20130109_ajw_ag9_164.JPG

Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, Rutgers and St. John's have never played a game where the winning team won by more than three points.

(Photo by Anthony Gruppuso/USA Today Sports)

In the Big East Conference, there are few certainties. Play well one night, get pummeled the next. Solve one opponent’s game plan one day, get baffled by another the following timeout. Underdogs beat favorites. Home-court advantages turn into nail-biters. So, how exactly is there one constant these days in the Big East?

How is it possible that every time Rutgers and St. John’s meet on a basketball court, it ends up being decided by one shot?

"I have no idea," said Rutgers forward Austin Johnson.

"I don’t know, really," said teammate Dane Miller.

"They know each other and we know them," Rutgers head coach Mike Rice said.

There’s no science behind this Big East phenomenon. No rhyme or reason as to why it happens. But ever since Rice arrived at Rutgers and Steve Lavin arrived in Queens, their teams have never played a game against each other with a final margin of victory greater than three points. Exactly two weeks ago, Rutgers went into Madison Square Garden looking to build off of an upset victory over Pittsburgh, while St. John’s was looking to do the same after winning at Cincinnati.

Final score: Rutgers 58, St. John's 56.

"It’s in our DNA, kind of," Rice said. "Very evenly matched, very athletic teams. ... But that’s the mind-set you have to have going in. Hopefully our guys — whether it’s taking care of the basketball, free-throw box outs, 50-50 balls — every play matters up until (the end)."

So, both teams arrive at tonight’s game.

Rutgers (12-5, 3-3 Big East) and St. John’s (11-7, 3-3 Big East), both surprisingly in the mix through the first third of conference play, looking to keep it that way for the rest of the year. But in order to take that first step in the second third of the conference season, they will fittingly have to get through the other. And if the previous four meetings since the 2010-11 season are any indication, each side has a pretty good idea of how tonight is likely to play out.

"Both are scrappy teams," said Rutgers forward Kadeem Jack. "It’s a dogfight every time we play them. There’s a lot of history there, going back to when we played them at Carnesecca (Arena) when (Justin Brownlee) hit the last-second shot."

Every single one of the four previous games over the last three seasons has been decided in the final 10 seconds:

• Feb. 2, 2011: After Robert Lumpkins tied it with back-to-back 3s with 18 seconds to play, Brownlee won it on a layup with four seconds left, as Miller's game-winning 3-point attempt was off the mark. Final score: St. John's, 58-56.

• March 9, 2011: In the second round of the Big East Tournament, an officiating blunder marred the end of the game, as Brownlee stepped out of bounds while also throwing the ball into the stands with 1.7 seconds to play. The officiating crew walked off the floor, ending the game — and Rutgers' season. Final score: St. John's, 65-63.

• March 3, 2012: Miller's put-back dunk with 11.2 seconds left put Rutgers ahead and allowed it to survive a 3-point shot by D'Angelo Harrison with four seconds left. Final score: Rutgers, 61-58.

All of that before two weeks ago, when JaKarr Sampson’s 3-point attempt to win at the buzzer went long, giving Rutgers the win.

Another game. Another thriller. Another piece of evidence in the one constant in the Big East.

"We just seem to have an extra sense of competitive nature when we go up against one another," Johnson said. "They know us and we know them quite well. Maybe it’s just how close to the city we are to one another, so we watch each others games. But it’s bound to be another great game."

Brendan Prunty: bprunty@starledger.com; Twitter: @BrendanPrunty