Monday, November 2
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Monmouth
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
10/31/2026 8:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Johnnies and Hawks to tip off at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's men's basketball team will officially kick off its 120th season on Monday night when it welcomes the Monmouth Hawks to Carnesecca Arena.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ed Cohen and former St. John's standout Tarik Turner on the call. Fans can also catch the action over the airwaves, as John Minko and Brandon Tierney will handle broadcasting duties on 1050 AM ESPN New York. That audio coverage will also be available on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn and RedStormSports.com.
Monday's opener will be a sellout, the Red Storm's eighth straight sellout at Carnesecca Arena dating back to the 2024-25 season. Ticketmaster verified resale tickets can be found by clicking here. Full-season ticket packages featuring all games at Carnesecca Arena are sold-out, but Madison Square Garden plans are still available for purchase. The Red Storm will play 13 regular season games at The Mecca, the program's highest total since 1950-51.
St. John's checked in at no. 13 in that AP Preseason Top 25 and no. 14 in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Under the direction of Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm has been ranked in back-to-back preseasons for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92, the final two years of Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca's tenure.
St. John's is coming off a 3-0 preseason, as the Red Storm picked up three wins against the Drexel, Rutgers and Texas. The Johnnies looked particularly impressive against the Longhorns last Sunday in an 87-74 victory at Madison Square Garden, leading by as many as 22 against a team that was picked seventh in the AP Preseason Top 25.
Last season, the Red Storm swept the outright BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and BIG EAST Tournament Championship for the second straight season, becoming the first program in the five-decade history of the BIG EAST to accomplish the feat in back-to-back campaigns. St. John's then reached the Sweet 16 with wins over Northern Iowa and Kansas in San Diego, advancing to the tournament's second weekend for the first time since 1999.
Prior to the season, St. John's was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Coaches' Poll and placed two of its student-athletes on the Preseason All-BIG EAST First. Tounde Yessoufou garnered the recognition unanimously after averaging 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds as a freshman at Baylor last season. Ian Jackson also found a spot on the league's top preseason squad. Last season, the former McDonald's All-American poured in 9.4 points per game for the undisputed BIG EAST champs during his debut campaign in Queens.
Last week, Yessoufou was one of three Johnnies to earn a place on a preseason watch lists for positional awards given out by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Quinn Ellis was named to the Bob Cousy Preseason Top 20 Watch List while Yessoufou found a spot on the Julius Erving Watch List and Keyshawn Hall was selected as one of 20 players in contention for the Karl Malone Award. The awards recognize the top collegiate point guard, small forward and power forward, respectively, in the nation.
St. John's has won 12 straight season openers dating back to 2014-15 and has not lost a home opener since 2003. The Johnnies are 62-3 all-time in Carnesecca Arena openers since the building opened as Alumni Hall in 1961.
Entering his 38th full season as a Division I head coach, Pitino is 32-5 in season openers and 34-3 in home openers, including a 30-1 mark in his last 31.
Monmouth was picked fifth in the CAA Preseason poll behind UNCW, College of Charleston, Hofstra and Towson.
The Hawks are looking to replace the top three scorers from a team that went 19-15 a season ago with an 11-7 record in the CAA. Monmouth finished fourth in the CAA regular season standings and advanced to the CAA Championship Game before losing to Hofstra.
Stefanos Spartalis is Monmouth's leading returning scorer. As a freshman, the 6-foot-9 forward from Greece averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Graduate student Jack Collins is the lone returning Hawk who averaged 7.0 or more points per game. The 6-foot-5 guard from Manasquan, N.J., led Monmouth is assists a season ago, dishing out 4.5 per contest.
Spartalis and sophomore guard Ashton Walker garnered Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA honors earlier this month. Walker had an impressive freshman season at La Salle, averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 assists for the Explorers on his way to Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors.
