BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: St. John's @ Providence

February 17, 2007


It will be interesting to see what kind of mind frame each team will be in on Saturday. Both teams are making the quick turnaround from playing Thursday night in games that had very different results impacting their season's hopes.

Providence is coming off a loss at Notre Dame that saw the Friars let another opportunity for a meaningful road win slip on by. Providence is 4-1 at home in conference action, so they will look to rebound and continue their home success on Saturday afternoon. At 15-9, they have no room to let another game slip by them in conference play, so a motivated Friar team should be on the floor Saturday.

St. John's looked to have put the final touches on a qualifying record for the Big East Tournament on Thursday night. It almost seemed like a sense of accomplishment has overcome their program. After three straight years of no conference tournament, there is cause for some celebration, especially after a slow start in the conference. St. John's has won five of their last eight, so they have played better of late. However, they are still just 1-5 on the road in conference play.

This is a game Providence should win and, at home, shoudl win easily. Hopefully the sting of losing to Notre Dame and Pittsburgh in tight games in the last week does not take too much out of them. St. John's might just relax a bit, but them and the road has not mixed well at all this season.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 73 St. John's 62