NO. 18 UCONN AT ST. JOHN’S
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York
Tip: Noon (CBS)
Records: UConn 20-1, 10-7; St. John’s 17-12, 7-11
Last game: UConn beat Providence, 87-69, Wednesday; St. John’s won at Georgetown, 79-70, Wednesday
Probable starters: UConn, 6-5 sr. guard Tristen Newton (10.1 pts, 4.1 rebs, 4.4 assists), 6-6 jr. guard Andre Jackson (6.1 pts, 6.3 rebs, 4.1 assists), 6-5 so. guard Jordan Hawkins (16.5 pts, 4.1 rebs), 6-8 r-fr. forward Alex Karaban (9.7 pts, 4.3 rebs), 6-9 jr. forward Adama Sanogo (16.8 pts, 7.2 rebs)
St. John’s, 6-0 jr. guard Posh Alexander (9.7 pts, 4.4 assists, 2.1 steals), 6-4 jr. guard Dylan Addae-Wusu (8.6 pts, 4.3 rebs), 6-6 fr. guard AJ Storr (8.6 pts), 6-8 so. forward O’Mar Stanley (4.3 pts), 6-11 sr. center Joel Soriano (15.4 pts, 11.9 rebounds)
Noteworthy: Only three regular season games remaining for the Huskies. … Series: UConn trails 37-30, losing first meeting 85-74 on Jan. 15 in Hartford. St. John’s shot 51.7 percent and six players scored in double figures led by Soriano’s 19. Huskies shot 41.8 percent and out-scored by 47-36 in the second half. Hawkins had career highs in points (31) and turnovers (seven) … Top reserve: 6-6 jr. guard David Jones (12.9 pts, 6.8 rebs). … Soriano’s nation-leading 21 double-doubles the most by a St. John’s player since Walter Berry’s 28 in 1985-86. … Teammates Andre Curbelo and Alexander tied for first in steals (2.1) per game in league action. … Hot: Hawkins is averaging 19.9 points in the last 10 games. Cold: Reserve Joey Calcaterra shooting 27.4 percent in league games. … Homecoming game for reserves Hassan Diarra (Queens) and Richie Springs (Brooklyn). … Huskies haven’t been swept in the season series vs. St. John’s since 1999-2000. … UConn 4-5 on the road, St. John’s 11-5 at home. … This will be UConn’s 126th game all-time at Madison Square Garden, owning a 66-59 all-time record there. … MSG will host the NCAA East Regional March 23 and 25. … Up next: UConn will host DePaul at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the regular season home finale at the XL Center.