St. John's University Athletics
Friday, February 6
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
8 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
No. 3/3 Connecticut
No. 22/22 St. John’s to Face No. 3/3 UConn for Friday Night Showdown at MSG
2/5/2026 4:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The top two teams in the BIG EAST standings will square off at 8 p.m. on FOX
QUEENS, N.Y. - No 22/22 St. John's (17-5, 10-1 BIG EAST) readies for a Friday night showdown with No. 3/3 UConn (22-1, 12-0 BIG EAST) in a battle between the top two teams in the BIG EAST standings at Madison Square Garden.
The marquee matchup will air on FOX in primetime with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call from The World's Most Famous Arena. Allison Williams will serve as the sideline reporter from Midtown Manhattan.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channel 380, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App. Compass Media Network will carry a national radio broadcast with Jerry Recco and Jon Rothstein on the call.
A limited number of tickets are available for tomorrow night's contest between the Johnnies and Huskies. To secure your seat, click here, visit RedStormTix.com, call 1-888-GO-STORM or e-mail redstormsports@stjohns.edu.
Friday night's game will mark the beginning of St. John's partnership with ONE PIECE, the popular Netflix television program. Fans can receive a limited edition ONE PIECE trading card and poster upon exiting the arena through the Chase Bridge. The ONE PIECE giveaway will also be available at Monday's contest against Xavier.
Both teams enter Friday's contest with lengthy winning streaks spanning more than a month. The Red Storm has won eight-straight in BIG EAST play, dating back to Jan. 6. The eight-game winning streak is the third longest in the program's BIG EAST history and ranks the fifth-best in the country amongst high major programs. UConn boasts the nation's third longest streak rattling off 18 consecutive victories since the Huskies lone loss to now top-ranked Arizona on Nov. 19.
The showdown between St. John's and UConn will mark the first February meeting in the BIG EAST with both sides holding one or fewer conference losses in 17 years. The last time two one loss or better squads squared off was on Feb. 2, 2009 when the Huskies defeated Louisville, led by Rick Pitino at Freedom Hall.
Pitino, who eclipsed the 900-win milestone on Jan. 24 continues to climb toward the top of the list in all-time wins leaders in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. The Hall of Famer is one victory shy of tying Roy Williams (903) for third all-time in career on-court victories at the Division I level.
The Johnnies, winners of eight consecutive and 10 of their last 11, emerged from a defensive battle at DePaul, 68-56, on Tuesday in Chicago. The Red Storm limited the Blue Demons to 56 points, its second lowest opponent scoring total of the season and outscored them 39-28 during the second half. The Red Storm is off to a 10-1 start to BIG EAST play for the second straight season.
Zuby Ejiofor paced the effort against the Blue Demons leading all players with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year leads the Red Storm in scoring (15.7 PPG), rebounding (7.5 RPG), assists (3.3 APG) and blocks (2.0 BPG). Ejiofor became the 54th player in St. John's men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points at St. John's on Tuesday. Ejiofor along with teammate Dillon Mitchell, who eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark on Jan. 20, will be honored for their accomplishments before the game.
The two longtime conference foes will meet both ranked in the AP Top 25 for the ninth time and the first at Madison Square Garden since the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament Championship on March 11, when the Johnnies defeated the Huskies, 80-70. Last year, then-No. 12/10 St. John's took down then-No. 19/18 UConn, 68-62, at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs en route to completing its first season sweep of the Huskies in 25 years. In the eight previous ranked meetings between the two, the series is split 4-4.
A win on Friday would mark the program's highest ranked win since it defeated No. 3/3 Villanova on Feb. 3, 2021, at Carnesecca Arena, 70-59. It would also mark the program's first win over a top-three ranked opponent at MSG since it topped No. 3/3 Duke, 93-78, on Jan. 30, 2011.
UConn and St. John's will face off for the 74th time on Friday night with the Red Storm leading the all-time series, 39-34. Since the Huskies returned to the BIG EAST Conference in 2020, the Huskies hold a slight edge, 5-4.
UConn will make its way to Madison Square Garden off its best start to BIG EAST action in 30 years and holds the program's longest winning streak since 1998-99. In their last time out, the Huskies cruised to a 92-60 victory over Xavier in Hartford.
All five UConn starters boast a double-digit scoring average as the Huskies have posted a plus-15.7-point scoring margin through 23 games. On the defensive end, Dan Hurley's group ranks fifth in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, holding opponents to 63.8 points per game, which ranks 10th in NCAA Division I.
