St. John's University Athletics
Friday, December 3
Elmont, N.Y. (UBS Arena)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
No. 8/7 Kansas
St. John’s to Host No. 8/7 Kansas at UBS Arena on Friday
12/2/2021 11:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Buy TicketsUBS Arena Visitor InformationWatchListenLive StatsGame Notes (PDF)Media Guide (PDF)Download Mobile AppVIDEO: Pregame Availability
Red Storm and Jayhawks to play first basketball game at home of New York Islanders
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will host the first-ever basketball game at UBS Arena on Friday night, welcoming No. 8/7 Kansas to New York's newest venue.
Tip-off is scheduled or 7 p.m. on FS1 with Alex Faust and Jim Jackson on the call. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will narrate the action on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network, available on a variety of digital platforms including The Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, the Sirius XM app (ch. 974), XM Radio channel 384, RedStormSports.com and the newly launched St. John's Red Storm Mobile App.
Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com. For more information on attending events at UBS Arena click here.
Winners of three straight and five of six to open the season, St. John's (5-1) will look to remain unbeaten in New York when it welcomes Kansas as part of the third annual BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. In 2019, the Red Storm took down West Virginia at Madison Square Garden in the inaugural event as part of an 8-2 overall effort for the BIG EAST. Last season, four games, including a scheduled contest at Texas Tech for the Red Storm, were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The conferences split the remaining six games.
Kansas, which checked in at no. 8 in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll after suffering its first loss of the season to Dayton in Orlando, will be the Red Storm's first ranked opponent of the campaign. The Red Storm boasted four ranked wins in its first two seasons under Mike Anderson, including a triumph over No. 3 Villanova at Carnesecca Arena this past February. Two of those ranked victories came away from home, as the Johnnies topped No. 16 Arizona in San Francisco during 2019-20 before taking downing No. 23 Connecticut last year in Storrs.
On Monday, unanimous preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection Julian Champagnie was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time in as many opportunities after averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.5 blocks in a 2-0 week for the Johnnies. He posted 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting against St. Francis Brooklyn before tallying a 14-point, 10 rebound double-double against NJIT. Champagnie, who led the BIG EAST in scoring a year ago and currently ranks second in the league with 21.3 points per game, has scored 12 or more points in 31 straight games, last failing to reach double figures in the opening round of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament against Georgetown. Champagnie's best performance of the season so far came against the Red Storm's highest profile opponent, as the Brooklyn native scored 32 points against Indiana at Assembly Hall.
Right behind Champagnie on the Red Storm's scoring ledger is Posh Alexander at 14.6 points per game. The reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Alexander has enjoyed a step forward offensively as a sophomore, reaching double figures in all five of his outings and leading the conference in assists with 6.6 per game. Staying true to his roots, Alexander also still leads the league in steals with 2.4 per outing. Last season, Alexander became just the third player in BIG EAST history to win BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year simultaneously, becoming the third player in a fraternity that also features Patrick Ewing (1982) and Allen Iverson (1995). He led the BIG EAST and ranked sixth nationally with 2.6 steals per contest.
Two other Johnnies, Montez Mathis and Stef Smith, are averaging double figures on the season. Over his last three games, Mathis, a Rutgers transfer, is posting 14.3 points on 61.3 percent shooting. After a slow start to his St. John's tenure from beyond the arc, Smith is 4-for-8 from deep in his last two games. Smith, who drained 198 triples during his four years in Burlington, played against Kansas with the Catamounts in 2018-19, finishing with 13 points and eight boards at Allen Fieldhouse in a game that saw Vermont lead by as many as eight in the first half.
Kansas (5-1) will make its second trip of the young season to New York City after opening with a win over Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Nov. 9 at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks are led offensively by two-time All-Big 12 selection Ochai Agbaji with 22.5 points per game on 55.3 percent shooting, including a 41.7 percent effort from beyond the arc. During his last trip to New York, Agbaji scored a season-high 29 points against the Spartans. Christian Braun has also been impressive for Kansas in the early going, averaging 13.8 points on 61.4 percent shooting and pulling down a team-high 7.2 boards per contest. Remy Martin, a three-time All-Pac-12 pick at Arizona State, is also averaging double figures (12.0 ppg) for the Jayhawks. Martin faced the Red Storm three times as a Sun Devil, posting 9.7 points per game.
St. John's and Kansas will meet for the 14th time in a series history that dates back to 1950. Kansas holds an 8-5 edge all-time against the Johnnies, including a win in the 1952 NCAA title game that gave the Jayhawks their first national championship. The last matchup between the Red Storm and Jayhawks came in 2000, an 82-74 Kansas win in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. St. John's last defeated Kansas in the 1987 Holiday Festival and three months later the Jayhawks would capture their second national championship.
