VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova is set to close out the January portion of its 2021-22 regular season schedule Saturday afternoon when it hosts St. John's at Finneran Pavilion at 4:30 p.m. The contest can be seen on the Fox network (Fox 29 in Philadelphia) and heard via the Villanova IHeart Radio Network (also on Sirius 134 and XM 201).
 
The No. 14/14 Wildcats will don light blue alternate uniforms for the first time at home in 2021-22. All fans attending are encouraged to show their support for the home team by dressing in light blue. Villanova wore the light blue uniforms in a 73-67 victory at Seton Hall on Jan. 3 to open the 2022 portion of its slate.
 
St. John's and Villanova (15-5 overall, 8-2 BIG EAST) both posted convincing victories earlier in the week.
 
The Red Storm (11-7 overall, 3-4 BIG EAST) downed Seton Hall 84-63 at Walsh Gymnasium on the campus in South Orange, N.J. on Monday. One night later, the Wildcats pulled away from DePaul in the second half in what ended as a 67-43 triumph.
 
Villanova's reserves outscored those from DePaul 15-10, another step in the evolution of a unit that has lately made an impact. Senior Caleb Daniels scored 12 key points in last Saturday's 85-74 win at Georgetown while freshman Jordan Longino added four points and two rebounds against the Blue Demons.
 
In addition, junior guard Bryan Antoine led all players Tuesday night in the +- category, checking in at +23 in 21:01 minutes. The former McDonald's All-American, who has missed major chunks of action due to injury in each of his first three seasons at VU, contributed four points and two rebounds while on the court.
 
"Those guys really did a good job playing important minutes for us, especially in the first half when Collin (Gillespie) was in foul trouble," noted head coach Jay Wright.
 
These teams split two meetings last season. In each game, turnovers played a critical role. The Red Storm downed the Wildcats 70-59 on Feb. 3 at Carnesecca Arena as it forced 17 Nova turnovers. Villanova bounced back to post an 81-58 win three weeks later at Finneran Pavilion despite 15 turnovers.
 
Posh Alexander of the Red Storm was named Thursday as one of the 15 finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. St. John's leads the BIG EAST in Turnover Margin (+4.8) and Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (1.4). The Wildcats are second in the conference Turnover Margin category (+3.1) and third in Assist-to-Turnover ratio (1.4).
 
Villanova's Justin Moore enters this matchup with 990 career points (11.0 points per game in 75 games).
 
Count on the Wildcats, 7-1 thus far in January, to lean on their captains, Gillespie, Moore and Jermaine Samuels.
 
"It's great to be able to look over and know those guys are with me, night in and night out," stated redshirt sophomore Eric Dixon, who has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. "I really respect those guys and it pushes me to always give my all when I'm out there with them."
 
Saturday's matinee will be called on Fox by Aaron Goldsmith and Donny Marshall. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby do the honors on the Villanova IHeart Radio Network.