St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, February 23
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
RV/ RV UConn
No. 10/9 St. John’s to Host RV/RV Connecticut at Madison Square Garden on FOX
2/22/2025 9:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm men’s basketball team can clinch a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title with a win and a Creighton loss on Sunday
QUEENS, N.Y. – The No. 10/9 St. John's men's basketball team (23-4, 14-2 BIG EAST) continues to roll, winning 12 of its last 13 contests and sits atop the BIG EAST standings, as it readies for a pivotal showdown with RV/RV Connecticut (18-8, 10-5 BIG EAST) at a sold-out Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The national telecast between the BIG EAST-leading Red Storm and the back-to-back reigning National Champion Huskies will air live on FOX beginning at noon. Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson will have the call from Midtown Manhattan and Allison Williams will report from the sidelines. FOX will host a pregame show beginning at 11:30 a.m.
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 radio channel 83 and via the SiriusXM App.
The Johnnies enter Sunday's matchup with a 14-2 mark in league play, tying its highest conference win total since the 1998-99 campaign. With a win Sunday and a Creighton loss, St. John's can clinch a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title for the first time since 1992.
Deivon Smith led four players in double-figures with a game-high 18 points as St. John's cruised past DePaul on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena, 82-58. Sadiku Ibine Ayo went for a career-high 15 points, including 13 in the first half. Kadary Richmond (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Zuby Ejiofor (13 points, 9 points) tallied near double-double efforts in the Windy City. Richmond is averaging 14.8 points on 52.2 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game since the turn of the new year.
St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino, the active winningest coach in college basketball, surpassed legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp to move into eighth all-time in NCAA Division I career victories with his 877th win at DePaul on Wednesday. Pitino is three wins shy from passing Dean Smith for seventh all-time with 879 career victories. On Friday, Pitino was also tabbed to the Naismith National Coach of the Year Watch List.
The Red Storm remain unscathed on its homecourt rattling off 18-straight regular season wins dating back to last season, which ranks the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. The Johnnies have won nine consecutive regular contests at Madison Square Garden including a 7-0 mark this season and looks to go undefeated at The World's Most Famous Arena for the first time since it went 7-0 during the 1982-83 campaign. The Johnnies are 16-0 at home this season, tying for the highest win total in the country as of Feb. 21.
After defeating the then-No. 19/18 Huskies on Feb. 7 at Gampel Pavilion, 68-62, the Red Storm is seeking its first season sweep of Connecticut since the 1999-200 season, when it defeated its conference rival three consecutive times culminating with an 80-70 victory in the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament Championship. St. John's leads the all-time series, 38-34, and will look to snap Connecticut's eight-game winning streak against AP Top-10 teams.
In the first meeting, the Red Storm trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and rallied back by suffocating the Huskies defensively. The Johnnies forced Connecticut into 22 turnovers and RJ Luis Jr. scored eight of his game-high 21 points over the final 2:16 to secure St. John's first win inside Gampel Pavilion with fans in the stands since 2000.
Connecticut will head to Madison Square Garden with an 18-8 overall record and a 10-5 mark in BIG EAST play. In their last time out, the Huskies trailed by 14 in the second half and closed the contest on a dominant 27-6 scoring run to down Villanova, 66-59, on Tuesday night at the XL Center.
The Huskies are the top shot-blocking team in the country averaging 6.6 swats per game. UConn ranks sixth nationally logging 18.1 assists per game and leads the BIG EAST shooting 48.0 percent from the floor.
The defending National Champions have a slew of contributors led by freshman phenom Liam McNeeley, who leads the team averaging 15.4 points per game. Sophomore Solo Ball ranks 13th in the country shooting at a 43.8 percent clip from beyond-the-arc. Hassan Diarra serves as the team's main facilitator, ranking fourth in the league and top-25 nationally dishing out 5.8 assists per game.
Following Sunday's contest, St. John's will head back to the Midwest to meet Butler at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
The national telecast between the BIG EAST-leading Red Storm and the back-to-back reigning National Champion Huskies will air live on FOX beginning at noon. Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson will have the call from Midtown Manhattan and Allison Williams will report from the sidelines. FOX will host a pregame show beginning at 11:30 a.m.
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 radio channel 83 and via the SiriusXM App.
The Johnnies enter Sunday's matchup with a 14-2 mark in league play, tying its highest conference win total since the 1998-99 campaign. With a win Sunday and a Creighton loss, St. John's can clinch a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title for the first time since 1992.
Deivon Smith led four players in double-figures with a game-high 18 points as St. John's cruised past DePaul on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena, 82-58. Sadiku Ibine Ayo went for a career-high 15 points, including 13 in the first half. Kadary Richmond (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Zuby Ejiofor (13 points, 9 points) tallied near double-double efforts in the Windy City. Richmond is averaging 14.8 points on 52.2 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game since the turn of the new year.
St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino, the active winningest coach in college basketball, surpassed legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp to move into eighth all-time in NCAA Division I career victories with his 877th win at DePaul on Wednesday. Pitino is three wins shy from passing Dean Smith for seventh all-time with 879 career victories. On Friday, Pitino was also tabbed to the Naismith National Coach of the Year Watch List.
The Red Storm remain unscathed on its homecourt rattling off 18-straight regular season wins dating back to last season, which ranks the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. The Johnnies have won nine consecutive regular contests at Madison Square Garden including a 7-0 mark this season and looks to go undefeated at The World's Most Famous Arena for the first time since it went 7-0 during the 1982-83 campaign. The Johnnies are 16-0 at home this season, tying for the highest win total in the country as of Feb. 21.
After defeating the then-No. 19/18 Huskies on Feb. 7 at Gampel Pavilion, 68-62, the Red Storm is seeking its first season sweep of Connecticut since the 1999-200 season, when it defeated its conference rival three consecutive times culminating with an 80-70 victory in the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament Championship. St. John's leads the all-time series, 38-34, and will look to snap Connecticut's eight-game winning streak against AP Top-10 teams.
In the first meeting, the Red Storm trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and rallied back by suffocating the Huskies defensively. The Johnnies forced Connecticut into 22 turnovers and RJ Luis Jr. scored eight of his game-high 21 points over the final 2:16 to secure St. John's first win inside Gampel Pavilion with fans in the stands since 2000.
Connecticut will head to Madison Square Garden with an 18-8 overall record and a 10-5 mark in BIG EAST play. In their last time out, the Huskies trailed by 14 in the second half and closed the contest on a dominant 27-6 scoring run to down Villanova, 66-59, on Tuesday night at the XL Center.
The Huskies are the top shot-blocking team in the country averaging 6.6 swats per game. UConn ranks sixth nationally logging 18.1 assists per game and leads the BIG EAST shooting 48.0 percent from the floor.
The defending National Champions have a slew of contributors led by freshman phenom Liam McNeeley, who leads the team averaging 15.4 points per game. Sophomore Solo Ball ranks 13th in the country shooting at a 43.8 percent clip from beyond-the-arc. Hassan Diarra serves as the team's main facilitator, ranking fourth in the league and top-25 nationally dishing out 5.8 assists per game.
Following Sunday's contest, St. John's will head back to the Midwest to meet Butler at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
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