The No. 13 seed St. Johns Red Storm (16-14; 6-12) and No. 12 seed Connecticut Huskies (17-14; 7-11) will begin BIG EAST first round play Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in a match-up of underachieving teams who probably need to win out for a chance to go dancing. The Huskies finished the season, 2-8 on the road and 1-2 in neutral site contests, all of which came at Madison Square Garden.

UConn and St. John's met once during the season, a 75-59 Husky win on January 20 in Hartford. That was the first game of a seven-game medical leave of absence for head coach Jim Calhoun. The Huskies used the emotion of playing for their coach to jumpstart them to that victory. The rematch however, could yield a different result.

A concern for Huskies backers entering this contest is their recent play. Uconn enters this contest having lost three straight. What’s concerning is the Huskies needed to win out to secure an at-large bid and they showed little urgency in dropping all three contests, including a 75-68 setback at South Florida their last time out.

The Huskies shot 57% from the floor to pull away from the Red Storm in the first meeting. We don’t expect that type of efficiency this time around however. These two are quite similar in makeup, with athletic front lines, and inconsistent backcourts. St. Johns will have confidence and momentum coming into this one, while the Huskies are struggling to find both. Look for the Johnnies to come up big on their home floor and for them to put the Huskies out of their March misery. Play on the St. Johns Red Storm for 1 unit. Good luck to all.

Top-seeded Butler (27-4; 19-0) will be bidding for a league-record sixth tournament trophy and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament when it hosts No. 2 seed Wright State (20-11; 13-6) in the title game of the 2010 Speedway Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday, March 9. The game will be played on Butlers home floor, Hinkle Fieldhouse, and will be broadcast on ESPN at 9 p.m. EST.

The Bulldogs are 14-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and 43-3 under head coach Brad Stevens. The Wright State team that finished the season in second place – with a 12-6 conference mark – is not on par with the Cleveland St team from a year ago that shocked Butler in the tournament final.

In two regular-season meetings between these teams, Butler won twice, and by the same margin as well. On Jan. 8, BU went to Dayton, Ohio, and whipped Wright State by a 77-65 score. A month later, on Feb. 6, Butler posted another 12-point triumph against the Raiders, cruising to a 74-62 win in Indianapolis.

The Bulldogs have proved all season long that they are heads and shoulders above the rest of the conference. The Bulldogs are balanced on the offensive end of the floor and challenge teams on the defensive end. The Bulldogs have won 19 conference games on the season and there is no reason to think they won’t make it 20.

It’s no fault of the Raiders, but the Bulldogs are on another level and they’ll show it once again Tuesday night. No letdown this year, the Bulldogs win this one going away, winning their sixth Horizon League championship in the process. Play on the Butler Bulldogs for 1 unit. Good luck to all.