STORRS – The Villanova basketball family has been down this gut-wrenching road before and it hopes not to go through it again.

Guard Allan Ray of The Bronx today will undergo an MRI on his left knee to determine the extent of an injury suffered in the final minutes of an 89-75 loss at Connecticut. Ray slipped and said he heard a pop in his knee. He limped to the locker room with about 3 ½ minutes left. When he returned to the bench he had a bag of ice over the joint.

“I don’t know what to think,” Ray said. “Hopefully the MRI will go in my favor.”

If it doesn’t, it will mark the second time in two years the Wildcats have lost a star player from New York at the most crucial time of the basketball season. Forward Curtis Sumpter of Brooklyn tore the ACL in his left knee in last year’s NCAA Tournament. He retore it in rehab and just got cleared from doctors to resume playing.

Ray was cutting behind teammate Randy Foye when he slipped. There was no contact on the play and Ray stayed in the game for about 35 seconds. He had a team-high 19 points and had just heated up before he picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with 10:20 left. Ray returned with 7:36 left and UConn in the midst of an 18-3 run.

“Curtis asked me what happened and I told him,” said Ray. “He said, ‘You didn’t get the MRI so you can’t tell.’ ”

Villanova’s next game is Wednesday night against St. John’s. It is Senior Night, his last home game, and Ray said he expecting enough fans and family from New York to fill the No.4 train, the one he rode to and from St. Raymond’s High School to his home.

Hopefully, Ray will be on the court.