GAME NOTES: The St. John's Red Storm finally got back in the win column Wednesday, and will look for a second victory in a row as they travel to face the DePaul Blue Demons in a Big East Conference showdown at Allstate Arena.

St. John's was enjoying time in the nation's Top-25 before three straight losses derailed their strong start. But the Red Storm got back on the winning side of things with an 83-70 victory over Providence on Wednesday. It was the team's first Big East win of the young conference season.

DePaul hasn't had much success recently either. The Blue Demons have dropped two consecutive contests to Villanova (81-64) and Georgetown (78-72) as they prepare for Sunday's clash. At home, though, DePaul is 7-3. The Blue Demons own a 3-2 mark in conference action.

The Red Storm own an 18-15 all-time series lead over DePaul as they head into Sunday's match, which includes a 10-4 mark over the Blue Demons as members of the Big East. St. John's has won nine of the last 10 meetings as well dating back to 2009.

Wednesday's victory over Providence was the dominant performance the Red Storm needed to get their confidence back. St. John's hit on 50.9 percent of their shots offensively, and held the Friars to a mere 29.7 percent shooting from the floor, which included a 6-of-21 mark from 3-point range. Phil Greene IV and D'Angelo Harrison each netted 20 points to pace the Red Storm, as each player connected on seven shots from the field. Sir'Dominic Pointer tallied 18 points and added eight rebounds to lead the team on the glass, while Rysheed Jordan contributed 17 points in the winning effort.

Harrison has had a stellar season so far for St. John's. The senior guard leads the team in scoring, averaging 20.6 ppg, which ranks second in the Big East behind Providence's LaDontae Henton. Jordan (13.4 ppg), Greene (12.3 ppg) and Pointer (11.1 ppg) round out a group of double-digit scorers for the Red Storm this season. As a unit, St. John's is pouring in 72.0 ppg - ranked fifth in the Big East - and is holding opponents to 63.1 ppg defensively. Chris Obekpa and Pointer have been beasts on the boards, with Obekpa leading the charge at 7.9 rpg and Pointer following suit at 7.3 boards per outing. Obekpa also has 58 blocked shots.

Both Georgetown and DePaul were on fire from the floor offensively in the first half of Tuesday's Big East clash. The Hoyas took a five-point lead into halftime after connecting on 59.3 percent of their tries from the field, while DePaul made 55.2 percent of its shots. Georgetown was able to maintain its lead throughout the second half for the victory. Myke Henry scored 17 points with seven rebounds to lead the Blue Demons in the loss, while Billy Garrett added 16 points with five assists. Jamee Crockett chipped in with 12 points, and Aaron Simpson collected 11.

DePaul's scoring offense has certainly been strong this season, as the Blue Demons check in at third in the Big East Conference at 72.8 ppg on 44.8 percent shooting from the floor. The problem for DePaul lies in its efforts trying to contain opponents, which hasn't come so easily. The Blue Demons are giving up 73.7 ppg on a whopping 46.1 percent shooting touch to challengers. Henry leads the team in scoring at 13.0 ppg, while Garrett follows closely with a 12.9 ppg mark and a team-best 69 assists. Tommy Hamilton is third in scoring at 11.8 ppg (with a team-best 6.4 rpg) and Crockett rounds out the group of double-digit scorers at 11.7 ppg.

As long as Pointer and Obekpa can stay out of foul trouble, there may be no team in the Big East more dominant than St. John's. The Red Storm will be working the ball down low and attempt to dominate the Blue Demons, who may lack the firepower to keep up.