Following Friday's matchup, the Johnnies will quickly return to Madison Square Garden for the second edition of Rick versus Richard Pitino as St. John's meets Xavier at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
The marquee matchup will air on FOX in primetime with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call from The World's Most Famous Arena. Allison Williams will serve as the sideline reporter from Midtown Manhattan.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Brandon Tierney on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channel 380, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App. Compass Media Network will carry a national radio broadcast with Jerry Recco and Jon Rothstein on the call.
A limited number of tickets are available for tomorrow night's contest between the Johnnies and Huskies. To secure your seat, click here, visit RedStormTix.com, call 1-888-GO-STORM or e-mail redstormsports@stjohns.edu.
Friday night's game will mark the beginning of St. John's partnership with ONE PIECE, the popular Netflix television program. Fans can receive a limited edition ONE PIECE trading card and poster upon exiting the arena through the Chase Bridge. The ONE PIECE giveaway will also be available at Monday's contest against Xavier.
Both teams enter Friday's contest with lengthy winning streaks spanning more than a month. The Red Storm has won eight-straight in BIG EAST play, dating back to Jan. 6. The eight-game winning streak is the third longest in the program's BIG EAST history and ranks the fifth-best in the country amongst high major programs. UConn boasts the nation's third longest streak rattling off 18 consecutive victories since the Huskies lone loss to now top-ranked Arizona on Nov. 19.
The showdown between St. John's and UConn will mark the first February meeting in the BIG EAST with both sides holding one or fewer conference losses in 17 years. The last time two one loss or better squads squared off was on Feb. 2, 2009 when the Huskies defeated Louisville, led by Rick Pitino at Freedom Hall.
Pitino, who eclipsed the 900-win milestone on Jan. 24 continues to climb toward the top of the list in all-time wins leaders in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. The Hall of Famer is one victory shy of tying Roy Williams (903) for third all-time in career on-court victories at the Division I level.
The Johnnies, winners of eight consecutive and 10 of their last 11, emerged from a defensive battle at DePaul, 68-56, on Tuesday in Chicago. The Red Storm limited the Blue Demons to 56 points, its second lowest opponent scoring total of the season and outscored them 39-28 during the second half. The Red Storm is off to a 10-1 start to BIG EAST play for the second straight season.
Zuby Ejiofor paced the effort against the Blue Demons leading all players with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year leads the Red Storm in scoring (15.7 PPG), rebounding (7.5 RPG), assists (3.3 APG) and blocks (2.0 BPG). Ejiofor became the 54th player in St. John's men's basketball history to score 1,000 career points at St. John's on Tuesday. Ejiofor along with teammate Dillon Mitchell, who eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark on Jan. 20, will be honored for their accomplishments before the game.
The two longtime conference foes will meet both ranked in the AP Top 25 for the ninth time and the first at Madison Square Garden since the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament Championship on March 11, when the Johnnies defeated the Huskies, 80-70. Last year, then-No. 12/10 St. John's took down then-No. 19/18 UConn, 68-62, at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs en route to completing its first season sweep of the Huskies in 25 years. In the eight previous ranked meetings between the two, the series is split 4-4.
A win on Friday would mark the program's highest ranked win since it defeated No. 3/3 Villanova on Feb. 3, 2021, at Carnesecca Arena, 70-59. It would also mark the program's first win over a top-three ranked opponent at MSG since it topped No. 3/3 Duke, 93-78, on Jan. 30, 2011.
UConn and St. John's will face off for the 74th time on Friday night with the Red Storm leading the all-time series, 39-34. Since the Huskies returned to the BIG EAST Conference in 2020, the Huskies hold a slight edge, 5-4.
UConn will make its way to Madison Square Garden off its best start to BIG EAST action in 30 years and holds the program's longest winning streak since 1998-99. In their last time out, the Huskies cruised to a 92-60 victory over Xavier in Hartford.
All five UConn starters boast a double-digit scoring average as the Huskies have posted a plus-15.7-point scoring margin through 23 games. On the defensive end, Dan Hurley's group ranks fifth in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, holding opponents to 63.8 points per game, which ranks 10th in NCAA Division I.
Following Friday's matchup, the Johnnies will quickly return to Madison Square Garden for the second edition of Rick versus Richard Pitino as St. John's meets Xavier at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
Players Mentioned
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