Tip-off is scheduled or 7 p.m. on FS1 with Alex Faust and Jim Jackson on the call. John Minko and Brandon Tierney will narrate the action on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network, available on a variety of digital platforms including The Varsity Network App, TuneIn Radio, the Sirius XM app (ch. 974), XM Radio channel 384, RedStormSports.com and the newly launched St. John's Red Storm Mobile App.
Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com. For more information on attending events at UBS Arena click here.
Winners of three straight and five of six to open the season, St. John's (5-1) will look to remain unbeaten in New York when it welcomes Kansas as part of the third annual BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. In 2019, the Red Storm took down West Virginia at Madison Square Garden in the inaugural event as part of an 8-2 overall effort for the BIG EAST. Last season, four games, including a scheduled contest at Texas Tech for the Red Storm, were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The conferences split the remaining six games.
Kansas, which checked in at no. 8 in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll after suffering its first loss of the season to Dayton in Orlando, will be the Red Storm's first ranked opponent of the campaign. The Red Storm boasted four ranked wins in its first two seasons under Mike Anderson, including a triumph over No. 3 Villanova at Carnesecca Arena this past February. Two of those ranked victories came away from home, as the Johnnies topped No. 16 Arizona in San Francisco during 2019-20 before taking downing No. 23 Connecticut last year in Storrs.
On Monday, unanimous preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection Julian Champagnie was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the third time in as many opportunities after averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.5 blocks in a 2-0 week for the Johnnies. He posted 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting against St. Francis Brooklyn before tallying a 14-point, 10 rebound double-double against NJIT. Champagnie, who led the BIG EAST in scoring a year ago and currently ranks second in the league with 21.3 points per game, has scored 12 or more points in 31 straight games, last failing to reach double figures in the opening round of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament against Georgetown. Champagnie's best performance of the season so far came against the Red Storm's highest profile opponent, as the Brooklyn native scored 32 points against Indiana at Assembly Hall.
Right behind Champagnie on the Red Storm's scoring ledger is Posh Alexander at 14.6 points per game. The reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Alexander has enjoyed a step forward offensively as a sophomore, reaching double figures in all five of his outings and leading the conference in assists with 6.6 per game. Staying true to his roots, Alexander also still leads the league in steals with 2.4 per outing. Last season, Alexander became just the third player in BIG EAST history to win BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year simultaneously, becoming the third player in a fraternity that also features Patrick Ewing (1982) and Allen Iverson (1995). He led the BIG EAST and ranked sixth nationally with 2.6 steals per contest.
Two other Johnnies, Montez Mathis and Stef Smith, are averaging double figures on the season. Over his last three games, Mathis, a Rutgers transfer, is posting 14.3 points on 61.3 percent shooting. After a slow start to his St. John's tenure from beyond the arc, Smith is 4-for-8 from deep in his last two games. Smith, who drained 198 triples during his four years in Burlington, played against Kansas with the Catamounts in 2018-19, finishing with 13 points and eight boards at Allen Fieldhouse in a game that saw Vermont lead by as many as eight in the first half.
Kansas (5-1) will make its second trip of the young season to New York City after opening with a win over Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Nov. 9 at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks are led offensively by two-time All-Big 12 selection Ochai Agbaji with 22.5 points per game on 55.3 percent shooting, including a 41.7 percent effort from beyond the arc. During his last trip to New York, Agbaji scored a season-high 29 points against the Spartans. Christian Braun has also been impressive for Kansas in the early going, averaging 13.8 points on 61.4 percent shooting and pulling down a team-high 7.2 boards per contest. Remy Martin, a three-time All-Pac-12 pick at Arizona State, is also averaging double figures (12.0 ppg) for the Jayhawks. Martin faced the Red Storm three times as a Sun Devil, posting 9.7 points per game.
St. John's and Kansas will meet for the 14th time in a series history that dates back to 1950. Kansas holds an 8-5 edge all-time against the Johnnies, including a win in the 1952 NCAA title game that gave the Jayhawks their first national championship. The last matchup between the Red Storm and Jayhawks came in 2000, an 82-74 Kansas win in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. St. John's last defeated Kansas in the 1987 Holiday Festival and three months later the Jayhawks would capture their second national championship.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballOpen Practice Press Conference 8.5.2025
Tuesday, August 05
St. John's Basketball Adidas Launch Media Availability7.16.25
Wednesday, July 16
Coach Pitino Press Conference Yankee Stadium 6.4.2025
Wednesday, June 04
Rick Pitino: 2024-25 Coach of the Year in Review
Friday, May 09