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Big East Tournament tiebreakers at stake in tomorrow's Rutgers contest

St. John's could face Pittsburgh again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
St. John's could face Pittsburgh again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tomorrow, St. John's returns to action in the regular season finale against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The game isn't just a chance for the local teams to play for bragging rights; it affects Big East Tournament seeding, as well.

Right now, St. John's (6-11 in the Big East) has the 11 seed and would face Villanova in the late session of the first day of the Tournament on Tuesday March 6th.

But if St. John's loses to Rutgers?

Their league record would be tied with Rutgers' 6-12 record... and the Johnnies lose that tiebreaker. But the Red Storm has also lost to two teams that could reach 6-12 in the conference, Pittsburgh and Villanova.

Both the Wildcats and Panthers are in action on Saturday. Villanova plays at home to the Cincinnati Bearcats, who want to avoid a bad loss. Pittsburgh travels to face a Connecticut team that needs wins for a shot at an NCAA Tournament berth.

With 'Nova and Pitt wins, St. John's could conceivably fall to 14th in the league and face Rutgers, once again - in the same time slot. If both lose and St. John's can't defeat Rutgers on the road, the Red Storm will play the 2pm game against Pittsburgh, who size and shooting scorched the Storm on Wednesday. Moe Harkless - whose injured ankle limited him to 22 minutes in that game - has been receiving treatment and should be healthy enough to play.

A game preview (and a Q+A session with our friends at On the Banks) will come today and tomorrow.

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Schedule recap, with links to the Rumble St. John's game recaps and links to re-watch games