St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, December 13
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Iona
No. 22/21 St. John’s Set to Host Iona on Saturday at Madison Square Garden
12/11/2025 11:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm men’s basketball team and Gaels will tip off at 12 p.m. on TNT, truTV and HBO Max
QUEENS, N.Y. – The No. 22/21 St. John's men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday when it hosts local foe Iona at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off from The World's Most Famous Arena is set for 12 p.m.
The game will air live on TNT and truTV with Brian Anderson, Grant Hill and Andy Katz on the call. The contest can also be streamed live on HBO Max. Fans can listen to the game on 1050 AM ESPN New York with John Minko and Brandon Tierney narrating the action. An audio stream of the game can also be found on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn, Sirius XM 85, the SiriusXM app, and the St. John's Red Storm app.
Tickets for the contest are still available by clicking here. St. John's students can claim their tickets by clicking here.
In celebration of the holiday season, St. John's fans are encouraged to wear their finest festive gear to The World's Most Famous Arena on Saturday. One lucky student dressed as Santa Claus will win a signed basketball and prize pack courtesy of St. John's Athletics. Students (21+) are also invited to a special pregame celebration at Stout Bryant Park (109 W 39th St.) where Bud Lights are just $2 with a St. John's ID from 10-11:45 a.m.
Saturday will mark the third of 12 regular season games at Madison Square Garden for the Red Storm, the highest total for the program since 1951-52. Last season, the Johnnies went 12-0 at "The Mecca," including three wins in three days to clinch the program's first BIG EAST Tournament crown since 2000. St. John's has played at least one regular season game at Madison Square Garden every season since 1930-31.
The Red Storm is coming off a 63-58 win over Ole Miss last Saturday at The Mecca. The Johnnies put forth their most suffocating defensive performance of the year against the Rebels, holding Ole Miss to season lows in both scoring (58) and 3-point field goal percentage (12.5%). The Red Storm forced the Rebels into 20 turnovers, the program's highest single-game mark in three seasons under Chris Beard. The Johnnies have generated 20 or more turnovers in four of their eight games this season.
The anchor of the defense against Ole Miss was Zuby Ejiofor, who finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds to go along with career highs of three steals and eight blocks. He became just the fourth player in program history and the first since 2018 to log at least eight rejections in a game, joining Chris Obekpa, Sir'Dominic Pointer and Tariq Owens. The program's all-time leader in blocks, Obekpa tallied eight or more swats in a single game five times.
Following their second high-major win of the season, the Johnnies rose one spot in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls, checking in at no. 22 and no. 21, respectively. St. John's has now been ranked in 16 consecutive polls dating back to January 20 of last season. It is the program's longest ranking streak since 1999-2000 (18 weeks) and is tied for the seventh longest in school history.
Iona enters the weekend with a record of 8-3 following a 69-63 win over Bryant on Wednesday in New Rochelle. CJ Anthony and Toby Harris led the way with 18 points apiece for the Gaels, who connected on 11 of their 25 3-point attempts.
The Gaels have won three of their last four, a span that includes a pair of double-digit road victories over Delaware and Sacred Heart. Iona's lone loss during that stretch came at the hands of Quinnipiac, 89-68, on Dec. 5 at the Hynes Center. St. John's opened the season with a 34-point win over Quinnipiac, the preseason favorite in the MAAC.
Cincinnati graduate transfer CJ Anthony leads the way for Iona, topping the team in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg). A 40.0% 3-point shooter, Anthony has reached double figures in every game but one and has four 20-point performances on the season. He has recorded fewer than five assists just twice in 11 games.
Three other Gaels are averaging double figures, including Lamin Sabally, a graduate transfer from Incarnate Word who is averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per outing.
Dan Geriot is in his first season leading the Gaels after spending seven years as an assistant in the NBA. Prior to his time in the pros, the 2011 Richmond grad also served as an assistant coach at Princeton and Campbell.
St. John's and Iona will meet for the 11th time in the history of the two programs and the first since they 2017 Holiday Festival, a 69-59 win for the Red Storm. Prior to that contest, the schools had not played one another since 1995. St. John's leads the all-time series, 7-3.
Prior to taking over at St. John's in the spring of 2023, Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino spent three years leading Iona. In those three seasons, Pitino guided Iona to a 64-22 overall record, including a 40-9 mark in the MAAC. Under Pitino, the Gaels won two MAAC Tournament titles, claimed two MAAC Regular Season Championships and advanced to three postseasons (two NCAA Tournaments and an NIT). Nearly every member of Pitino's current St. John's staff (Steve Masiello, Taliek Brown, Bob Walsh, Ricky Johns and Stephen Boateng) worked for Pitino at Iona. St. John's senior captain Sadiku Ibine Ayo began his career at Iona in 2022-23.
