Pressure comes in different forms.

For the UConn basketball team, it may be feeling the pressure of trying to win the program’s first Big East regular season title since the 2005-06 season and the weight of expectations that come with a No. 6 national ranking.

The Huskies have lost three of their last four games to fall into fourth place in the conference. All three came on the road against the top three teams in the Big East.

“We may be a little bit tight lately,” coach Dan Hurley said on Friday. “I don’t know if it’s the pressure of being ranked high, the pressure of trying to win that first regular season championship. We all want to do that very badly. We all want to get that first one in a long time here.

“We’ve got to play with a little more joy. And I think playing at home (Sunday), obviously, we need the XL Center (Sunday) to be the type of atmosphere for us that we’ve played in against these other teams.”

UConn (15-3, 4-3) will try to build some momentum on Sunday when St. John’s (12-6, 2-5) visits Hartford’s XL Center at noon (FS1). The Huskies are 10-0 at home this season.

With five of their next six games against teams below them in the standings, the Huskies have a prime opportunity to pile up some wins.

They firmly believe they’re still in contention to win the Big East title.

“That’s the mindset,” junior Andre Jackson said. “That’s what we’re telling each other, we’re going to put it together and we’re going to figure it out. Big East basketball is different from a lot of other teams that we played. This is all just about adjusting and really locking into the scouting report and being more prepared than the other team.”

Pressure is what St. John’s applies.

Propelled by a disruptive defense, the Red Storm try to speed up a game and turn it into a chaotic mess. They’re second in the league in steals per game and rank 12th in the nation in fast break points (16.7). They ended a five-game losing streak with a 77-61 win over Butler on Tuesday.

Prior to that win, they played well at Providence before falling 83-80.

Senior center Joel Soriano, who leads the nation with 15 double-doubles, is having an All-Big East first team member type season.

“They’re hard to play against,” Hurley said. “They play the motion offense, so you can’t always script the things you’ll see from them. They have aggressive, attacking players. We don’t have that attacking, aggressive advantage when we play against Posh (Alexander).

“In the last two games, they were right there in the Providence game and had a chance to win that one on the road and then they played really well against Butler. So they’ve resembled more of the team in the preseason that people said was a potential NCAA tournament team. The last two games, they’ve looked more like it.”

UConn has been working on ironing out its issues.

At times, the Huskies have struggled offensively, especially on the perimeter where all six guards are shooting under 36 percent from the field in Big East play.

So, what’s the solution?

“We just have to work on our games more and just get in the gym more,” Jackson said. “That’s always the solution, getting in the gym more. If your shot is not falling, get in the gym and feel that shot and that’s what gives you confidence. That’s the biggest thing that coach has been harping on and that’s what we’ve been sticking to.”

Defensively, they had too many breakdowns against Marquette, which shot 50.8 percent from the field, the second time in four games an opponent has converted better than 46 percent.

Still, the Huskies haven’t sprung any irreparable leaks.

To try to alleviate some self-imposed pressure, Hurley has reminded his players that they’re still having a great year, no matter what has happened in recent games.

“If anything, we’ve over-performed,” Hurley said. “We believe ourselves to be a top team that went and lost two games at Xavier and Marquette where we know we could have played better but still had chances down the stretch to walk away with a win. At Providence, we didn’t give ourselves quite the same chance.

“We remind them that it’s hard to win on the road. Not many people are going to win in the places that we lost. Things that you want to accomplish with the regular season are still in place but we’ve got to defend home court and then find a way to win on the road. But we’ve got to start with defending home court on Sunday.”

Starting power forward Alex Karaban returned to practice Saturday after missing two days due to a shoulder issue suffered against Marquette.

g.keefe@theday.com

No. 6 UCONN vs. ST. JOHN’S

Location: XL Center, Hartford

Tip: noon (FS1)

Records: UConn 15-3, 4-3; St. John’s 12-6, 2-5

Last game: UConn lost at No. 25 Marquette, 82-76, Wednesday; St. John’s beat Butler, 77-61, Tuesday

Probable starters, UConn, 6-5 sr. guard Tristen Newton (9.4 pts, 4.2 rebs, 4.3 assists), 6-6 jr. guard Andre Jackson (6.6 pts, 6.1 rebs, 4.9 assists), 6-5 so. guard Jordan Hawkins (14.4 pts, 3.6 rebs), 6-8 r-fr. forward Alex Karaban (9.6 pts, 4.2 rebs), 6-9 jr. forward Adama Sanogo (17.4 pts, 6.7 rebs)

St. John’s, 6-0 jr. guard Posh Alexander (9.5 pts, 3.6 rebs, 4.2 assists), 6-4 jr. guard Dylan Addae-Wusu (6.7 pts, 4 rebs), 6-6 fr. guard AJ Storr (6 pts), 6-8 so. forward O’Mar Stanley (4.3 pts, 2.7 rebs), 6-11 sr. center Joel Soriano (16.4 pts, 12 rebs)

Noteworthy: Only second home game since Dec. 29. … Series: UConn trails 36-30, sweeping last season – 63-60 on the road and 86-79 (OT) at home. Split last four meetings, all decided by single digits. … St. John’s Big East losses at Villanova, Xavier, at Seton Hall, Marquette and at Providence. … Top reserves: 6-6 jr. forward David Jones (13.6 pts, 7.1 rebs), 6-1 jr. guard Andre Curbelo (10.5 pts, 3.1 rebs). … Guard Montez Mathis (toe) out the last two games. … Red Storm first in Big East in offensive rebounds per game (12.9) and 2nd in steals (9.3). Alexander first in steals at 2.4. … Hot: Donovan Clingan, the Big East co-leader in blocks per game at 2.2, has 11 in the last three games. Cold: Huskies ranked ninth in FG percentage (41.4) in Big East games. … Hawkins first in the Big East in 3-pters made per game with 2.8. … Up next: UConn visits Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

– Gavin Keefe