QUEENS, N.Y.– The St. John’s men’s basketball team (13-3, 4-1 BIG EAST) will gear up for a primetime match-up against Villanova (11-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Both sides have won eight of their last nine games and will tip-off at The World’s Most Famous Arena at 7 p.m. CBS Sports Network will carry the national telecast as Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas will have the call with Jon Rothstein as the reporter from midtown Manhattan.
To purchase tickets for the Red Storm’s BIG EAST Madison Square Garden opener, click here or call the box office at 1-888-GO-STORM. 10,000 fans will receive a commemorative Lou Carnesecca rally towel at Saturday’s contest.
An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Vin Parise will also be available on a variety of platforms including the Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, RedStormSports.com and the St. John’s Red Storm mobile app. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM radio channel 382 and via the SiriusXM App.
St. John’s led for the final 39 minutes as it navigated a tumultuous road environment at Xavier on Tuesday, 82-72. The Johnnies moved to a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST competition and are off to their best record through 16 games since the 2018-19 campaign. Prior to the arrival of Head Coach Rick Pitino, St. John’s had not won four of its first five BIG EAST contests since the 2000-01 campaign.
RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor both recorded double-double efforts in Tuesday night’s win as five players scored in double-figures at the Cintas Center. Luis Jr. logged his second-straight double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 boards. The junior currently ranks sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Ejiofor contributed 18 points and 12 boards against Xavier, including nine on the offensive end. The Garland, Texas native leads the nation with 4.7 offensive rebounds per game and has four double-doubles over the last eight games. During that span, the big man is averaging 18.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest during that span.
2024 All-BIG EAST First Team selection Kadary Richmond has filled the box score as of late, registering 11.5 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals over his last two appearances. Richmond and Deivon Smith both rank top-10 in the league in steals and assists per game.
The Johnnies outrebounded the Musketeers, 50-30, in Cincinnati, including 20 boards on the offensive end. The plus-20 rebounding margin was the program’s highest in a BIG EAST regular season game since a double overtime win over DePaul on Feb. 14, 2023. St. John’s is averaging 41.9 rebounds per game, which ranks top-10 in NCAA Division I. The Red Storm also rank third in the nation in blocks per game, averaging 6.3 per contest.
In back-to-back wins over Xavier and Butler, St. John’s has made just three total 3-pointers. The Red Storm are the only team in NCAA Division I this season to win consecutive games making three combined triples or less and the first to do it since UNLV tallied three field goals from beyond-the-arc in two-straight victories over then-No. 25 New Mexico and Fresno State last February.
St. John’s will play its most frequently faced opponent in the program’s history on Saturday night in the 132nd meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats hold a slight edge in all-time series, 66-65. The Red Storm has won 31 of 55 meetings played at home and completed a season sweep of Villanova in 2023-24 for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign. The Johnnies will look to extend its win streak over the Wildcats to three games for the first time in the series since it won three-straight meetings from Feb. 12, 2000, to Jan. 20, 2001.
Villanova comes into Saturday’s contest after its highest ranked win in the Kyle Neptune Era after downing No. 9/10 UConn, 68-66, at Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night. The Wildcats have won eight of their last nine games to advance to an 11-5 record on the year and a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Through 16 games, the squad has been hot from beyond-the-arc, shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range, which ranks second in NCAA Division I.
Wildcats’ graduate student Eric Dixon is the nation’s leading scorer, averaging a blistering 25.9 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward has scored 20 points or more in 15 of 16 games. Wooga Poplar paces the team with five double-doubles and added 18 points in the win over the Huskies.
After its first of seven consecutive home games at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, St. John’s will return to MSG to face Georgetown on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. on Peacock.
Both sides have won eight of their last nine games and will tip-off at The World’s Most Famous Arena at 7 p.m. CBS Sports Network will carry the national telecast as Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas will have the call with Jon Rothstein as the reporter from midtown Manhattan.
To purchase tickets for the Red Storm’s BIG EAST Madison Square Garden opener, click here or call the box office at 1-888-GO-STORM. 10,000 fans will receive a commemorative Lou Carnesecca rally towel at Saturday’s contest.
An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Vin Parise will also be available on a variety of platforms including the Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, RedStormSports.com and the St. John’s Red Storm mobile app. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM radio channel 382 and via the SiriusXM App.
St. John’s led for the final 39 minutes as it navigated a tumultuous road environment at Xavier on Tuesday, 82-72. The Johnnies moved to a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST competition and are off to their best record through 16 games since the 2018-19 campaign. Prior to the arrival of Head Coach Rick Pitino, St. John’s had not won four of its first five BIG EAST contests since the 2000-01 campaign.
RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor both recorded double-double efforts in Tuesday night’s win as five players scored in double-figures at the Cintas Center. Luis Jr. logged his second-straight double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 boards. The junior currently ranks sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Ejiofor contributed 18 points and 12 boards against Xavier, including nine on the offensive end. The Garland, Texas native leads the nation with 4.7 offensive rebounds per game and has four double-doubles over the last eight games. During that span, the big man is averaging 18.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest during that span.
2024 All-BIG EAST First Team selection Kadary Richmond has filled the box score as of late, registering 11.5 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals over his last two appearances. Richmond and Deivon Smith both rank top-10 in the league in steals and assists per game.
The Johnnies outrebounded the Musketeers, 50-30, in Cincinnati, including 20 boards on the offensive end. The plus-20 rebounding margin was the program’s highest in a BIG EAST regular season game since a double overtime win over DePaul on Feb. 14, 2023. St. John’s is averaging 41.9 rebounds per game, which ranks top-10 in NCAA Division I. The Red Storm also rank third in the nation in blocks per game, averaging 6.3 per contest.
In back-to-back wins over Xavier and Butler, St. John’s has made just three total 3-pointers. The Red Storm are the only team in NCAA Division I this season to win consecutive games making three combined triples or less and the first to do it since UNLV tallied three field goals from beyond-the-arc in two-straight victories over then-No. 25 New Mexico and Fresno State last February.
St. John’s will play its most frequently faced opponent in the program’s history on Saturday night in the 132nd meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats hold a slight edge in all-time series, 66-65. The Red Storm has won 31 of 55 meetings played at home and completed a season sweep of Villanova in 2023-24 for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign. The Johnnies will look to extend its win streak over the Wildcats to three games for the first time in the series since it won three-straight meetings from Feb. 12, 2000, to Jan. 20, 2001.
Villanova comes into Saturday’s contest after its highest ranked win in the Kyle Neptune Era after downing No. 9/10 UConn, 68-66, at Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night. The Wildcats have won eight of their last nine games to advance to an 11-5 record on the year and a 4-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Through 16 games, the squad has been hot from beyond-the-arc, shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range, which ranks second in NCAA Division I.
Wildcats’ graduate student Eric Dixon is the nation’s leading scorer, averaging a blistering 25.9 points per game. The 6-foot-8 forward has scored 20 points or more in 15 of 16 games. Wooga Poplar paces the team with five double-doubles and added 18 points in the win over the Huskies.
After its first of seven consecutive home games at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, St. John’s will return to MSG to face Georgetown on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. on Peacock.