The gym that Jay Wright built into one of the toughest in the land for the opposition was absolutely the place to be last February. Erin Andrews and the ESPN ''GameDay'' crew brought the party to campus. Former Villanova great Randy Foye, who played a crucial role in aiding Wright with the heavy lifting, had his No. 2 jersey raised to the rafters.
In the main event, the ninth-ranked Wildcats were set to play No. 4 Pittsburgh.
It was one of the toughest tickets in town, though Phillies slugger Ryan Howard snared a front-row seat.
On the surface, the day at the Pavilion was a celebration of all that Wright had accomplished in 10 seasons at Villanova. The 2009 Final Four. The annual NCAA tournament trips. The top-10 national rankings and All-America selections.
The Wildcats were worthy of their place as one of the Big East's elite and the king of Philly hoops.
A year later, though, the Wildcats sit at .500 and are positioned near the bottom of the conference. Things weren't much better out of conference. In fact, there were losses to Santa Clara and Saint Joseph's.
Through it all, Wright has praised his team after games for not quitting, and when that attribute is the sole positive, the cracks must run deep.
Villanova (10-10, 3-5) enters Wednesday's game at Louisville on a two-game winning streak, its first since mid-November. The Wildcats would have to win six or seven in a row to even think about extending their NCAA tournament streak to eight seasons.
''I knew we could struggle. I didn't think we'd start 1-5,'' Wright said. ''I thought maybe, 2-4, 3-3, at worst. Then I thought maybe we could click. But you know it's possible in this league.''
The signs of struggles ahead were clear last season. The Panthers stormed into Villanova and spoiled that celebratory night, doing what no team had done since Jan. 6, 2007 - beat the Wildcats in their on-campus home. They lost their last four regular-season games, their opener in the Big East tournament, and then blew a late lead in a loss to George Mason in the NCAA tournament.
Before last season, the Wildcats hadn't lost more than eight games in either 2008-09 or 2009-10. The Wildcats even started last season 16-1 before collapsing down the stretch.
Wright admits, he's stuck this season. He has no seniors on his roster. Of three junior starters, Maalik Wayns is the only on three junior starters making a significant contribution. Wright had built his program around stars - notably guards like Foye, Scottie Reynolds, Allan Ray, Kyle Lowry - and left it to dirty-work players like Dante Cunningham and Will Sheridan to fill in the gaps.
''It's like the NBA, you've got to have star power,'' Wright said. ''When you have those star guys, it makes it easier for all the other guys. When you don't have those star players, it's more pressure on the glue guys. They don't look as good.''
With the glue guys forced into go-to roles, the Wildcats have had their worst season under Wright since they went 18-17 in 2003-04. Only Wayns, the speedy scorer, would qualify as the type of player who would find a starting spot among those 2005-2009 Wildcats.
Wayns has averaged 30.7 points in his last three games, and is the Big East scoring leader in conference play at 20.6.
Forward JayVaughn Pinkston, a highly touted recruit who was forced to sit out last season when the university suspended him after he was charged with assault, has bounced back to become a double-double threat. But it hasn't been enough.
Wayns said the young Wildcats are getting better and, unlike last season, should be playing their best basketball at the end of the season.
''We've seen it coming,'' Wayns said. ''We've been getting better. We've come to practice and kept a positive attitude and kept getting better. We have the same mindset we had at the beginning of the year.''
It could be too late come March.
Dominic Cheek was expected to carry more of the load. He played for Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's in Jersey City, N.J., and was a McDonald's All-American. He underachieved his first two seasons with the Wildcats, and has mixed in as many mediocre games as solid ones this season.
''I knew at the end of last year, when we had a good sit-down talk and he said he wanted to be part of this, I knew he'd be fine,'' Wright said. ''I knew we were starting his junior year from way behind. That's why I knew there was this possibility we wouldn't be as good this year. If he would have been a big-time player in his freshman, sophomore year, now we're going into his junior year, we'd be fine. He's just now starting to feel comfortable in his role now.
''He was never a problem, he was just kind of like doing his thing. Now he's talking to everybody, he knows the scouting report, he's talking on the floor. He's got the confidence of his teammates, his coaching staff. But it's midway through his junior year. That's OK for him. He can still have a great career. But it's why we're struggling.''
Mouphtaou Yarou, a 6-foot-10 forward, also has been plagued by inconsistency.
''Mouph and Cheek,'' Wright said, ''are not where we thought they'd be.''
The Wildcats are shooting only 42 percent from the floor and 31 percent from 3-point range. Wayns and Cheek are both under 30 percent from behind the arc, making it a true long shot the Wildcats can rally from second-half deficits by relying on the long ball.
Wright blamed inexperience for the funk, and believes that a team with five talented freshman means this down season won't be more than a one-year blip in the long-term success of the program.
''I like this group,'' Wright said. ''I do think we're getting better. It's slow, but we've got to find a way to enjoy this process. It might not be fun to watch guys, sorry, but we've got to go through it.''
