Villanova vs. St. John’s: 2018-19 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Villanova and St. John’s will face off in a crucial showdown that could determine who controls the conference early in 2019. Who will come out on top?

Who: St. John’s (14-1, 2-1 Big East) at Villanova (11-4, 2-0 Big East)

TV: Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:00 pm ET on FS1

Arena: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

Villanova has dominated the Big East over the past five years, winning four of the last five regular season and conference tournament titles to go along with two national championships.

St. John’s, on the other hand, has not experienced that level of recent success. In fact, they’ve had a losing record each of the last three seasons. But, having said this, both enter this upcoming showdown on Jan. 8 with hopes of solidifying themselves as the No. 1 team in the conference this early in the season.

Villanova has had their struggles to this point, already having lost as many games this year (four) as they did all of last year. Losses to Furman and Penn have dampened the Wildcats’ expectations but they enter this game on a three-game win streak and as the only undefeated team in the Big East. Seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are starting to play better and the rest of their young supporting cast appears to have found their rhythm offensively.

On the flip side, the Red Storm have the best overall record of any team in the Big East at 14-1, with that lone loss coming in controversial fashion against Seton Hall. However, most of those wins came against a lackluster non-conference schedule, so St. John’s is still searching for respect. This is a great chance for them to get it.

The biggest factor the Johnnies have going for them is the play of Shamorie Ponds and the rest of their guards. Ponds is a legitimate factor in the National Player of the Year race, averaging 20.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 2.7 steals per game.

Villanova has struggled to defend athletic backcourts this season with a lack of speed and quickness on the perimeter limiting what they can do on that end of the court. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Ponds went off for 26 points in an upset win over the Wildcats last year and he’s better this year while Villanova is much worse. The Red Storm have shown a tendency to play up or down to their competition this year but, in this one, Ponds makes the difference late on the road.

Prediction: St. John’s wins 83-79