What to watch for

First and foremost, one of the interesting battles in this game will be the pace war. St. John's played at a blistering 76.4 possessions per game in the nonconference season, and although that number came down somewhat in the Big East, they will still try to push the tempo. Princeton has athletes that can run, but is generally more comfortable playing a more deliberate style. One particular battle that will be interesting will be how St. John's starts its offense after a basket or deadball. Princeton usually has point guards Lauren Polansky and Tani Brown shadow the ballhandler the length of the court to take time off the shot clock, but the Red Storm generally tries to push the ball upcourt very quickly and get into its set early.

Another interesting key to this game will be how well both teams handle the ball. St. John's and Princeton are both excellent at avoiding turnovers - each team turned the ball over on less than 20% of its possessions in league play. If either team starts coughing it up and losing possessions, it will be tough to recover from.

Finally, watch for some interesting positional battles in the post and up top. The Red Storm like to feed leading scorer Da'Shena Stevens in the post, but the Tigers have defended extremely well down low this year. And St. John's likes to run high pick-and-rolls for freshman point guard Nadirah McKenith, which may be the toughest test yet for Princeton's perimeter defense, which is predicated on switching on screens.