A closer look…

The Teams: Back on the winning track, the Pitt Panthers (18-3 overall, 6-1 Big East)… The Teams: Back on the winning track, the Pitt Panthers (18-3 overall, 6-1 Big East) return home for a Saturday contest with invading St. John’s (12-8, 3-4). The teams will tip-off at 4 p.m. inside the Petersen Events Center.

Coverage: ESPN Regional will have the local broadcast, while the usual flagship stations 94.5 FM and 970 AM will pick up the radio call. Panther fans can check SIRIUS Satellite Radio’s schedule later on today to find a feed for Saturday’s game.

The Coaches: Wednesday’s win over Cincinnati bumped fourth-year head coach Jamie Dixon’s overall record to 94-25 at Pitt. A last-minute 3-pointer gave St. John’s a 71-68 upset win over No. 21 Notre Dame, giving Red Storm coach Norm Roberts a 24-23 record in the process. He is in his third year coaching St. John’s.

Recent Struggles: Despite St. John’s not making the Big East tournament in either of the least two seasons, Pitt has struggled mightily against the Red Storm. Two years ago, the Panthers split with the Johnnies, dropping a game in Madison Square Garden before pulling out an ugly 55-44 win in the Petersen Events Center. Last year, St. John’s took down an unbeaten Pitt squad inside the Garden. Pitt was ranked No. 9 at the time of the loss.

Strong Winds: The Red Storm are coming off their two signature wins of the season thus far. On Sunday, only an hour before the Panthers lost to Marquette at home, St. John’s first stunned Syracuse at home, 64-60. Two days later, the Storm upended nationally ranked Notre Dame on the last-minute shot.

Up and Down: St. John’s is likely to either win or get blown out. The Red Storm averaged losses of 15 points in their four Big East defeats. Included are 27- and16-point defeats at the hands of West Virginia and Seton Hall, respectively. The closest loss for the Johnnies was an eight-point loss to DePaul right before the win over Syracuse. Overall, Roberts’ team is 1-4 on the road with an 0-2 mark in Big East play. Those two defeats have been by an average of 22 points.

Size Advantage?: Pitt may be bigger than St. John’s, but the Red Storm continue to be a sound rebounding team under Roberts. Led by Lamont Hamilton’s 7.2 rebound-per-game clip, the Red Storm pull down 35.5 rebounds a game. Pitt, meanwhile, hauls in 36 a contest.

Turnover Plagued: Pitt may have shot an incredible 12-for-19 from behind the 3-point arc in Wednesday’s 67-51 win over Cincinnati, but the Panthers’ most recent problem surfaced once again. For the third consecutive game, Pitt failed to finish with more assists than turnovers, this time handing out 13 helpers to go along with 13 miscues. No Panther registered more than three assists on the night.

– Geoff Dutelle