Preview: UConn men’s basketball vs No. 20 Marquette | 8:30 p.m., FS1

The Huskies welcome the Golden Eagles to Storrs with third place in the Big East on the line.

UConn kicks off the final week of its regular season Wednesday night as the Huskies welcome No. 20 Marquette to Gampel Pavilion in a game with major Big East Tournament implications. A win for the Huskies would put Dan Hurley and UConn in the driver’s seat for at least third place in the conference. While Marquette currently has a one game lead over the Huskies with a 13-5 conference record compared to UConn 12-6 record, a win Wednesday combined with the Huskies’ win earlier in the year in Milwaukee would give UConn the tiebreaker and ensure that the Huskies wouldn’t have to see 1-seed St. John’s until the Big East Tournament Championship.

Of course, there are still some moving parts to be ironed out — UConn would need to beat Seton Hall at home and avenge February’s disaster in Newark, but a win on Wednesday would be a major step to making that Seton Hall loss look far back in the rear view mirror. A win over Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles would not only boost the NCAA tournament resumé, but put UConn in a better spot to improve their standing when they head to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament.

TV: FS1

Radio: UConn Sports Network

Odds: UConn -3.5, over/under 144.5

Location: Gampel Pavilion — Storrs, Connecticut

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 74, Marquette 73 (54 percent win probability)

Series History

UConn is 12-8 all time against Marquette, and 9-2 since joining the new Big East. The Huskies shot nearly 63 percent on 3-pointers in the only meeting so far between the two teams this season, a 77-69 victory at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

What to Watch For

Tarris Reed Jr. tearing it up

Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. may not have won Big East Player of the Week, but the St. Louis native was the bright spot for the Huskies in UConn’s two wins last week. Reed was a force against Georgetown with a 20-point, 10-rebound performance against the Hoyas, but was even better in the win over Providence. In the matchup against the Friars, Reed set career highs in points (24), rebounds (18) and blocks (6) and added two steals and two assists to power the Huskies to a 75-63 win.

Reed’s emergence as a dominant offensive threat down low is good news for UConn, who have missed having a reliable post presence this season after the luxuries of having Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan in past seasons. While Reed struggled with foul trouble against Marquette in the last matchup, he has more strength than Golden Eagles bigs like Ben Gold and Dave Joplin and will likely get his fair share of touches to try and exploit this mismatch, especially if Samson Johnson runs into foul trouble.

Tame the turnovers

Despite a wire-to-wire win over Marquette in Milwaukee earlier this season, the Huskies tried to give the game away with a season-high 25 turnovers. UConn still managed to pull off the win, but the team’s issues with full-court pressure were made apparent before finally reaching a boiling point in the loss to Seton Hall. Fortunately for UConn, Hassan Diarra seems to be fully healthy — or at least, healthier — than he was when the Huskies last played Marquette. Diarra had seven assists and four turnovers in only 25 minutes in that game, but looks more like his old self as of late, best evidenced by a 10-assist, three-turnover performance against Providence.

Ahmad Nowell was unavailable that first game, and could be another option to handle Marquette’s relentless pressure along with Jayden Ross, who has filled in admirably as a de facto backup point guard for stretches. All three have helped the Huskies cut down on turnovers as of late, as UConn averaged just seven turnovers compared to 16.5 assists per game last week.

Marquette is still one of the best in the country at forcing turnovers, ranking seventh nationally in turnover percentage. With the Huskies unlikely to shoot lights out like the last time these two teams met, ball security will be key if UConn wants to secure a win at Gampel.

Containing Kam Jones

Marquette point guard Kam Jones is as dangerous of a guard as there is in the country, and one of the top players the Huskies will face all season. UConn caught Jones on an off night last time out, where Jones still had 22 points, but did so on 9-20 shooting. While Jones remains an elite distributor much like former teammate Tyler Kolek was last season, he has struggled slightly as a scorer, failing to eclipse the 20-point mark in nearly a month.

Jones will likely look to be aggressive and get to the rim against Diarra and Solo Ball, and bigs Reed and Johnson will need challenge Jones at the rim. While Jones and Joplin are two of Marquette’s best players, UConn will likely live with them shooting the 3-pointer — the two are roughly 30 percent from behind the arc combined this season, a much better option for the Huskies then the likes of Gold (38 percent), Stevie Mitchell (37.7 percent) or Chase Ross (37.5 percent).

Diarra being healthier should help keep Jones from going nuclear, but keeping the 6-foot-5 guard totally locked up is nearly impossible. The Huskies will need to rotate well if Jones penetrates to cut off open shooters and force Jones to beat UConn on his own.