Providence @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2020 ) St. John's 58, Providence 63

Providence has had to run a gauntlet of sorts since squeezing out a five-point win over St. John's last month, playing five consecutive ranked opponents for only the third time in school history. After going 2-3 during that rugged stretch, the Friars fell at Xavier on Saturday for its fourth defeat in six games entering Wednesday's rematch at St. John's.

Providence answered a three-game slide with back-to-back victories over ranked foes Butler and Creighton before stumbling down the stretch in a six-point loss to Xavier. “I thought we took a major step back,” coach Ed Cooley said after his team struggled down the stretch and was limited to 58 points Saturday. "That was a game to be had.” The Red Storm entered Big East play on a seven-game winning streak, but have dropped nine of 11 since, with the lone two victories coming against last-place DePaul. St. John's has been dominated of late in the series against the Friars, losing six straight games overall and four in a row at home.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (13-11, 6-5 Big East): Leading scorer Alpha Diallo was held to a combined three points in losses to Butler and Villanova before scoring 14 apiece in the last two games against Creighton and Xavier. Diallo, who also tops the Friars in rebounding (7.7), steals (1.7) and blocked shots (1.0), scored a game-high 19 points in the 63-58 victory over St. John's on Jan. 15. Junior center Nate Watson has come on at the offensive end, scoring a team-high 16 points Saturday and averaging 12.8 over his last five games.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (13-11, 2-9): Sophomore Marcellus Earlington is coming off a career-best performance, pouring in 25 points at Creighton -- one more than his previous four games combined. Earlington had been a non-factor from behind the arc, connecting on 3-of-21 3-point attempts for the season before knocking down 3-of-4 Saturday. "He's a guy who works on it, and he probably would love to shoot more every game," Red Storm coach Mike Anderson said. "At the same time, he was the spark we had on this basketball team."

TIP-INS

1. Providence manhandled the Red Storm on the boards in the last meeting with a 46-34 edge.

2. Red Storm leading scorer LJ Figueroa had 12 points but shot 4 of 17 in the last game versus the Friars.

3. Providence averages a Big East-low 67.1 points.

PREDICTION: Providence 66, St. John's 64