There’s no shortage of interesting storylines heading into UConn’s Big East home opener against St. John’s on Saturday night.

Start with the status of sophomore center Donovan Clingan, who hasn’t practiced since leaving the Seton Hall game early in the second half on Wednesday with a sprained right ankle. It appears doubtful that he’ll play.

Then there’s the question about how the Huskies will respond coming off a brutal 15-point loss.

And don’t forget about the return of Nahiem Alleyne, a member of UConn’s 2023 national championship team now playing for St. John’s, as well as Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino’s first trip to Storrs since returning to the Big East sidelines.

Plus, a sold-out crowd will be on hand at the XL Center for the 8 p.m. game, No. 5 UConn’s last one before a long break in the schedule. The Huskies (10-2, 0-1) will be off until Jan. 2.

Also, they’ll be highly motivated to try to avenge last year’s 85-74 defeat to St. John’s on Jan. 15 in Hartford, one of two home losses last season.

“I know this game has been hyped up for awhile now, so super excited for the atmosphere,” redshirt sophomore Alex Karaban said. “I know a sold-out XL is a very special place to play in. On top of that, a Hall of Fame coach is coming in with a really good team. It’s going to be a battle, for sure.

“.... We’ve got to give everything we’ve got. We’ve got to get this win.”

Beating St. John’s (8-3, 1-0), which is coming off an 81-66 win over Xavier in its opener on Wednesday, will be a bit more difficult if Clingan is unable to play.

Clingan is dealing with an injury once again. He missed a month of preseason practice with a foot issue and also had a recent problem with a big toe.

As of late Friday afternoon, UConn was waiting on the results of Clingan’s MRI.

“Donovan didn’t have a ton of swelling coming out of it, but some pain,” Hurley said. “He was able to get the MRIs (Friday) morning. We’re waiting on those. But he did not practice the last two days. ... We’ll just see how he feels in the morning and wait to get the MRI results.

“It’s not related to what he’s been dealing with. It’s a new thing, same foot.”

If Clingan sits out, it will mean more playing time for junior Samson Johnson who struggled vs. Seton Hall. Johnson will have a tough matchup, facing 6-foot-11, 250-pound Joel Soriano, who’s putting up Big East player of the candidate numbers, averaging a team-best 18 points and 10.8 rebounds.

“Donovan is a force and we try to feed him down low a lot,” graduate guard Tristen Newton said. “With or without him, we’re a good team. … It’s a big adjustment. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Soriano, a senior, is one of the few players that stayed at St. John’s after Pitino took over the program in March.

“They have a very talented roster, an old team,” Hurley said. “We, potentially, based on what Donovan is doing, could have three or four freshmen on the court tomorrow night. That’s obviously something running through my mind.”

The Huskies are eager to get back on the court after a dreadful performance on Wednesday.

The loss still stings.

To make a point, Hurley sat his team through a brutal video session on Thursday on the Seton Hall game.

“Every coach is different,” Hurley said. “Some will take the film and grab a shovel and bury it. I wanted them to see the different things where we took a wrecking ball to success with the things we did on the court. .. They need to see the mistakes and just how bad it was.”

UConn has to do everything better on Saturday.

The Huskies have to get back to playing to their identity – aggressive defense, relentless rebounding and unselfish play on the offensive end.

“We have a system of how we play that we got away from,” Hurley said. “If we do that again, we’re going to look bad again. We didn’t share the ball. We got very far away from our identity and it became leaderless and very individual. And the defense was as bad as it has been.”

While it has a big game feel to it, Hurley downplayed the importance of Saturday’s contest.

Under Hurley, the Huskies have generally reacted well coming off a bad loss.

“When you do what we did last year and you play the non-conference games that we’ve played and the venues and you’re who we are right now, with all due respect, I don’t think you’re necessarily looking at any game like it’s our Super Bowl.

“I know that’s how our opponents feel when they face us. And we’ve gotta get ourselves there. Every game is a huge game. Obviously, we’re eager to take the court and represent ourselves better than we did in the Big East opener.”

News and notes

Hurley said that he wanted Alleyne to return for a second season with the Huskies, but the guard decided to transfer to St. John’s. Alleyne is averaging 7.6 points in 17.3 minutes per game for the Red Storm. “He was an incredible player for us and a soldier and a national champion,” Hurley said. “He was just a total team guy. He was just awesome for us. … He was just such a critical part of us doing what we did.”

g.keefe@theday.com

No. 5 UCONN vs. ST. JOHN’S

Location: XL Center, Hartford

Tip time: 8 p.m. (Fox)

Records: UConn 10-2, 0-1; St. John’s 8,3, 1-0

Last game: UConn lost at Seton Hall, 75-60, Wednesday; St. John’s beat Xavier, 81-66, Wednesday

Series: UConn trails 37-31, splitting last season’s meetings, losing 85-74 in Hartford and winning 95-86 at Madison Square Garden in New York

Probable starters: UConn, 6-5 graduate guard Tristen Newton (16.3 pts, 6.8 rebs, 5.6 assists), 6-6 graduate guard Cam Spencer (14.8 pts, 3.7 rebs), 6-3 fr. guard Solo Ball (6.3 pts), 6-8 r-so. forward Alex Karaban (14.7 pts, 6.2 rebs), 7-2 so. center Donovan Clingan (13.9 pts, 6.3 rebs)

St. John’s, 6-4 guard Nahiem Alleyne (7.6 pts), 6-4 grad guard Daniss Jenkins (11.2 pts, 3.9 rebs, 5.9 assists), 6-6 grad forward Chris Ledlum (11.1 pts, 7.7 rebs), 6-6 jr. forward Glenn Taylor, Jr. (4 pts, 3.5 rebs), 6-11 sr. center Joel Soriano (18 pts, 10.8 rebs, 2.3 blks)

Noteworthy: UConn coming off lowest scoring game of the season but still leads the Big East in scoring offense at 84.2 pts. … St. John’s won six of its last seven. … Soriano is first in the Big East in scoring and third in rebounding. Jenkins is first in assists. … Top reserve: 6-3 sr. guard Jordan Dingle (11.2 pts). … Red Storm 4th in Big East in scoring at 80.1 pts per game, 7th in scoring defense at 69.1 … Hot: Soriano has four straight games of double figures in rebounds. Cold: Huskies had a season high 17 turnovers in loss to Seton Hall. … Despite shooting a season-low 37.9 percent from the field in its Big East opener, UConn still ranks first in the Big East in FG% at 50.2. … Newton had perhaps his worst game in his two seasons as a Husky last January in home loss to St. John’s, going scoreless. … Up next: After a holiday break, UConn plays on Jan. 2 against DePaul in Storrs.