Seton Hall @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 29, 2018 ) St. John's 74, Seton Hall 76

St. John’s followed up an inspiring triumph with a disappointing performance and gets a second chance to post its 20th victory Saturday night when rival Seton Hall pays a visit for a key Big East contest. The Red Storm rallied for a confidence-building win over No. 16 Villanova last Sunday, but fell flat three days later at Providence in a 78-59 setback and will look for revenge after losing at the buzzer against the Pirates on Dec. 29.

“We’ve got to put it behind us,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin told reporters after his team shot 36.1 percent from the field Wednesday. “We’ve got four games left. We’ve got to regroup.” The league admitted that a referee’s premature whistle allowed Seton Hall another chance in the final seconds, and Shavar Reynolds drained a 3-pointer to give the Pirates a 76-74 victory in the first matchup - their sixth win in the last seven of the series between the long-time rivals. Seton Hall, which is tied with the Red Storm for third in the Big East, is also coming off a letdown as it saw a three-game winning streak end with a 70-69 setback against Xavier at home Wednesday. “This was a bump in the road, but we’ve been taking bumps in the road and our backs have been against the wall all year,” Pirates junior guard Myles Powell told reporters after the loss. “We’re not going to stop believing in each other and pushing for our goal, and I’m going to make sure of that.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT SETON HALL (16-10, 7-7 Big East): Powell is second in the league in scoring (21.7) and steals (2.04), averaging 23.3 points over the past six games after managing a season-low three against Villanova. Sophomore guard Myles Cale has also raised his production level by averaging 19.3 points the last three games, draining 8-of-21 from behind the arc, to push his season mark to 10.5. Junior guard Quincy McKnight averaged 13 points during the win streak, and is the final double-figure scorer (10.4) for the Pirates while leading the way in assists (4.0).

ABOUT ST. JOHN’S (19-8, 7-7): Junior guard Shamorie Ponds leads the team in scoring (19.5), assists (5.2) and steals (2.6), but matched a season low with four points on 2-of-9 shooting against Providence. Junior guard Mustapha Heron also matched a season low with eight points last time out to drop his season mark to 15.4, but is the team’s top threat from long range at 42.6 percent. Sophomore guard LJ Figueroa, who shoots 51.3 percent from the field, scored 38 and grabbed 16 rebounds combined the last two games and averages 14.4 and 6.6, respectively.

TIP-INS

1. Seton Hall’s 6-10 sophomore F Sandro Mamukelashvili tops the team in rebounding (7.3) after averaging 8.8 the past four games.

2. St. John’s senior F Marvin Clark II (11 points) was 0-for-2 in eight minutes Wednesday before fouling out.

3. The Red Storm is second in the league in field-goal percentage defense (42.4) and Seton Hall is third (43.1).

PREDICTION: St. John’s 76, Seton Hall 68