NEW YORK -- No. 6 Villanova, the Big East Conference's best shooting team, turned in one of its worst shooting performances of the season but was able to turn back St. John's 68-53 Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The Wildcats (18-3, 8-1 Big East) shot 35.6 percent, far below their conference-leading 47.6 percent.

St. John's (7-15, 0-9) has lost a school-record 12 games in coach and former Red Storm star Chris Mullin's first season.

Guard Josh Hart recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds and forward Kris Jenkins turned in his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and guard Mikal Bridges added 13 points for Villanova.

The Wildcats were without forward Daniel Ochefu, who is undergoing the university's concussion protocol. He suffered the concussion Friday at practice. Ochefu is fourth in the Big East in field goal percentage (.561) and rebounding (8.9).

Ochefu was replaced by Darryl Reynolds, who scored four points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Forward Durand Johnson topped St. John's with 13 points.

Villanova found its shooting groove in the second half, going 14 of 28 after a dismal first half. The Red Storm trailed by double-digits for most of the second half.

An 8-0 run boosted the Wildcats lead to 50-34 with 11:45 to play. Bridges and guard Phil Booth fueled the run by each sinking 3-pointers.

Ryan Arcidiacono's first points of the afternoon, a 3-pointer, provided the Wildcats with a 40-32 lead, their largest lead of the game to that point. The senior guard entered the game with a 14.4 scoring average in the Big East but scored only five points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The Wildcats led 28-27 at the half despite hitting only 7-of-30 (23.3 percent) shots and turning the ball over 11 times. They were, however, sharp from the line, going 12-for-15 compared to only 2 of 4 for St. John's.

A 12-0 run by the Red Storm gave them a 21-15 cushion with 5:12 to go in the half. The Wildcats went seven minutes without a field goal during that time, missing nine shots before two 3-pointers from Jenkins and a dunk from Bridges helped Villanova to a 25-21 lead with 3:07 to play in the half.

Villanova compensated for their poor shooting from the floor by converting 9 of 10 from the line for a 15-9 lead with 9:57 left in the first half.

The Wildcats missed their first five shots of the game, committing three turnovers and four fouls before a layup from guard Jalen Brunson ended the 6:34 drought. That gave the Wildcats a 7-6 edge.

NOTES: Before the Villanova loss, three of the Red Storm's previous four losses were by 19 points or more points, including Wednesday's 79-60 defeat at Seton Hall in which they shot 29.2 percent, their worst performance since January 2012. ... Villanova is the highest ranked opponent St. John's has faced at Madison Square Garden since it faced No. 2 Syracuse on Dec. 15, 2013. ... New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was courtside.