Red Storm to Open BIG EAST Play on Friday at Seton Hall

QUEENS, N.Y. – After going 5-1 during an abbreviated non-conference season, the St. John's men's basketball team will open the BIG EAST portion of its schedule on Friday when the Johnnies head across the Hudson to face Seton Hall at Prudential Center.

Tip-off for the 104^th meeting between the charter BIG EAST members will be at 4:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and 570 AM/102.3 FM WMCA. Jason Horowitz and Steve Lappas will handle the television broadcasting duties while John Minko and Tarik Turner will call the game over the airwaves. The Learfield-IMG College Red Storm Sports Network radio broadcast will also be available through TuneIn Radio, as well as SiriusXM channel 380 and streamed through channel 970.

Originally scheduled to welcome Connecticut back to the BIG EAST on Friday, St. John's will now face its longtime local rival after COVID issues forced pauses in both the UConn and DePaul programs. Seton Hall (3-3) had been scheduled to face the Blue Demons on Friday in Newark.

The Red Storm (5-1) enters BIG EAST play after using a late run to down Rider in its non-league finale on Tuesday. Vince Cole scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, including 12 points during a decisive 14-4 run in the final minutes. Marcellus Earlington scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Julian Champagnie recorded his second double-double of the year, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.

Champagnie, who missed the first two games of the season with a sprained right ankle, has been superb for the Johnnies so far as a sophomore. The Brooklyn native, who is averaging team-highs of 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, kicked off his season with a 29-point, 10-board double-double against Boston College before going for a game-high 25 points in the loss to BYU. He then scored 16 against Stony Brook before posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Rider. Dating back to the end of his freshman season, Champagnie has now scored in double figures six times in his last seven appearances with four 20-point games and three double-doubles. Last season, the BIG EAST All-Freshman selection was a bright spot for St. John's in their loss to Seton Hall at Prudential Center on Feb. 23, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

After forcing Rider into just 13 turnovers on Tuesday, the Johnnies will look to recapture a defensive intensity that saw them harass Stony Brook into 29 turnovers on Sunday. 20 of those 29 turnovers were the result of St. John's steals in what was believed to be the Red Storm's first 20-steal outing since Dec. 22, 1993, against Niagara (21). The Seawolves' 29 turnovers were the highest single-game total by a St. John's opponent since Maryland Eastern Shore coughed up 30 possessions in the season opener of the 2005-06 campaign.

The Johnnies rank seventh nationally with 12.3 steals per contest through games played on Wednesday according to ESPN. Last season, the Red Storm's 10.0 steals per game were good enough for second in all of Division I.

The Pirates will look to climb above .500 and remain unbeaten at home when they welcome the Johnnies to Prudential Center on Friday. The Red Storm, on the other hand, will look to claim its first victory at the building since February of 2014.

Seton Hall is led offensively by senior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is averaging team-highs of 18.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. After recording 20-point double-doubles in road losses to Louisville and Rhode Island, Mamukelashvili scored 30 points in the team's lone road win at Penn State.

Jared Rhoden is the only other Pirate averaging double figures this season with 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per outing.

St. John's and Seton Hall have met 103 times in a series that dates back to 1909. The Red Storm holds a 60-43 advantage all-time over the Pirates, but Seton Hall has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

After taking on the Pirates, the Red Storm will remain on the road, heading to the nation's capital for a Sunday night showdown with Georgetown at McDonough Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on FS1.

Red Storm to Open BIG EAST Play on Friday at Seton Hall

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Players Mentioned

Julian Champagnie

Vince Cole

Marcellus Earlington

St. John's University Athletics