St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, February 3
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
No. 1/1 UConn
St. John’s to Square off No. 1/1 UConn at Madison Square Garden on Saturday
2/2/2024 2:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm will look for its first win against the nation’s top team at home since 1978
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will host No. 1/1 UConn on Saturday inside Madison Square Garden. FOX will carry the national broadcast from Midtown at 12 p.m.
Tim Brando and Jim Jackson are on the call for Saturday's tilt between the Red Storm (13-8, 5-5) and Huskies (19-2, 9-1). 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 382 and the SiriusXM App.
On Saturday, St. John's will celebrate Black History month during its contest with Connecticut. As part of the BIG EAST's partnership with the Black Fives Foundation, whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball, the Red Storm and Huskies will pay tribute to Black Fives squads from 1904 to the 1950s by wearing shooting shirts for teams from that era. St. John's will wear St. Christopher Club and UConn will wear Alpha Physical. Black Fives teams flourished on the amateur, semi-professional and professional levels in cities with substantial African American populations.
At halftime, the Red Storm will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1998-99 team's run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. The Johnnies finished the season with a 28-9 overall record and 14-4 mark in the BIG EAST. Members of the team will be introduced in an on-court ceremony at intermission.
The Johnnies will also be wearing their throwback uniform set that will be complemented by a custom court design both paying homage to the original visual identity of the Red Storm. The freshly designed uniforms were inspired by the first St. John's Red Storm jerseys first worn during the 1994-95 season. The new look features the classic red and yellow 'St. John's' word mark across the chest that was displayed on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Nov. 28, 1994, as Red Storm Hall of Famer Felipe Lopez captured national attention with his iconic pose alongside the headline 'The BIG EAST is Back'.
St. John's returns to Madison Square Garden for its sixth home game at "The World's Most Famous Arena." The Red Storm owns a 9-2 record in 11 home contests this season, averaging 80.4 points and 43.1 rebounds per game while holding the opposition to 65.8 points per contest. The Johnnies have held opponents to 55 points or less in four of their nine home wins, including its most recent victory inside MSG over Villanova, 70-50, on Jan. 24.
The Red Storm will host the nation's top-ranked team for the first time since eventual national champion Villanova visited MSG on Jan. 13, 2018. A win on Saturday would mark the program's first home win over the No. 1 team since topping Duke, 69-66, on Dec. 30, 1978, at The Garden. Since 1950, the Johnnies have secured five wins against the No. 1 team.
St. John's last victory over the nation's top squad came on Feb. 7, 2018, with a 79-75 win over No. 1/1 Villanova in Philadelphia. Shamorie Ponds registered 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead the Johnnies to their first win over a No. 1 team since defeating Georgetown, 66-65, on Jan. 26, 1985.
St. John's and Connecticut will meet for the 70th time in a series that dates back to 1951. Original members of the BIG EAST Conference, the Huskies have won four of the last five meetings in the series. The Johnnies last defeated UConn on Jan. 15, 2023, earning an 85-74 victory at XL Center in Hartford. Joel Soriano paced the Red Storm with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Connecticut has won nine-straight games and is coming off a 74-65 home victory over Providence on Wednesday in Storrs. Freshman guard Stephon Castle led the Huskies with 20 points while Tristen Newton registered a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds).
The Huskies will play their first road game since defeating Villanova, 66-65, on Jan. 20 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Connecticut owns a 3-2 record in road games this season with its two losses coming at Kansas (Dec. 1), 69-65, and Seton Hall (Dec. 20), 75-60. Newton has averaged a team-high 21.0 points in UConn's five road games this season.
After hosting Connecticut, the Red Storm continues its two-game homestand with a matchup against DePaul on Tuesday at UBS Arena. The first 4,000 fans will receive this year's edition of St. John's Legends Series Bobblehead courtesy of Coca-Cola, which features Red Storm Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino.
Tim Brando and Jim Jackson are on the call for Saturday's tilt between the Red Storm (13-8, 5-5) and Huskies (19-2, 9-1). 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 382 and the SiriusXM App.
On Saturday, St. John's will celebrate Black History month during its contest with Connecticut. As part of the BIG EAST's partnership with the Black Fives Foundation, whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball, the Red Storm and Huskies will pay tribute to Black Fives squads from 1904 to the 1950s by wearing shooting shirts for teams from that era. St. John's will wear St. Christopher Club and UConn will wear Alpha Physical. Black Fives teams flourished on the amateur, semi-professional and professional levels in cities with substantial African American populations.
At halftime, the Red Storm will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1998-99 team's run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. The Johnnies finished the season with a 28-9 overall record and 14-4 mark in the BIG EAST. Members of the team will be introduced in an on-court ceremony at intermission.
The Johnnies will also be wearing their throwback uniform set that will be complemented by a custom court design both paying homage to the original visual identity of the Red Storm. The freshly designed uniforms were inspired by the first St. John's Red Storm jerseys first worn during the 1994-95 season. The new look features the classic red and yellow 'St. John's' word mark across the chest that was displayed on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Nov. 28, 1994, as Red Storm Hall of Famer Felipe Lopez captured national attention with his iconic pose alongside the headline 'The BIG EAST is Back'.
St. John's returns to Madison Square Garden for its sixth home game at "The World's Most Famous Arena." The Red Storm owns a 9-2 record in 11 home contests this season, averaging 80.4 points and 43.1 rebounds per game while holding the opposition to 65.8 points per contest. The Johnnies have held opponents to 55 points or less in four of their nine home wins, including its most recent victory inside MSG over Villanova, 70-50, on Jan. 24.
The Red Storm will host the nation's top-ranked team for the first time since eventual national champion Villanova visited MSG on Jan. 13, 2018. A win on Saturday would mark the program's first home win over the No. 1 team since topping Duke, 69-66, on Dec. 30, 1978, at The Garden. Since 1950, the Johnnies have secured five wins against the No. 1 team.
St. John's last victory over the nation's top squad came on Feb. 7, 2018, with a 79-75 win over No. 1/1 Villanova in Philadelphia. Shamorie Ponds registered 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead the Johnnies to their first win over a No. 1 team since defeating Georgetown, 66-65, on Jan. 26, 1985.
St. John's and Connecticut will meet for the 70th time in a series that dates back to 1951. Original members of the BIG EAST Conference, the Huskies have won four of the last five meetings in the series. The Johnnies last defeated UConn on Jan. 15, 2023, earning an 85-74 victory at XL Center in Hartford. Joel Soriano paced the Red Storm with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Connecticut has won nine-straight games and is coming off a 74-65 home victory over Providence on Wednesday in Storrs. Freshman guard Stephon Castle led the Huskies with 20 points while Tristen Newton registered a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds).
The Huskies will play their first road game since defeating Villanova, 66-65, on Jan. 20 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Connecticut owns a 3-2 record in road games this season with its two losses coming at Kansas (Dec. 1), 69-65, and Seton Hall (Dec. 20), 75-60. Newton has averaged a team-high 21.0 points in UConn's five road games this season.
After hosting Connecticut, the Red Storm continues its two-game homestand with a matchup against DePaul on Tuesday at UBS Arena. The first 4,000 fans will receive this year's edition of St. John's Legends Series Bobblehead courtesy of Coca-Cola, which features Red Storm Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino.
Players Mentioned
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