St. John's University Athletics
Wednesday, December 20
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
7 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
St. John’s to Open BIG EAST Play Against Xavier on Wednesday
12/19/2023 4:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm men’s basketball team has won five of its last six games and looks for third-straight victory in BIG EAST openers
QUEENS, N.Y. – Coming off a 22-point victory over Fordham, the St. John's men's basketball team looks to carry momentum into its BIG EAST opener on Wednesday when the Johnnies host Xavier at Carnesecca Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The first 2,500 fans to arrive at Carnesecca Arena receive a St. John's Basketball long sleeve t-shirt courtesy Apple Bank.
The contest between St. John's (7-3) and Xavier (6-5) will be broadcast nationally on FS1 with Alex Faust and Jim Spanarkel calling the action from Queens. An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Brandon Tierney 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 channel 386 and the SiriusXM App.
St. John's enters its matchup with the Musketeers having won five of its last six games. Joel Soriano helped lead the Johnnies in their 77-55 victory over Fordham on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in the Holiday Festival. The 6-foot-11 center recorded his six double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and a trio of blocks in 23 minutes action.
The Red Storm also delivered a stout defensive performance holding Fordham to shoot just 25.4 percent (15-59 FG) from the field and 11.1 percent (2-18 3FG) from distance. It marked the program's best field goal percentage defense in over decade since the Red Storm also held Fordham to 23.8 percent (18-80 FG) on Dec. 7, 2013.
The Johnnies return to action at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday for the second-to-last game of the season on their home court in Queens. St. John's has won all three games on-campus this season, earning lopsided victories over Stony Brook (Nov. 7), Holy Cross (Nov. 25) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 6).
St. John's has averaged 88.7 points shooting 49.5 percent from the field in its three contests at Carnesecca Arena. Soriano has also paced the team with 18.7 points per game. Defensively, St. John's has held its opponents to 56.3 points per contest while forcing 16.3 turnovers per game in Queens.
As of Tuesday, St. John's continues to lead Division I averaging 17.8 offensive rebounds per game with Soriano ranking third nationally with 4.6 offensive boards per contest. The Red Storm is also one of the top teams in the nation in distributing the basketball by dishing out 17.4 assists per contest, which ranks top-30 in the country. Daniss Jenkins has been the team's top facilitators and ranks 18th in Division I with 6.0 assists per contest.
On Wednesday, Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino makes his return to BIG EAST action for the first time in over a decade. Prior to St. John's, Pitino made his mark in the conference by posting a 112-60 record (.651) in BIG EAST play over his previous 10 seasons in the league as a head coach at Providence and Louisville. Pitino led Louisville to three BIG EAST Tournament Championships (2009, 2012, 2013) and a pair of BIG EAST Regular Season Championships (2009, 2013).
St. John's looks for its third-straight victory in BIG EAST openers when it squares off with Xavier for the 23rd time in series history on Wednesday. The Musketeers own a 16-6 advantage in the series, but the Johnnies have taken three of the last five meetings.
Xavier enters the matchup riding a two-game win streak with victories over Cincinnati (Dec. 9) and Winthrop (Dec. 16). Graduate student Quincy Olivari averaged a team-high 24.5 points, while shooting 46.4 percent (13-28 FG) from the field, 52.9 percent (9-17 3FG) from distance and 93.3 percent (14-15 FT) from the free-throw line in the last two games.
Playing at one of the fastest tempos in the nation, the Musketeers lead the BIG EAST and rank 20th in Division I averaging 16.6 fastbreak points per contest. Xavier also ranks among the top teams in the country in assists (17.9 apg – 22nd) and defensive rebounds (28.7 drpg – 33rd). Dayvion McKnight is the team's top ball distributor, as the senior guard has dished out 5.4 assists per game (36th in NCAA) and tops the BIG EAST with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (22nd in NCAA). The Western Kentucky transfer is Xavier's defensive rebounding leader averaging 4.6 per contest.
The first 2,500 fans to arrive at Carnesecca Arena receive a St. John's Basketball long sleeve t-shirt courtesy Apple Bank.
The contest between St. John's (7-3) and Xavier (6-5) will be broadcast nationally on FS1 with Alex Faust and Jim Spanarkel calling the action from Queens. An audio broadcast of the game on the LEARFIELD Red Storm Sports Network with John Minko and Brandon Tierney 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 channel 386 and the SiriusXM App.
St. John's enters its matchup with the Musketeers having won five of its last six games. Joel Soriano helped lead the Johnnies in their 77-55 victory over Fordham on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in the Holiday Festival. The 6-foot-11 center recorded his six double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and a trio of blocks in 23 minutes action.
The Red Storm also delivered a stout defensive performance holding Fordham to shoot just 25.4 percent (15-59 FG) from the field and 11.1 percent (2-18 3FG) from distance. It marked the program's best field goal percentage defense in over decade since the Red Storm also held Fordham to 23.8 percent (18-80 FG) on Dec. 7, 2013.
The Johnnies return to action at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday for the second-to-last game of the season on their home court in Queens. St. John's has won all three games on-campus this season, earning lopsided victories over Stony Brook (Nov. 7), Holy Cross (Nov. 25) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 6).
St. John's has averaged 88.7 points shooting 49.5 percent from the field in its three contests at Carnesecca Arena. Soriano has also paced the team with 18.7 points per game. Defensively, St. John's has held its opponents to 56.3 points per contest while forcing 16.3 turnovers per game in Queens.
As of Tuesday, St. John's continues to lead Division I averaging 17.8 offensive rebounds per game with Soriano ranking third nationally with 4.6 offensive boards per contest. The Red Storm is also one of the top teams in the nation in distributing the basketball by dishing out 17.4 assists per contest, which ranks top-30 in the country. Daniss Jenkins has been the team's top facilitators and ranks 18th in Division I with 6.0 assists per contest.
On Wednesday, Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino makes his return to BIG EAST action for the first time in over a decade. Prior to St. John's, Pitino made his mark in the conference by posting a 112-60 record (.651) in BIG EAST play over his previous 10 seasons in the league as a head coach at Providence and Louisville. Pitino led Louisville to three BIG EAST Tournament Championships (2009, 2012, 2013) and a pair of BIG EAST Regular Season Championships (2009, 2013).
St. John's looks for its third-straight victory in BIG EAST openers when it squares off with Xavier for the 23rd time in series history on Wednesday. The Musketeers own a 16-6 advantage in the series, but the Johnnies have taken three of the last five meetings.
Xavier enters the matchup riding a two-game win streak with victories over Cincinnati (Dec. 9) and Winthrop (Dec. 16). Graduate student Quincy Olivari averaged a team-high 24.5 points, while shooting 46.4 percent (13-28 FG) from the field, 52.9 percent (9-17 3FG) from distance and 93.3 percent (14-15 FT) from the free-throw line in the last two games.
Playing at one of the fastest tempos in the nation, the Musketeers lead the BIG EAST and rank 20th in Division I averaging 16.6 fastbreak points per contest. Xavier also ranks among the top teams in the country in assists (17.9 apg – 22nd) and defensive rebounds (28.7 drpg – 33rd). Dayvion McKnight is the team's top ball distributor, as the senior guard has dished out 5.4 assists per game (36th in NCAA) and tops the BIG EAST with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (22nd in NCAA). The Western Kentucky transfer is Xavier's defensive rebounding leader averaging 4.6 per contest.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
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