Villanova @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2019 ) Villanova 65, St. John's 71

Villanova's annual march through the Big East is going nicely so far, as the 10th-ranked Wildcats eye their seventh straight win Tuesday when they visit St. John's. The Red Storm have not enjoyed league play thus far, although they are coming off a much-needed win over DePaul.

Defense has been the story of late for Villanova, which allowed 60 points in Saturday's road win over Providence and has yielded 62.7 points per game during its current winning streak. The Wildcats survived against the Friars despite making only one basket over the final 6:45, but coach Jay Wright knows that nothing comes easy down the stretch in a conference game. "That's the Big East this year," Wright said. "That's what every game has been like for us." St. John's rode LJ Figueroa's career-high 28 points in its win over DePaul and now will aim to pull off the upset over Villanova.

TIME: 6:30 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT VILLANOVA (16-3, 6-1 Big East): Collin Gillespie (15.1 points) and Saddiq Bey (14.9) have both shared the team scoring lead at various points this season, while Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (11.2), Jermaine Samuels (11.1) and Justin Moore (10.7) also score in double figures for the balanced Wildcats. Robinson-Earl has five straight double-digit scoring performances after failing to reach double figures in his previous four outings, and Moore is seeking his third straight double-digit scoring effort. Gillespie had a terrific all-around game against Providence with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (13-8, 2-6): While Figueroa stole the show against DePaul, Mustapha Heron chipped in 20 points without a turnover and knocked down 4-of-9 3-pointers. Rasheem Dunn contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, but aside from Figueroa, Heron and Dunn, the other two starters for St. John's went scoreless in 25 combined minutes. Figueroa leads the team in scoring (15.2), while Heron (14.3) has averaged nearly 19 points per game over the last three contests and has only two turnovers in 88 minutes over that stretch.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Before going 7-of-12 from 3-point range against DePaul, Figueroa had been 11-of-44 from 3-point range over his previous seven games.

2. Villanova allowed 16 offensive rebounds against Providence and had just two offensive boards itself.

3. In last year's meeting at Madison Square Garden, the Red Storm rallied from 17 points down late in the first half to stun Villanova 71-65 for its first home win over the Wildcats in 17 years. Figueroa had 22 points to lead St. John's.

PREDICTION: Villanova 71, St. John's 70