St. John's University Athletics
Tuesday, January 7
Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
at
RV Xavier
RV/RV St. John’s Ventures to RV Xavier for Midweek Tilt
1/6/2025 3:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm are off to its best start in BIG EAST play in 14 years
QUEENS, N.Y. – Off to its best start in BIG EAST play since 2010-11, the RV/RV St. John's men's basketball team (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST) will head back to the Midwest to meet RV Xavier (9-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) on Tuesday night.
The midweek contest from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati is slated to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on FS1 with Jeff Levering and LaPhonso Ellis on the call.
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.
The Red Storm moved past Butler on Saturday, 70-62, on "Lou Carnesecca Day" in Queens behind a double-double effort from RJ Luis Jr. The Johnnies rallied from a halftime deficit to come out on top for the fourth time this season to start conference play with a 3-1 mark for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. With a win on Tuesday, St. John's would reach a 4-1 mark over its first five league contests for the first time in 24 years, when it got out to a 5-1 record in BIG EAST play during the 2000-01 season.
Luis Jr. paced the Red Storm with his fourth double-double of the season totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Bulldogs at Carnesecca Arena. The junior leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference averaging 16.5 points per game. The Miami, Fla., native has reached double-figures in scoring of 16 of 18 his last game, dating back to last season.
Zuby Ejiofor delivered his seventh-straight double-digit scoring performance in the win over Butler, totaling 14 points all in the second half. The junior big man was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth-straight week. Deivon Smith added 13 points and went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Kadary Richmond filled the box score with 11 points, a game-high six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
St. John's forced Butler into a season-high 21 turnovers on Saturday afternoon, tallying 27 points off the takeaways. Over the last five contests, the Johnnies have forced their opponents into 18.5 giveaways per game.
In Saturday's victory, the Johnnies knocked down just one 3-pointer, marking just the sixth time this season that an NCAA Division I team has won a game with exactly one 3-pointer made. It also marks the first time St. John's has hit exactly one triple in a regular season conference win since toppling No. 14 Cincinnati, 53-52, on Jan. 5, 2013.
Tuesday's meeting will mark the 25th all-time between the two programs with Xavier leading the series, 17-7. The Red Storm will look to pick up its third-ever win on the road in Cincinnati and its first since 2022. Last year, St. John's and Xavier split the pair of meetings between them. In Queens, the Johnnies secured an 81-66 victory behind a monster 18-point, 14-board double-double from Joel Soriano on Dec. 20, 2023. In the return meeting, the Musketeers won inside the Cintas Center, 88-77, on Jan. 31, 2024.
RV Xavier enters the contest with a 9-6 record on the year and a 1-3 mark in conference play. The Musketeers hold an 8-1 record inside the friendly confines of the Cintas Center with its only loss coming in a one possession to defeat to then-No. 9/9 Marquette, 72-70. In nine games at home, Xavier is averaging 86.1 points per game and boasts a plus-20.4 scoring margin. The squad ranks first in the BIG EAST and sixth in NCAA Division I averaging 18.1 fastbreak points per game.
In its last time out, the Musketeers were outlasted by Georgetown in the nation's capital on Friday night, 69-63. Xavier pulled within one with under three minutes to go before five-straight points for the Hoyas' propelled them to the victory at Capital One Arena.
Zach Freemantle returned to the line-up against Georgetown after missing the previous three games due to injury. The forward led the team with 16 points in the setback in Washington D.C. The Teaneck, N.J., native ranks fourth in the league in scoring averaging 16.8 points per game on 53.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Following Tuesday's road battle, St. John's will play its first of seven-straight home games at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, when it hosts Villanova. Tip-off from "The World's Most Famous Arena" is slated for 7 p.m. and will air on CBS Sports Network.
The midweek contest from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati is slated to tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on FS1 with Jeff Levering and LaPhonso Ellis on the call.
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.
The Red Storm moved past Butler on Saturday, 70-62, on "Lou Carnesecca Day" in Queens behind a double-double effort from RJ Luis Jr. The Johnnies rallied from a halftime deficit to come out on top for the fourth time this season to start conference play with a 3-1 mark for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. With a win on Tuesday, St. John's would reach a 4-1 mark over its first five league contests for the first time in 24 years, when it got out to a 5-1 record in BIG EAST play during the 2000-01 season.
Luis Jr. paced the Red Storm with his fourth double-double of the season totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Bulldogs at Carnesecca Arena. The junior leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference averaging 16.5 points per game. The Miami, Fla., native has reached double-figures in scoring of 16 of 18 his last game, dating back to last season.
Zuby Ejiofor delivered his seventh-straight double-digit scoring performance in the win over Butler, totaling 14 points all in the second half. The junior big man was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth-straight week. Deivon Smith added 13 points and went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Kadary Richmond filled the box score with 11 points, a game-high six assists, six rebounds and three steals.
St. John's forced Butler into a season-high 21 turnovers on Saturday afternoon, tallying 27 points off the takeaways. Over the last five contests, the Johnnies have forced their opponents into 18.5 giveaways per game.
In Saturday's victory, the Johnnies knocked down just one 3-pointer, marking just the sixth time this season that an NCAA Division I team has won a game with exactly one 3-pointer made. It also marks the first time St. John's has hit exactly one triple in a regular season conference win since toppling No. 14 Cincinnati, 53-52, on Jan. 5, 2013.
Tuesday's meeting will mark the 25th all-time between the two programs with Xavier leading the series, 17-7. The Red Storm will look to pick up its third-ever win on the road in Cincinnati and its first since 2022. Last year, St. John's and Xavier split the pair of meetings between them. In Queens, the Johnnies secured an 81-66 victory behind a monster 18-point, 14-board double-double from Joel Soriano on Dec. 20, 2023. In the return meeting, the Musketeers won inside the Cintas Center, 88-77, on Jan. 31, 2024.
RV Xavier enters the contest with a 9-6 record on the year and a 1-3 mark in conference play. The Musketeers hold an 8-1 record inside the friendly confines of the Cintas Center with its only loss coming in a one possession to defeat to then-No. 9/9 Marquette, 72-70. In nine games at home, Xavier is averaging 86.1 points per game and boasts a plus-20.4 scoring margin. The squad ranks first in the BIG EAST and sixth in NCAA Division I averaging 18.1 fastbreak points per game.
In its last time out, the Musketeers were outlasted by Georgetown in the nation's capital on Friday night, 69-63. Xavier pulled within one with under three minutes to go before five-straight points for the Hoyas' propelled them to the victory at Capital One Arena.
Zach Freemantle returned to the line-up against Georgetown after missing the previous three games due to injury. The forward led the team with 16 points in the setback in Washington D.C. The Teaneck, N.J., native ranks fourth in the league in scoring averaging 16.8 points per game on 53.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Following Tuesday's road battle, St. John's will play its first of seven-straight home games at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, when it hosts Villanova. Tip-off from "The World's Most Famous Arena" is slated for 7 p.m. and will air on CBS Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ 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