Sports Network -- A couple of teams struggling to find themselves in Big East Conference play meet up at the World's Most Famous Arena Saturday (1 p.m. on ESPNU), as the St. John's Red Storm clashes with the Villanova Wildcats in the Big Apple.
The Red Storm, which has had to deal not only with the opponents on their schedule, but also the fact that head coach Steve Lavin has been enduring treatment following cancer surgery, has lost three straight and five of the last six outings and is just 2-5 in league play thus far. On Wednesday night, the team dropped in on USF and was sent packing following a 64-49 final. It was the second straight game in which St. John's tallied just 49 points which means each of the setbacks during this current slump have come by double figures.
As for the Wildcats, they were a team that kicked off the 2011-12 campaign with four straight wins, but since then the squad has generated just five more victories over the course of 15 outings. On Wednesday night, Villanova registered one of those rare triumphs with an 84-76 decision against Seton Hall to snap a two-game slide. Like the Red Storm, the 'Cats are a mere 2-5 in league play heading into the weekend.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Red Storm leads by a count of 59-44, the team winning the most recent matchup last season (81-68) in order to snap a six-game slide versus Villanova.
For more on the Red Storm visit the SB Nation blog Rumble In The Garden, while The Nova Blog has everything on the Wildcats. Need a Big East basketball fix? Visit Big East Coast Bias.