St. John's and Monmouth will meet for the fifth time in a series that began in 1985-86. The Red Storm has won each of the previous four meetings, including the most recent contest on Dec. 9, 2021, which featured 21 points from Posh Alexander and 16 from Julian Champagnie. All four games between St. John's and Monmouth have taken place in Carnesecca Arena.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ed Cohen and former St. John's standout Tarik Turner on the call. Fans can also catch the action over the airwaves, as John Minko and Brandon Tierney will handle broadcasting duties on 1050 AM ESPN New York. That audio coverage will also be available on the ESPN New York app, the Varsity Network app, TuneIn and RedStormSports.com.
Monday's opener will be a sellout, the Red Storm's eighth straight sellout at Carnesecca Arena dating back to the 2024-25 season. Ticketmaster verified resale tickets can be found by clicking here. Full-season ticket packages featuring all games at Carnesecca Arena are sold-out, but Madison Square Garden plans are still available for purchase. The Red Storm will play 13 regular season games at The Mecca, the program's highest total since 1950-51.
St. John's checked in at no. 13 in that AP Preseason Top 25 and no. 14 in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Under the direction of Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm has been ranked in back-to-back preseasons for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92, the final two years of Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca's tenure.
St. John's is coming off a 3-0 preseason, as the Red Storm picked up three wins against the Drexel, Rutgers and Texas. The Johnnies looked particularly impressive against the Longhorns last Sunday in an 87-74 victory at Madison Square Garden, leading by as many as 22 against a team that was picked seventh in the AP Preseason Top 25.
Last season, the Red Storm swept the outright BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and BIG EAST Tournament Championship for the second straight season, becoming the first program in the five-decade history of the BIG EAST to accomplish the feat in back-to-back campaigns. St. John's then reached the Sweet 16 with wins over Northern Iowa and Kansas in San Diego, advancing to the tournament's second weekend for the first time since 1999.
Prior to the season, St. John's was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Coaches' Poll and placed two of its student-athletes on the Preseason All-BIG EAST First. Tounde Yessoufou garnered the recognition unanimously after averaging 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds as a freshman at Baylor last season. Ian Jackson also found a spot on the league's top preseason squad. Last season, the former McDonald's All-American poured in 9.4 points per game for the undisputed BIG EAST champs during his debut campaign in Queens.
Last week, Yessoufou was one of three Johnnies to earn a place on a preseason watch lists for positional awards given out by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Quinn Ellis was named to the Bob Cousy Preseason Top 20 Watch List while Yessoufou found a spot on the Julius Erving Watch List and Keyshawn Hall was selected as one of 20 players in contention for the Karl Malone Award. The awards recognize the top collegiate point guard, small forward and power forward, respectively, in the nation.
St. John's has won 12 straight season openers dating back to 2014-15 and has not lost a home opener since 2003. The Johnnies are 62-3 all-time in Carnesecca Arena openers since the building opened as Alumni Hall in 1961.
Entering his 38th full season as a Division I head coach, Pitino is 32-5 in season openers and 34-3 in home openers, including a 30-1 mark in his last 31.
Monmouth was picked fifth in the CAA Preseason poll behind UNCW, College of Charleston, Hofstra and Towson.
The Hawks are looking to replace the top three scorers from a team that went 19-15 a season ago with an 11-7 record in the CAA. Monmouth finished fourth in the CAA regular season standings and advanced to the CAA Championship Game before losing to Hofstra.
Stefanos Spartalis is Monmouth's leading returning scorer. As a freshman, the 6-foot-9 forward from Greece averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Graduate student Jack Collins is the lone returning Hawk who averaged 7.0 or more points per game. The 6-foot-5 guard from Manasquan, N.J., led Monmouth is assists a season ago, dishing out 4.5 per contest.
Spartalis and sophomore guard Ashton Walker garnered Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA honors earlier this month. Walker had an impressive freshman season at La Salle, averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 assists for the Explorers on his way to Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors.
St. John's and Monmouth will meet for the fifth time in a series that began in 1985-86. The Red Storm has won each of the previous four meetings, including the most recent contest on Dec. 9, 2021, which featured 21 points from Posh Alexander and 16 from Julian Champagnie. All four games between St. John's and Monmouth have taken place in Carnesecca Arena.
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