Preview: No. 24 UConn Men’s Basketball at St. John’s | 12 p.m. ET, FOX

The No. 24 UConn men’s basketball team has been through a brutal stretch, with three straight games against ranked opponents, two of which were on the road. After defeats to then-No. 12 Villanova and No. 25 Xavier away from home, the Huskies have now dropped three of four and look to gain some positive momentum back before what should be a friendlier crowd on the corner of 33rd St. and 8th Ave. in Midtown Manhattan.

Meanwhile, St. John’s fell by six to Villanova on Tuesday, snapping a two-game winning streak after road wins against Georgetown and Butler, though the Red Storm are just 5-7 in Big East play and 13-10 overall.

When: Sunday, Feb. 13 — 12 p.m.

Where: Madison Square Garden — New York City

TV: FOX

Radio: UConn Sports Network

Odds: UConn -4, over/under 150.5

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 77, St. John’s 74

When UConn has the ball

UConn has now broken the 70-point plateau over three consecutive games after failing to top 60 in the two contests before that. In the Huskies’ overtime win over the Red Storm at Gampel Pavilion just over one month ago, they put up 86, led by an impressive 26-point, 18-rebound performance from Adama Sanogo, while RJ Cole added 19 and Andre Jackson and Tyrese Martin each had 11.

Cole and Sanogo playing the high-low game has been one of the more effective offensive sets employed by Dan Hurley this season and after Joel Soriano was consistently in foul trouble, playing only 23 minutes before his fifth foul, despite a size advantage over Sanogo, this could be a matchup that UConn uses to its advantage again, especially with St. John’s long length on the wing, including Julian Champagnie.

The Red Storm defense is ranked No. 111 in adjusted defensive efficiency, so they are prone to give up points, as they are the second-least efficient defense in the Big East, behind Georgetown.

When St. John’s has the ball

Big wing players have been a matchup issue all season for Dan Hurley’s team and in his first go-round against UConn, Champagnie, who is 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, went to work. He played all but one minute, scoring 27 points on 10-22 shooting. He is the focal point of his team’s offense and one of the best scorers in the conference, scoring 18.5 points per game and is a threat from 3-point range as a 34.8 percent shooter. It will be important for Jackson and Martin to be more effective in shutting down the junior, as he continually made timely buckets in the second half of the teams’ first meeting to eventually force overtime.

St. John’s also likes to run in transition, with 73.2 adjusted possessions per 40 minutes. That ranks No. 3 in the country, compared with UConn’s 248th position. This was not a struggle for UConn in its first matchup, but after playing a road game on Friday night, they have less rest than the Red Storm, who have not played since a home game against Villanova on Tuesday. After an emotional game against Xavier, it will be important for UConn to keep it together and not tire itself out.