Georgetown @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2017 ) Georgetown 73, St. John's 74

Poor shooting and poor defense has Georgetown reeling heading into Tuesday's Big East game at St. John's. The Hoyas were blown out for the first time this season Saturday at home by No. 22 Creighton and will need to rebound to avoid a third straight defeat to the Red Storm.

No starter scored in double figures or played much defense against Creighton, which enjoyed a 30-point edge from beyond the arc and limited the Hoyas to 36.5 percent shooting in the 90-66 victory. "We have to do a better job of competing," Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing told the media. "Games like this is when we need to rise to the occasion. We have to play better." Jessie Govan was held to single digits in points and rebounds for the first time this season for the Hoyas, who had won 10 of 13 games this decade against St. John's prior to dropping a pair of close games last season. Shamorie Ponds has struggled in his return from a one-game absence because of a knee injury as the sophomore shot 31.5 percent from the field and 2-of-16 from 3-point territory in two games for the Red Storm, who have lost four straight.

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

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (11-4, 1-3 Big East): The downward spiral of Jonathan Mulmore's game in the Big East may have hit rock bottom in the loss to Creighton. The senior point, who made a positive impact during an easy non-conference schedule, went scoreless and now has scored a total 13 points in four league games. Jagan Mosely, a sophomore, has thoroughly outplayed his teammate in Big East games and was the lone Hoya to hit double figures Saturday, but neither did a good job of finding Govan, who had a season-low seven field goal attempts.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (10-6, 0-4): Bashir Ahmed has played some of his best basketball during the four-game losing streak, including his first back-to-back 20-points games in the most recent losses to Creighton and DePaul, but the Red Storm haven't been able to make up for the absence of Marcus LoVett, who has missed the last nine contests. "We are at the bottom of the barrel and have to work our way up," coach Chris Mullin told the media. "The only way to do that is to work hard, be aggressive and I think we have to be more physical." Ponds could break out of his shooting slump at any time and the Brooklyn native averaged 17.7 points in the three games against the Hoyas last season, including 24 points in the home meeting.

TIP-INS

1. Govan has scored in double figures only once in five career games against St. John's.

2. The Red Storm had won eight straight at home against DePaul prior to Saturday's 91-74 loss.

3. St. John's, which owns a 28-11 mark at home in the series, has won two straight and seven of the last 10 meetings with Georgetown at Madison Square Garden, the site of Tuesday's game.

PREDICTION: Georgetown 78, St. John's 71