St. John's @ Villanova preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 28, 2020 ) Villanova 79, St. John's 59

No. 12 Villanova has rebounded from a recent three-game losing streak and aims for its fifth straight victory Wednesday against visiting St. John's. The Wildcats suffocated Xavier in their last game and hope to author a similar defensive effort against the Red Storm.

Villanova held Xavier to 35.7 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-12 from 3-point land in a 64-55 victory, while Saddiq Bey and and Jermaine Samuels did much of the heavy lifting on offense. Bey (22 points) and Samuels (17 points) combined to make 5-of-10 3-point shots, but coach Jay Wright was most pleased with his team's effort on the defensive end. "I thought our defense was really good, maybe our best defensive effort of the year," Wright said. St. John's has lost five of its last six games, most recently a 16-point defeat against Seton Hall.

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

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (14-13, 3-11 Big East): The Red Storm fell at Seton Hall in their last game and then face Creighton in their next contest after this one, meaning they'll face three consecutive top-15 opponents as the season winds down. L.J. Figueroa had a team-high 19 points against Seton Hall but shot 6-of-17 from the field and is 8-of-34 over the last two games. Julian Champagnie registered 14 points and 11 rebounds against Seton Hall but is 5-of-24 from the arc over the last seven games.

ABOUT VILLANOVA (21-6, 10-4): The Wildcats have five double-digit scorers on the season, led by Bey (15.8), who leads Collin Gillespie (15.7) by a hair, and also including Justin Moore (10.9), Samuels (10.7) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (10.6). Gillespie had been 12-of-19 from 3-point range in his previous two games before going 0-of-6 against Xavier, as he finished with a season-low four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Samuels has scored at least 10 points in four of the last five games and has at least six boards in 10 of the last 13 outings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Villanova won the first matchup, 79-59, at St. John's in late January.

2. Bey is 9-of-16 from 3-point range in the previous two games.

3. All of the Red Storm's top three scorers shoot below 40 percent from the field.

PREDICTION: Villanova 84, St. John's 74