St. John's @ Duke preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 3, 2018 ) Duke 77, St. John's 81

It's been a while since Duke's semi-regular matchup with St. John's has been meaningful for both squads and their postseason aspirations, but that hasn't kept the Red Storm from occasionally being a thorn in the side of the Blue Devils. No. 2 Duke will try to avenge last year's shocking loss to St. John's and do a better job of bottling up Shamorie Ponds this time around when they host the Red Storm on Saturday.

Duke holds a 16-7 series advantage, but the schools have split the last four meetings after St. John's pulled off an 81-77 upset at Madison Square Garden last year behind 33 points from Ponds. The Red Storm also hold the distinction of being the last non-ACC team to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium, doing so 146 games ago on Feb. 26, 2000, for the Blue Devils' only non-conference home loss since Dec. 8, 1996. Duke enters this contest on a four-game winning streak after cruising past Notre Dame 83-61 on Monday to remain in a three-way tie for first place in the ACC. The Red Storm, who are only 4-5 since winning their first 12 games, halted a 1-4 stretch Wednesday with an 83-67 victory at Creighton.

TV: Noon ET, ESPN

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (16-5): Ponds, who leads the Big East in assists (5.7) as well as steals (2.8) while ranking third in scoring (20.9 points), enjoyed one of the most complete games of his career Wednesday, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-17 from the floor, eight rebounds, eight assists and six steals. Mustapha Heron (15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds) is in the midst of a four-game stretch during which he is averaging 18.3 points while shooting 52.9 percent (10.3 points on 39.4 percent over his previous three outings). The Red Storm likely need a big game from 6-7 forward Marvin Clark II (12.2 points), who is the tallest regular player they have against a Duke roster that gives regular playing time to six players his size or taller.

ABOUT DUKE (18-2): Reigning ACC Freshman of the Week RJ Barrett (ACC-high 23.6 points) cooled off a bit with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting versus the Fighting Irish after a three-game stretch during which he averaged 26.7 points on 49.2 percent from the field. Fellow freshman forward Zion Williamson (22.0 points, 9.2 rebounds), who is the only player in the country scoring at least 20 points per game and shooting over 60 percent from the floor, is averaging 27 points on 71.2 percent shooting over his last five outings. Cam Reddish (12.8 points) has struggled mightily since sitting the Jan. 14 loss at Syracuse due to flu-like symptoms, shooting a combined 12-for-52 from the field and 8-for-32 from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. Barrett and Williamson are the only pair of teammates in Division I averaging at least 20 points.

2. With a win, the Red Storm will become the first team since Stanford (1999-2000 and 2000-01) to beat Duke in consecutive regular seasons.

3. Blue Devils freshman G Tre Jones is the nation's only player averaging at least five assists (5.6), two steals (2.0) and owns an assist-to-turnover ratio above 5.0 (5.6).

PREDICTION: Duke 83, St. John's 72