Saint John's (NY) Red Storm (18-14, 8-11 Big East) vs. Villanova Wildcats (23-7, 16-4 Big East)
New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
LINE: Villanova -5.5; over/under is 149.5
BOTTOM LINE: Saint John's (NY) visits the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats after Julian Champagnie scored 26 points in Saint John's (NY)'s 92-73 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons.
The Wildcats have gone 12-1 at home. Villanova averages 73.8 points and has outscored opponents by 10.2 points per game.
The Red Storm are 8-11 in conference games. Saint John's (NY) ranks sixth in the Big East shooting 33.9% from downtown. Esahia Nyiwe leads the Red Storm shooting 44.4% from 3-point range.
The teams meet for the third time this season. Villanova won 75-69 in the last matchup on Feb. 9. Eric Dixon led Villanova with 16 points, and Aaron Wheeler led Saint John's (NY) with 31 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Collin Gillespie is shooting 44.7% and averaging 16.3 points for the Wildcats. Justin Moore is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Villanova.
Posh Alexander is averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals for the Red Storm. Champagnie is averaging 13.2 points over the last 10 games for Saint John's (NY).
LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 8-2, averaging 74.3 points, 28.3 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 45% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.8 points per game.
Red Storm: 5-5, averaging 84.4 points, 35.2 rebounds, 20 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.1 points.
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