St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, December 20
Atlanta, Ga. (State Farm Arena)
12:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Kentucky
No. 22/20 St. John’s to Battle RV/RV Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic on Saturday
12/18/2025 4:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Rick Pitino will lead the Red Storm against his former team in marquee showdown in Atlanta
QUEENS, N.Y. - The No. 22/20 St. John's men's basketball team (7-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) enters a marquee showdown on Saturday against RV/RV Kentucky (7-4, 0-0 SEC) in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. Tip-off is slated for 12:30 p.m.
CBS will carry the national telecast live from State Farm Arena with Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery and Bruce Pearl on the call. Jenny Dell will serve as the sideline reporter. Fans can tune in to the game on 1050 AM ESPN New York with John Minko and Tarik Turner calling the action over the radio waves. An audio stream of the game can also be found on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn, Sirius XM 210 or 201, the SiriusXM app and the St. John's Red Storm app.
Established in 2014, the CBS Sports Classic features two marquee matchups and rotates across major cities in the United States. The Red Storm will compete in the event for the first time ever. Following the Johnnies contest against the Wildcats, North Carolina will meet Ohio State at 3 p.m.
Head Coach Rick Pitino will face off against Kentucky for the first time since a 73-70 victory on Dec. 21, 2016, while at Louisville. Pitino led the Wildcats for eight seasons from 1989-97, where he guided Kentucky to a 219-50 (.814) overall record, five SEC Tournament titles and the 1996 National Championship. On the opposite sideline is Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope, who was Pitino's team captain during the 1996 title run. Pitino is 18-4 all-time when coaching against former players.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer will return to the city of Atlanta, where he holds a 9-1 overall record, including nine consecutive victories, dating back to 1995. Pitino cut down the nets in Atlanta during Louisville's 2013 National Championship run. St. John's will play in A-Town for the first time since Dec. 21, 2003, when it fell to then-No. 5 Georgia Tech.
On Tuesday, St. John's pushed past DePaul, 79-66, in its BIG EAST opener at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm extended its winning streak at its on-campus home to 18 games and captured its fifth-straight BIG EAST opener.
Dylan Darling led a balance scoring attack totaling a season-high 17 points and six rebounds on against the Blue Demons. Joson Sanon finished with a near double-double, adding 15 points and tying a career-high with nine boards.
Zuby Ejiofor continued to be a force around the rim tallying four blocks in the team's third-straight victory. Over the last three games, the senior forward has registered 20 rejections, the most by a BIG EAST player over a three-game span since St. John's Chris Obekpa recorded 22 over that same stretch from Nov. 21-29, 2013. Ejiofor has climbed up the national leaderboards in blocks per game (2.8), moving up 194 spots since Dec. 5 to 11th in NCAA Division I. The Garland, Texas native additionally is averaging 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks seventh in the conference.
Saturday's contest will feature two of the nation's top teams in transition, as both squads rank top-seven in the country in fastbreak points. St. John's sits sixth in NCAA Division I averaging 20.2 points per game, while Kentucky checks in right behind them adding 19.3 points per contest.
The two storied programs have met on the hardwood 16 times with Kentucky leading the all-time series, 11-5. Over the last six meetings the two teams have split, 3-3, beginning with the 1952 NCAA Tournament when St. John's went onto to finish national runner-up. Saturday's contest will mark the fourth SEC team the Johnnies have faced this season.
Kentucky enters the contest with a 7-4 record on the heels of a 72-60 win over Indiana at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The Wildcats have played a tumultuous non-conference schedule and will face their fifth nationally ranked opponent of the season.
SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh paces Kentucky averaging 14.0 points per game on 48.6 percent shooting. A 2025 National Champion at Florida, Oweh ranks second on the team logging 12.1 points per contest.
Following Saturday's contest, the Johnnies will return home for their final game at Carnesecca Arena when they close the non-conference slate against Harvard at 6 p.m.
CBS will carry the national telecast live from State Farm Arena with Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery and Bruce Pearl on the call. Jenny Dell will serve as the sideline reporter. Fans can tune in to the game on 1050 AM ESPN New York with John Minko and Tarik Turner calling the action over the radio waves. An audio stream of the game can also be found on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn, Sirius XM 210 or 201, the SiriusXM app and the St. John's Red Storm app.
Established in 2014, the CBS Sports Classic features two marquee matchups and rotates across major cities in the United States. The Red Storm will compete in the event for the first time ever. Following the Johnnies contest against the Wildcats, North Carolina will meet Ohio State at 3 p.m.
Head Coach Rick Pitino will face off against Kentucky for the first time since a 73-70 victory on Dec. 21, 2016, while at Louisville. Pitino led the Wildcats for eight seasons from 1989-97, where he guided Kentucky to a 219-50 (.814) overall record, five SEC Tournament titles and the 1996 National Championship. On the opposite sideline is Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope, who was Pitino's team captain during the 1996 title run. Pitino is 18-4 all-time when coaching against former players.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer will return to the city of Atlanta, where he holds a 9-1 overall record, including nine consecutive victories, dating back to 1995. Pitino cut down the nets in Atlanta during Louisville's 2013 National Championship run. St. John's will play in A-Town for the first time since Dec. 21, 2003, when it fell to then-No. 5 Georgia Tech.
On Tuesday, St. John's pushed past DePaul, 79-66, in its BIG EAST opener at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm extended its winning streak at its on-campus home to 18 games and captured its fifth-straight BIG EAST opener.
Dylan Darling led a balance scoring attack totaling a season-high 17 points and six rebounds on against the Blue Demons. Joson Sanon finished with a near double-double, adding 15 points and tying a career-high with nine boards.
Zuby Ejiofor continued to be a force around the rim tallying four blocks in the team's third-straight victory. Over the last three games, the senior forward has registered 20 rejections, the most by a BIG EAST player over a three-game span since St. John's Chris Obekpa recorded 22 over that same stretch from Nov. 21-29, 2013. Ejiofor has climbed up the national leaderboards in blocks per game (2.8), moving up 194 spots since Dec. 5 to 11th in NCAA Division I. The Garland, Texas native additionally is averaging 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks seventh in the conference.
Saturday's contest will feature two of the nation's top teams in transition, as both squads rank top-seven in the country in fastbreak points. St. John's sits sixth in NCAA Division I averaging 20.2 points per game, while Kentucky checks in right behind them adding 19.3 points per contest.
The two storied programs have met on the hardwood 16 times with Kentucky leading the all-time series, 11-5. Over the last six meetings the two teams have split, 3-3, beginning with the 1952 NCAA Tournament when St. John's went onto to finish national runner-up. Saturday's contest will mark the fourth SEC team the Johnnies have faced this season.
Kentucky enters the contest with a 7-4 record on the heels of a 72-60 win over Indiana at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The Wildcats have played a tumultuous non-conference schedule and will face their fifth nationally ranked opponent of the season.
SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh paces Kentucky averaging 14.0 points per game on 48.6 percent shooting. A 2025 National Champion at Florida, Oweh ranks second on the team logging 12.1 points per contest.
Following Saturday's contest, the Johnnies will return home for their final game at Carnesecca Arena when they close the non-conference slate against Harvard at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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