Here are three things to watch for when St. John's (17-8, 6-6 Big East) plays Georgetown (16-8, 8-5 Big East) on Tuesday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and you can watch the game on Fox Sports 1.
Old school: These two traditional rivals are meeting for the 102nd time, and the stakes are high -- particularly for St. John's. The Red Storm have won three in a row, and four of five, to put themselves back in the NCAA Tournament picture. But beating the Hoyas in our nation's capital is a tall task.
St. John's has lost nine in a row at Georgetown, with its last victory there coming in 2003. To get the job done Tuesday night, the Johnnies will need strong contributions from most if not all of their six primary rotation players.
That includes big man Chris Obekpa, who returned from a sprained ankle to play 22 minutes against Xavier on Saturday. One thing Georgetown has plenty of is size, led by 6-foot-10, 350-pound Josh Smith, 6-foot-9 Mikael Hopkins and 6-foot-9 Isaac Copeland.
Guard play: In the backcourt, we'll see a battle between two of best guards in the country in Georgetown's D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and St. John's D'Angelo Harrison.
Smith-Rivera (15.5 ppg) was named the preseason Big East Player of the Year, but Harrison (19.1 ppg) is averaging nearly four points more per game -- second to only Providence forward LaDontae Henton (20.5 ppg) in the conference.
You can expect both of these players to look for their shot early and often in this big game. But be forewarned, St. John's fans: Harrison has had two nightmarish games at Georgetown the past two years -- four points on 1-for-12 shooting last season, and two points on 0-for-9 shooting the season before.
More on the Hoyas: Georgetown is coming off an 86-67 thrashing of Seton Hall in Newark last Saturday, and has had a full week to rest and prepare for St. John's.
Smith-Rivera and Smith (11.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) are the only two Hoyas who average in double figures. But also keep an eye on Copeland (6.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), a dynamic freshman who's coming off a career-high 20 points against Seton Hall. And senior guard Jabril Trawick (8.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) has a knack for making big plays when it matters most.
Georgetown gets after you defensively, ranked 38th in Division I in blocked shots per game (4.9) and 41st in steals (7.8). The Hoyas are also 65th in offensive field-goal percentage (46.1), but do much of their damage inside the arc. They're only 227th (out of 351) in 3-point field goals per game (5.7).
St. John's, by the way, is ranked even higher in blocked shots and steals per game -- fourth in blocks (6.7) and 28th in steals (8.1). But the Red Storm trail the Hoyas in offensive field-goal percentage, ranked 94th (45.1).