for any team after a win to say: ‘All right, fine, we won that. We got the result. But we have to get better.’

“That’s going to be the challenge for this team. We won a game that on the outside is a huge game.”

It was on the inside, too, whether he wants to admit it publicly or not. Time will tell how much it really mattered.