Villanova vs. St. John’s preview: Wildcats hanging on bubble in Big East Tournament

The Villanova Wildcats and the St. John's Red Storm will start off the evening session of Day 2 of the Big East Tournament.

Villanova (19-12, 10-8 Big East) has performed okay in conference play, and they've showcased flashes of their potential. The Wildcats have beaten teams like Marquette, Georgetown, Syracuse and Louisville, but they were also swept by Provdience and were upset by Seton Hall, so they're definitely on the bubble going into this contest. Villanova is led by JayVaughn Pinkston as the team's primary scorer, with Ryan Arcidiacono distributing the load and Darrun Hilliard providng quality backcourt support.

St. John's (16-14, 8-10 Big East) is entering the conference tournament in a tailspin. After a 14-7 start, the Red Storm lost seven of their last nine games. With their only quality wins coming against Notre Dame and Cincinnati, St. John's pretty much has to win the tournament to have any shot at tasting March Madness. Look for guard De'Angelo Harrison and forward Jakarr Sampson to be the team's primary offensive weapons.

Villanova has beaten St. John's once this season, a 99-86 overtime victory in early January. The winner will take on Louisville in the quarterfinals Thursday at 7 p.m.

Game time, TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN

Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City

More: Head on over to VU Hoops to discuss Villanova basketball, and check out Rumble in the Garden for more coverage of the Red Storm.