Georgetown @ St. John's preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) St. John's 97, Georgetown 94

With three difficult road games looming on the horizon, St. John's faces a pivotal Big East game Sunday afternoon against visiting Georgetown at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm, whose last road win came Jan. 5 against the Hoyas, can sweep the regular season series against their longtime rivals for the first time since their Elite Eight season of 1998-99.

Chris Mullin's team, which has dropped three of its last four contests, including road games at No. 18 Villanova and Butler, will play at Creighton to close out January before taking on a pair of ranked teams in No. 2 Duke and No. 11 Marquette. "We're just really focused on playing well Sunday, that's what it comes down to," Mullin told the media when asked about the upcoming road trip, which will be followed by three straight games at home. "We've had a few tough losses, but even our wins, we've had some very close wins. It's a very small difference in winning and losing." The Hoyas know this well as their last five games - four of them losses - have been decided by six points or fewer, including a 97-94 overtime defeat to the Red Storm in a game they led by four points with 17 seconds left in regulation. St. John's junior Shamorie Ponds equaled his season-high with 37 points to outduel Georgetown senior Jessie Govan, who put up 25 points and 10 rebounds, as the Red Storm snapped a 13-game losing streak in Washington, D.C.

TV: Noon ET, FOX

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (12-7, 2-4 Big East): James Akinjo wasn't in the starting lineup for the first time this season in the Hoyas loss to Creighton on Monday, but still logged 30 minutes - second-most on the team. The freshman, who finished with a career-high 11 assists against only one turnover, struggled with his shot once again, going 2-of-11 from the field and scoring six points for his fewest in a Big East game. The guard is 3-of-21 over the last two games and is shooting below 30 percent in league games, but has made up for it by going 33-of-40 from the foul line and by averaging seven assists in the conference - second to Ponds.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (15-4, 3-4): LJ Figueroa saw his streak of five straight games of shooting better than 50 percent come to a end in the loss to Butler. The sophomore, who leads all first-year Big East players in scoring at 14.6 points per game, went 30-of-52 while averaging an even 15 points in the last five games. Figueroa ranks in the top 15 in the Big East in scoring, rebounds per game (6.9), field goal percentage (54.4), steals (1.7), 3-point shooting (41.1) and defensive rebounds per game (5.4) for the Red Storm, who are 4-5 against the Hoyas under Mullin.

TIP-INS

1. Over the last two seasons, Govan is tops among active Division I centers in scoring (18.6 points per game), rebounding (9.3) and in double-doubles (22).

2. St. John's is 12-0 when it scores 80 or more points.

3. The Red Storm own a 59-51 advantage in the series with the Hoyas and have won five of the last seven meetings at Madison Square Garden.

PREDICTION: St. John's 86, Georgetown 80