GAME NOTES: The 15th-ranked St. John's Red Storm and the Seton Hall Pirates begin Big East play on Wednesday evening, as the two teams square off at the Prudential Center.

St. John's continued its best start to a season since the 1985-86 campaign with an 82-57 rout of Tulane on Sunday. The victory was the seventh straight for Steve Lavin's Red Storm and their 11th in the first 12 games of the season. The win streak marks the team's longest since the 1999-2000 season.

Kevin Willard's Pirates are also off to a fast start, as they enter league play with a 10-2 record. Seton Hall has won three of its last four games, and also comes in off a lopsided win, making light work of Maine on Saturday, 72-43.

These two teams are meeting for the 92nd time in the series history. They have met every season since 1963-64. St. John's holds a 57-34 advantage all-time.

The Red Storm rolled over the Green Wave at the Barclays Center on Sunday, thanks in large part to Sir'Dominic Pointer's big outing. The senior swingman erupted for a career-high 24 points, on 9-of-13 shooting. Senior guard D'Angelo Harrison was instrumental in the win as well, pouring in 21 points for St. John's, which shot .508 from the field overall.

St. John's definitely has some offensive depth, but it is the team's defensive effort that has really fueled the strong start. The Red Storm are limiting foes to a mere 58.2 ppg this year, holding them well under 40 percent shooting (.364). It certainly helps to have a player like center Chris Obekpa (7.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg) in the middle. The junior big man is the DI active leader in career blocks (3.53 per game). Offensively, four players are averaging double figures providing more than enough scoring depth. Harrison is one of the top scoring threats in the Big East, averaging 19.0 ppg. Rysheed Jordan is next in the scoring column for St. John's at 14.3 ppg, while Pointer (11.5 ppg) and Phil Greene IV (11.2 ppg) make sizable contributions as well.

Seton Hall has followed a similar blueprint to its season. Defense has been a strength, as foes are netting just 60.2 ppg on a meager .386 shooting against the Pirates. At the other end of the floor, the team is led by the scoring of Sterling Gibbs. Seton Hall's top sniper, Gibbs is shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc (27-of-53), en route to 15.6 ppg. Isaiah Whitehead isn't quite as efficient from the floor (.393), but he does averaging nearly 12 points per outing (11.9). Brandon Mobley (9.9 ppg) and Angel Delgado (8.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg) provide depth.

Four Pirates finished in double figures, as Seton Hall's balanced attack was simply too much for Maine to contend with. Gibbs paced the team with 18 points. Fellow guard Jaren Sina added 13 points, followed by Khadeen Carrington and Delgado, who finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Seton Hall turned up the heat defensively in the win, forcing Maine into 20 turnovers and holding the Black Bears to a mere .304 shooting effort.

Both teams come into league play with momentum and are very familiar with one another. That being said, the Red Storm have the most dynamic player in Harrison and his production may be the difference in this one.