Twenty three years ago this evening, the #1 and #2 teams of the 1984-85 season met at Madison Square Garden in a game that made Big East history. Fast forward to 2008, where St. John's is coming off a 30 point loss to Duke and facing the risk of missing the Big East tournament for the fourth time in five years. The next generation of Redmen will step up their intensity for this game, but will it be enough?

St. John's hasn't been close in its recent losses--six of its last seven have been by 10 or more points, and none by less than nine. It last win over a team above .500 came on Dec. 28, 2007 against Marist. Amidst a four game losing streak, Norm Roberts has to be concerned how much gas is left in the tank. Conversely, this may be Georgetown's last chance to fill the tank with a big win before the stretch run.

St. John's was plain awful in its loss to Georgetown on Jan. 30, and Georgetown shouldn't expect a rerun of that effort. Following the loss,, St. John's won three straight, albeit against South Florida, Rutgers, and Providence, but showed the kind of drive which could give future opponents trouble. But in its last four games, St. John's seems to have lost the kind of early game momentum which kept them close in its wins. Such is the charge for the Redmen in this game--after trailing 41-14 to the Hoyas last month, it can't be like that again.

St. John's enters the game with problems: poor shooting, poor defense, and visible weakness inside. Those can't be turned around anytime soon, and each should be a point of emphasis for Georgetown to get out early and stay there, much as they did Jan. 30.

Here's a look at some potential matchups:

Jonathan Wallace vs. Eugene Lawrence. Lawrence's game has improved since January 30 and should provide a stronger challenge to Wallace's defense and outside shooting.
Jessie Sapp vs. D.J. Kennedy. Sapp. Enough said.
Austin Freeman vs. Anthony Mason, Jr.. Mason is coming off a 2-11 effort against Duke following a 20 point effort vs. Marquette. He is essential to Wednesday's game, and Freeman must be vigilant to St. John's efforts to funnel the ball to Mason. Offensively, Freeman was 1-7 against St. John's and needs a better effort.
DaJuan Summers vs.Justin Burrell . Summers did not play in last month's St. John's game, while Burrell's 3-6 shooting was the best of a bad night for the Redmen on Jan. 30. Given the need for Summers to assert himself approaching the Marquette and Louisville games, this will be a matchup worth watching.
Roy Hibbert vs. Tomas Jasiulionis. Jasiulionis is questionable for Wednesday's game owing to ankle problems suffered in the last two games. With only one player taller than 6-8, Jasiulionis must get quality time to provide size inside; if not, Georgetown should get the ball inside to Roy Hibbert at every good opportunity.
GU bench vs. SJU bench. Guards Larry Wright (9.2 ppg) and Paris Horne (4.9) are St. John's best weapons off the bench, but combined to shoot 0-6 in last month's Georgetown game. Look for forward Dele Coker to see time if Jasiulionis cannot play a full game. For Georgetown, expect to see more of Jeremiah Rivers as Jonathan Wallace's time could be limited by an injured wrist.

Keys to the game:
1. Points per possession. St. John's is last in the league in scoring and in field goal shooting, but could make inroads with offensive rebounding. If Georgetown limits second chance points, St. John's has limited options.
2. Points In The Paint.. Georgetown's sizable advantage down low can neither be ignored nor lost.
3. Jessie Sapp. The ability of Georgetown to keep moving toward a first round bye in the Big East tournament depends on solid play from Sapp at both ends of the court.

For St. John's to win, a lot of things have to happen, including 10 or more threes, a big game from mason, and neutralizing Hibbert and Macklin. Absent that, St. John's has to keep the score low and make it a battle to the end. If it doesn't, the second half will look a lot like it did a month ago.