The game will air live on TNT and truTV with Brian Anderson, Grant Hill and Andy Katz on the call. The contest can also be streamed live on HBO Max. Fans can listen to the game on 1050 AM ESPN New York with John Minko and Brandon Tierney narrating the action. An audio stream of the game can also be found on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn, Sirius XM 85, the SiriusXM app, and the St. John's Red Storm app.
Tickets for the contest are still available by clicking here. St. John's students can claim their tickets by clicking here.
In celebration of the holiday season, St. John's fans are encouraged to wear their finest festive gear to The World's Most Famous Arena on Saturday. One lucky student dressed as Santa Claus will win a signed basketball and prize pack courtesy of St. John's Athletics. Students (21+) are also invited to a special pregame celebration at Stout Bryant Park (109 W 39th St.) where Bud Lights are just $2 with a St. John's ID from 10-11:45 a.m.
Saturday will mark the third of 12 regular season games at Madison Square Garden for the Red Storm, the highest total for the program since 1951-52. Last season, the Johnnies went 12-0 at "The Mecca," including three wins in three days to clinch the program's first BIG EAST Tournament crown since 2000. St. John's has played at least one regular season game at Madison Square Garden every season since 1930-31.
The Red Storm is coming off a 63-58 win over Ole Miss last Saturday at The Mecca. The Johnnies put forth their most suffocating defensive performance of the year against the Rebels, holding Ole Miss to season lows in both scoring (58) and 3-point field goal percentage (12.5%). The Red Storm forced the Rebels into 20 turnovers, the program's highest single-game mark in three seasons under Chris Beard. The Johnnies have generated 20 or more turnovers in four of their eight games this season.
The anchor of the defense against Ole Miss was Zuby Ejiofor, who finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds to go along with career highs of three steals and eight blocks. He became just the fourth player in program history and the first since 2018 to log at least eight rejections in a game, joining Chris Obekpa, Sir'Dominic Pointer and Tariq Owens. The program's all-time leader in blocks, Obekpa tallied eight or more swats in a single game five times.
Following their second high-major win of the season, the Johnnies rose one spot in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches polls, checking in at no. 22 and no. 21, respectively. St. John's has now been ranked in 16 consecutive polls dating back to January 20 of last season. It is the program's longest ranking streak since 1999-2000 (18 weeks) and is tied for the seventh longest in school history.
Iona enters the weekend with a record of 8-3 following a 69-63 win over Bryant on Wednesday in New Rochelle. CJ Anthony and Toby Harris led the way with 18 points apiece for the Gaels, who connected on 11 of their 25 3-point attempts.
The Gaels have won three of their last four, a span that includes a pair of double-digit road victories over Delaware and Sacred Heart. Iona's lone loss during that stretch came at the hands of Quinnipiac, 89-68, on Dec. 5 at the Hynes Center. St. John's opened the season with a 34-point win over Quinnipiac, the preseason favorite in the MAAC.
Cincinnati graduate transfer CJ Anthony leads the way for Iona, topping the team in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and assists (6.0 apg). A 40.0% 3-point shooter, Anthony has reached double figures in every game but one and has four 20-point performances on the season. He has recorded fewer than five assists just twice in 11 games.
Three other Gaels are averaging double figures, including Lamin Sabally, a graduate transfer from Incarnate Word who is averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per outing.
Dan Geriot is in his first season leading the Gaels after spending seven years as an assistant in the NBA. Prior to his time in the pros, the 2011 Richmond grad also served as an assistant coach at Princeton and Campbell.
St. John's and Iona will meet for the 11th time in the history of the two programs and the first since they 2017 Holiday Festival, a 69-59 win for the Red Storm. Prior to that contest, the schools had not played one another since 1995. St. John's leads the all-time series, 7-3.
Prior to taking over at St. John's in the spring of 2023, Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino spent three years leading Iona. In those three seasons, Pitino guided Iona to a 64-22 overall record, including a 40-9 mark in the MAAC. Under Pitino, the Gaels won two MAAC Tournament titles, claimed two MAAC Regular Season Championships and advanced to three postseasons (two NCAA Tournaments and an NIT). Nearly every member of Pitino's current St. John's staff (Steve Masiello, Taliek Brown, Bob Walsh, Ricky Johns and Stephen Boateng) worked for Pitino at Iona. St. John's senior captain Sadiku Ibine Ayo began his career at Iona in 2022-23.
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