The Red Storm hoped they could outshoot the Wildcats at home. And the Johnnies came close, starting off by building a 13-point lead in the first half. But a late surge by the home Wildcats gave them the win, 76-71.
St. John’s is 2-2 in Big East play and 14-2 overall.
Villanova improves to 12-4 and 3-0, in clear possession of first place in the Big East.
St. John’s takes on DePaul next, at a sold-out Carnesecca Arena, on Saturday afternoon.
St. John’s jumped out to a lead going on a 14-2 run. The Red Storm lead was cut by Villanova going on a 12-2 run of their own, and the Wildcats scored the last 5 points of the half to minimize the deficit to five.