Villanova Wildcats 22-6 (13-4) at #15 St. John’s 22-6 (15-2)
Where: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
When: Saturday, February 28 at 8:00 PM
Betting Line: Villanova +6.5 (subject to change)
How to Watch: FOX
How to Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Net Rankings: Villanova 30, St. John’s 23 (Quad 1)
KenPom: Villanova 29, St. John’s 22
Torvik: Villanova 29, St. John’s 21
About St. John’s: The Red Storm come in off of the worst loss under Rick Pitino, enduring a 72-40 road defeat at the hands of Connecticut. This is the second-consecutive Saturday where Villanova will face a ranked team after an embarrassing loss. Coming into the game against the Huskies, St. John’s was riding a 13-game winning streak. That run began three games before the first game against Villanova, where the Red Storm held off a late rally to beat the Wildcats 86-79 in Philadelphia.
In that matchup, St. John’s won both the turnover and rebounding battle, shot 51.7% from the floor and attempted 31 free throws (making 21). The size of the Red Storm’s frontcourt was predictably a problem for Villanova, and likely will be again. The one difference between that game and recent trends is a changing of the guard. In the last meeting, Ian Jackson scored 18 points on 7/12 shooting. Those numbers have dipped of late, with the sophomore transfer from North Carolina only averaging 5.3 points over his past seven outings. Picking up the production has been Dylan Darling, who went scoreless in 10 minutes against Villanova last time out. The junior transfer from Idaho State has scored in double figures in three of his past five games, averaging 11.6 points over that stretch.
Notes on Nova: Villanova rebounded from the loss to Connecticut by defeating Butler 82-73 on Wednesday night. Both Devin Askew and Bryce Lindsay shot well for the first time in what seems like months, and hopefully that’s a sign that things have turned around for the two best shooters on the team. In the previous game against the Red Storm, the Wildcats were able to offset the interior disadvantage by making 11 three-pointers on 42.3%. The aforementioned Lindsay and Askew combined to score 32 points on 5/10 from deep. Those two, combined with Tyler Perkins’ 23 points, combined to score 69.6% of Villanova’s total on the day. The trio also represented the only players in double-figures for the Wildcats.
On the road this time, Villanova will need more production from its frontcourt to come away with the victory. Duke Brennan did his thing with 9 points and 9 rebounds last time out, but Matt Hodge and Malachi Palmer will need to hold their own down low against Bryce Hopkins, Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell.