St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, March 13
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
No. 9 Butler
St. John’s Opens the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday at Madison Square Garden
3/12/2025 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Watch (Peacock)ListenLive StatsBIG EAST Tournament Guide (PDF)Game Notes (PDF)Pregame QuotesPhoto Gallery (BIG EAST Awards)
The Red Storm men’s basketball team will tip off against No. 9 Butler in a quarterfinal matchup at 12 p.m. on Peacock
NEW YORK. – The top-seeded St. John's men's basketball team (27-4) opens the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday when the Johnnies square off with the No. 9 Butler (14-18). Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. at The World's Most Famous Arena. Peacock will carry the national telecast.
The Red Storm looks to carry momentum from a historic regular season into postseason play. St. John's enters the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 1 seed for just the third time in program history. The Johnnies tied a program record with 27 victories during the regular season and won the outright BIG EAST Regular Season title for the first time in 40 years. The Johnnies 18 conference victories matched a BIG EAST record.
NBC Sports announcers Noah Eagle and Donny Marshall will call the action from Midtown Manhattan in the quarterfinal matchup. John Fanta will report from the sidelines on Thursday.
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 139 or 201 and via the SiriusXM App.
St. John's enters the BIG EAST Tournament riding a six-game win streak that began on Feb. 16 with a victory over then-No. 24-21 Creighton at Madison Square Garden. Since the turn of the new year, the Johnnies own a 16-1 mark including eight wins at The Garden.
Over the course of the regular season, the Johnnies four losses came by only seven total points, which is the lowest margin of defeat among NCAA Division I programs this season. Additionally, it is the lowest total margin of defeat in the last 75 years of NCAA Division I basketball for programs with a minimum of four losses in the regular season, topping Austin Peay (1972 – 5 losses, 8 points), UCLA (1978 – 4 losses, 8 points) and Memphis State (1985 – 4 losses, 8 points).
On Wednesday inside The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino was named the 2025 BIG EAST Coach of the Year while junior wing RJ Luis Jr. garnered the 2025 BIG EAST Player of the Year award. Pitino became only the second coach in NCAA Division I history to win a conference coach of the year award at four different schools and in four different conferences. Luis is only the third player in St. John's men's basketball history to receive the honor, joining legends Chris Mullin and Walter Berry.
St. John's returns to action for the first time since upending Marquette, 86-84, in overtime on Saturday in Milwaukee. The Johnnies quieted a sold-out crowd of 17,983 fans at Fiserv Forum on the final day of the regular season behind clutch performances from Luis and Kadary Richmond. Luis led the Johnnies with 28 points, shooting 10-for-19 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers, to go with 11 rebounds in his ninth double-double effort of the season.
Richmond recorded the first triple-double in program history since Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly Ron Artest, reached the milestone on Jan. 9, 1999. Richmond's masterful performance included 10 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.
The Johnnies aim for their third victory over Butler after sweeping the regular season series. In their first meeting on Jan. 4, St. John's rallied for a 70-62 victory over the Bulldogs at Carnesecca Arena despite a 1-for-21 shooting effort from 3-point territory. Luis led the Red Storm with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. The Red Storm completed the sweep on Feb. 26 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, downing Butler, 76-70, behind a 24-point effort from Luis.
Butler ended a four-game slide on Wednesday with a 75-69 victory over Providence in the opening game of the BIG EAST Tournament. Pierre Brooks led the Bulldogs with 25 points and seven rebounds.
The winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 1 St. John's and No. 9 Butler will face either No. 4 Xavier or No. 5 Marquette on Friday in the semifinal at 6:30 p.m. on FOX.
The Red Storm looks to carry momentum from a historic regular season into postseason play. St. John's enters the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 1 seed for just the third time in program history. The Johnnies tied a program record with 27 victories during the regular season and won the outright BIG EAST Regular Season title for the first time in 40 years. The Johnnies 18 conference victories matched a BIG EAST record.
NBC Sports announcers Noah Eagle and Donny Marshall will call the action from Midtown Manhattan in the quarterfinal matchup. John Fanta will report from the sidelines on Thursday.
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 139 or 201 and via the SiriusXM App.
St. John's enters the BIG EAST Tournament riding a six-game win streak that began on Feb. 16 with a victory over then-No. 24-21 Creighton at Madison Square Garden. Since the turn of the new year, the Johnnies own a 16-1 mark including eight wins at The Garden.
Over the course of the regular season, the Johnnies four losses came by only seven total points, which is the lowest margin of defeat among NCAA Division I programs this season. Additionally, it is the lowest total margin of defeat in the last 75 years of NCAA Division I basketball for programs with a minimum of four losses in the regular season, topping Austin Peay (1972 – 5 losses, 8 points), UCLA (1978 – 4 losses, 8 points) and Memphis State (1985 – 4 losses, 8 points).
On Wednesday inside The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino was named the 2025 BIG EAST Coach of the Year while junior wing RJ Luis Jr. garnered the 2025 BIG EAST Player of the Year award. Pitino became only the second coach in NCAA Division I history to win a conference coach of the year award at four different schools and in four different conferences. Luis is only the third player in St. John's men's basketball history to receive the honor, joining legends Chris Mullin and Walter Berry.
St. John's returns to action for the first time since upending Marquette, 86-84, in overtime on Saturday in Milwaukee. The Johnnies quieted a sold-out crowd of 17,983 fans at Fiserv Forum on the final day of the regular season behind clutch performances from Luis and Kadary Richmond. Luis led the Johnnies with 28 points, shooting 10-for-19 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers, to go with 11 rebounds in his ninth double-double effort of the season.
Richmond recorded the first triple-double in program history since Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly Ron Artest, reached the milestone on Jan. 9, 1999. Richmond's masterful performance included 10 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.
The Johnnies aim for their third victory over Butler after sweeping the regular season series. In their first meeting on Jan. 4, St. John's rallied for a 70-62 victory over the Bulldogs at Carnesecca Arena despite a 1-for-21 shooting effort from 3-point territory. Luis led the Red Storm with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. The Red Storm completed the sweep on Feb. 26 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, downing Butler, 76-70, behind a 24-point effort from Luis.
Butler ended a four-game slide on Wednesday with a 75-69 victory over Providence in the opening game of the BIG EAST Tournament. Pierre Brooks led the Bulldogs with 25 points and seven rebounds.
The winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 1 St. John's and No. 9 Butler will face either No. 4 Xavier or No. 5 Marquette on Friday in the semifinal at 6:30 p.m. on FOX.
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ 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