If this Villanova men’s basketball season ultimately leads to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats can point to Wednesday’s game at Butler when they pulled out a win by overcoming a 13-point deficit with one A 22-1 run over the final made up for six minutes.

Every season has a turning point or two. That was one. But Villanova coach Kyle Neptune broadened the scope when asked about the idea after the Wildcats’ 100-56 win over DePaul on Saturday at Finneran Pavilion.

Villanova’s offense, led by the nation’s leading scorer Eric Dixon, is one of the most efficient in the country. Its defense now ranks in the middle of the pack among the 364 Division I basketball teams. Scoring has rarely been an issue. Consistently stopping the opponent was successful. The Wildcats had played 13 games before Wednesday’s game in Indianapolis, and all 520 minutes before that played a role in that comeback, Neptune said.

“It was a great moment for us,” Neptune said. “We strung together a few stops. But it took all the time we’ve spent so far this season to get to the point where we were ready. I’m definitely proud of our boys. I think we’re getting better. I think we still have a long way to go.”

That’s what he said this Saturday after the Wildcats improved to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big East with their lopsided win over DePaul (9-6, 0-4). It was as perfect a victory as Villanova could have hoped for given the events that lay ahead. The Wildcats began the first four minutes of the game on a 13-0 run, meaning Villanova had outscored its opponents 35-1 over 10 minutes of play against Butler and DePaul. DePaul never got closer than 13 again and Villanova rolled.

The Wildcats got pretty much any appearance they wanted against a Blue Demons team that was dealing with some key injuries. They made 16 of their 27 three-point attempts. They had 24 assists on 37 total makes; Jhamir Brickus led the way with 11 helpers to go and 11 points. Jordan Longino scored a career-high 19 points and made all five of his triples. Dixon continued his 25-point pace. Wooga Poplar’s recent run continued with 17 points, including a highlight-reel dunk after stealing the ball from a DePaul player. Kris Parker added 11 in 19 solid minutes off the bench.

But for a team that struggled so much defensively, it was the other end of the floor that was more impressive. DePaul completed just 20 of its 60 attempts and turned the ball over more than a dozen times. The Blue Demons shot just 7 of 27 from three-point range. In total there were only eight assists. Villanova made them work for almost everything.

“We flew around for a while,” Neptune said. “I thought we followed the game plan exactly – really impressed and proud of the way we defended.”

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Villanova had 10 days off after allowing too many easy points to Creighton in an 86-79 loss Dec. 21 in Omaha, Nebraska. In the following two games, the Wildcats allowed an average of 60.5 points. No, Butler and DePaul are not Creighton, and they are certainly not Wednesday’s opponent, two-time defending champion Connecticut. But there are real signs of growth.

The 11th-ranked Huskies’ visit to Finneran Pavilion is followed by a road game against a St. John’s team that was three spots outside the top 25 in the most recent Associated Press poll. The Wildcats are 2-1 so far in a six-game stretch that was always going to determine the outcome of this season.

They entered Saturday’s game ranked 51st overall according to KenPom metrics. They climbed to 42nd after the horn sounded early Saturday afternoon, and their defensive efficiency rating, which was 191st at the start of the day, rose to 174th. Things are objectively moving in a positive direction for Villanova over the last eight games, helping to right a ship that has hit a few icebergs with a rocky 3-4 start.

UConn — which may be without top freshman Liam McNeeley (high ankle sprain) — and next Saturday’s game at St. John’s are the benchmarks to see if the development is real.

“I don’t even know if we’re technically halfway through the season yet,” Neptune said. “There’s still a long, long season ahead of us. The teams are getting better. Most other coaches talk about the same things we do. Everyone wants to do their best at the end of the season. We haven’t really done much at the moment. We’re at a point where I think our guys are confident in what we’re trying to do. I think they are related. And now we just have to keep going.”