Is there a path to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for Villanova? Yes and no.

If you’ve been counting the amount of times Villanova coach Kyle Neptune or any of his players have referenced the team wanting “to be the best team we can be by the end of the season,” we forgive you if you’ve lost track.

The Wildcats are practicing what they preach, however.

Villanova, after beating Seton Hall Tuesday night in Newark, has won six of its last seven games. For the first time since Dec. 21, their first Big East game, the Wildcats are above .500 in conference play. They are 16-14 (10-9, Big East) with one game remaining on the schedule: a Saturday night showdown with No. 14 UConn at the Wells Fargo Center.

Villanova is quickly moving up rankings and ratings lists. The Wildcats were 56th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rating as of Thursday morning, their highest ranking since the morning of Jan. 7. They were 76th in the NCAA’s NET ranking, up from the 90s just a few weeks ago. And on Wednesday, Villanova appeared on bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s board … you just had to squint a little to see it.

Villanova wasn’t in the “first four out” or the “next four out,” but it was included among five teams listed next to “considered.”

While Villanova is finally healthy and playing its best basketball at the best time, springing thoughts of the Wildcats getting back in the at-large conversation, the reality is pretty clear at this point: It’s a little too late.

To avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, Villanova will still have to run the table during next week’s Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

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That’s not to say there isn’t a path without cutting down the nets next Saturday, it’s just an unlikely one, Lunardi explained to The Inquirer.

“You can gain [ground] but there’s a ceiling, and the ceiling is simply caused by the number of teams they have to pass,” he said.

On Lunardi’s board Wednesday, there were a dozen teams standing between Villanova and a bid.

“While it’s almost certain that some, if not many, of them will lose, it’s equally likely that not all of them will lose,” Lunardi said. “So they have to have a bunch of things go their way in addition to winning themselves.”

Villanova will go for just its third Quad 1 win Saturday night vs. No. 14 UConn, which beat the Justin Moore-less Wildcats, 74-66, in late December.

Lose that game and none of the words on this page mean much, because the Wildcats would have to win the Big East Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Win that game, move up the bracket board, Lunardi said.

“There’s a rule of thumb,” Lunardi said. “You move up between a half and a whole seed line when you win games that you’re not supposed to, at least historically.

“It’s not hard to envision them winning on Saturday and getting into next four out.”

That puts Villanova on the part of the board that’s easier to see, seeds 73 to 76. Still on the outside looking in, still with work to do.

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For this exercise, let’s assume Villanova wins Saturday and starts its conference tournament with a 17-14 record, 11-9 in the Big East — with just three Quad 1 wins on its resumé.

Up first for sixth-seeded Villanova is 11th-seeded Georgetown, a game that can’t help the Wildcats and only hurt them.

Villanova’s quarterfinal matchup Thursday would then likely be vs. third-seeded Providence, a team Villanova has lost to twice, including once with this fully healthy version.

Of course, a loss means the season is over (save for an NIT bid), but a win keeps the intrigue going. Next up is where things get tricky. Will it be No. 2 Xavier, or an upset-minded team like Seton Hall or even DePaul? If it’s Xavier, playing without one of its best players, a win helps Villanova’s at-large hopes.

OK, so now Villanova has rattled off three wins, and two of them are Quad 1 wins vs. Providence and Xavier. Where do the Wildcats stand now?

“At worst you’re in the first four out,” Lunardi said.

A loss in the final hurts, even if it’s vs. top-seeded Marquette or UConn, two teams who are built to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

A win? Well, there’s no need to worry about an at-large bid.

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Sure, Villanova could end up having a strong argument. After early-season injuries, the Wildcats are playing their best basketball now. Sometimes, that recency bias is meaningful. But Lunardi has said in the past that player absences — like Justin Moore, in Villanova’s case — mean less than people think when it comes to the selection committee making decisions.

“I don’t think the full team argument is going to be what gets them in or doesn’t,” Lunardi said.

That’s because Villanova can claim health and recent performance in its favor, but the counter argument is its bad losses. Sure, there was no Moore and no Cam Whitmore for losses to Temple (NET 124) and Portland (NET 168). And Moore was still out when Villanova lost in the same week on the road at DePaul (173) and Butler (129).

“If you’re going to invent fictional wins, you also have to consider the losses,” Lunardi said.

Consider those losses, and consider the work that needs to be done, and here’s where Lunardi said things stand:

“Nobody wants to hear this, but it is a textbook NIT resumé.”