“Our turn.” 

That was Rick Pitino’s message to his players. 

Their turn to knock off a powerhouse.

Their turn to find a way to pull out a close game.

Their turn to be the team that finds a way to make the big play late that is the difference between a frustrating loss and an exhilarating win. 

St. John’s has been close, playing No. 1 Connecticut, No. 9 Marquette and No. 13 Creighton tough in all three meetings.

Those narrow defeats were decided by a grand total of six points.

The Johnnies easily could’ve won at least two of them had the ball bounced their way in the end. 

It didn’t. 

Saturday afternoon, at what is expected to be a raucous, sold-out Garden, is another opportunity, a chance to wipe away the sour feelings of this recent poor stretch and pull off the kind of victory that would go a long way toward locking up an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. 

“This is our turn. We keep being on the other end of it. Now, it has to be our turn. We have to stand up and get the rebound so we can seal the win. Make that key play, whatever that play is,” point guard Daniss Jenkins said on the eve of the MSG showdown against the top-ranked Huskies.

“Whether it’s a shot, whether it’s a rebound, whether it’s a loose ball, whatever it is. We’re ready to step up and make the play. Because we’ve been in all these close games and it’s gone the other way.” 

It may require St. John’s (13-8, 5-5 Big East) best performance of the season to prevail. UConn, the Big East leader, has won nine straight games.

It features an offense ranked third in efficiency and a defense that is 23rd and improving.

It has two projected lottery picks in center Donovan Clingan and guard Stephon Castle.

Pitino believes these Huskies (19-2, 9-1) are better than last year’s version, which won the national championship in dominant fashion. Plus, this will not be a typical home game.

It is expected to be close to a 50/50 crowd. 

The Johnnies played UConn tough in Hartford on Dec. 23, falling by four points.

Clingan didn’t play in the game, it should be noted. Still, despite shooting only 38.5 percent from the field, St. John’s nearly knocked off the Huskies. 

“We have to play the best game of the season to beat a team like this because this team, they don’t have a weakness,” Pitino said. “They have size, they play great defense, they have a great bench.” 

“We can’t take one play off,” center Joel Soriano added. “Every possession is going to matter in that game. A turnover or a missed rebound could come to haunt you at the end of the game. 

“We need to be the more connected group. We have to be diving for loose balls, talking and scrambling, just being everywhere. We’ve got to [play] like a pack of dogs. They are the best team in the country, there’s no sugarcoating that.” 

St. John’s has lost four of its past five games, although two of those setbacks came by a combined two points to Creighton and Marquette.

It remains a consensus tournament team according to almost every Bracketologist, but the losses are starting to pile up. The Johnnies will enter this game healthy now that Nahiem Alleyne (ankle) and Jordan Dingle (illness) are back.

That’s significant.

It will be all hands on deck Saturday, which St. John’s hopes is also the case moving forward. 

“This is where we should be strong as a team, around this time of the season,” Jenkins said. “This is when it really matters. All that went on in the beginning of the season, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is this month of February. 

“This is where teams are made. This is where teams make their mark.”