A huge crowd, momentum after a major upset and the potential for an electric Friday night game at the Garden. 

St. John’s wasted all of it in an ugly, buzz-sapping offensive performance that made its impressive recent play seem like a mirage. 

The Red Storm couldn’t shoot straight. They couldn’t hold on to the ball. They crumbled in crunch time. Villanova wasn’t very good itself, and clearly isn’t the same as it was under former coach Jay Wright, but the Wildcats did enough to complete a season sweep of St. John’s with a 57-49 victory. 

“What a crowd, what an atmosphere,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “Our students, our fans, showed up in numbers, and we didn’t do what we’re supposed to do.” 

Villanova (10-10, 4-5 Big East) closed the game on a 19-5 run, during which St. John’s went without a point for a dismal 4:42 stretch. The Red Storm couldn’t get the ball to standout center Joel Soriano nearly enough and couldn’t create good looks. Too many possessions ended in unnecessary turnovers or poor, low-percentage attempts as the shot clock was winding down. St. John’s managed just three points over the final 6:47. 

“I missed a lot of shots myself,” Soriano, who had team-highs of 14 points and 16 rebounds, said. “I blame myself a lot, too. I went 4-for-11.” 

The Red Storm (13-7, 3-6) committed 17 turnovers, four by Andre Curbelo. Their other point guard, Posh Alexander, wasn’t in the game for most of crunch time. The duo combined for eight turnovers, six assists and shot 4-for-17 from the field. As a team, St. John’s shot 32 percent from the field and produced its lowest point total in a home league game since scoring 47 in a loss to Pittsburgh on Feb. 24, 2013. 

The half-court offense was far too often aimless and without direction. The Red Storm were hesitant, passing on easy shots and creating tougher ones. And so after wins over Butler and then-No. 6 Connecticut, Anderson’s Red Storm (13-7, 3-6) are back to square one, three games under .500 in Big East play. The postseason once again feels unlikely for the fourth time in as many seasons since Anderson’s arrival in Queens. 

“Bad decisions, just making bad decisions. That’s the bottom line,” Anderson said, referring to the turnovers. “I thought our guard play was not good, not up to par. I don’t even think our forward situation was up to par, to be honest with you.” 

When asked if he felt his players were put in good position down the stretch, Anderson added: “We had layups, go look at it. If you get layups, what other kind of shots do you want?” 

After an AJ Storr 3-pointer, St. John’s led 44-38 with 8:32 remaining. But the Red Storm managed just five points the rest of the way. 

Eric Dixon gave Villanova the lead for good at 47-46 with 4:31 left. His steal, leading to a Brandon Slater (14 points) dunk that extended the Wildcats’ lead to 54-48 with 21 seconds remaining, put away what was a very winnable game for the Red Storm. 

“I saw one possession where we got three [offensive] rebounds and we still came away with nothing,” Anderson said after he had a team held under 50 points at home for the first time in his 21-year head-coaching career. “That’s tough. But you gotta put the ball in the hole, and we didn’t.” 

Before the game, St. John’s announced graduate senior guard Montez Mathis (toe) will be out for the remainder of the season.