How to Watch/Listen

TV: CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m. ET (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Jamie Erdahl)

Radio: Villanova - 610 Sports Radio (Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby), St. John’s - 570 AM WMCA (John Minko and Vin Parise)

Gamblin’ Info

Villanova currently sits as a 18.5-point favorite with the over under at 147.5. The ‘Cats are 13-10 ATS on the year, while the Red Storm are 12-12. Numbers per OddsShark.

Series Info

St. John’s leads the series 60-54 all-time, but is just 29-35 against the ‘Cats in Big East play.

Last Meeting

Villanova earned a 70-57 victory at Madison Square Garden against the Johnnies on Jan. 14.

Storylines

• VU has been anything but stellar in its last three games, during which it’s gone 2-1 but shown how tough things are going to be without the services of sixth-man Phil Booth who has missed the entire season with a knee injury. The ‘Cats will need Kris Jenkins to start to heat up again if they want to carry momentum into the conference and NCAA tournament.
• Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds may be the most overlooked freshman backcourt combo in the country and that needs to change. Can the two go toe-to-toe with possibly the best backcourt in the country in Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart? If they can do so, the Johnnies may have a shot at pulling off what would could only be construed as a massive upset.

Prediction

Ponds and LoVett have been fantastic but this seems like a step too far for the freshmen early on in their careers. I think Jay Wright has the Wildcats back firing on all cylinders and this one could get ugly. Villanova 77, St. John’s 58.