St. John's University Athletics
Monday, February 9
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
6:30 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
No. 22/22 St. John’s Rolls into Monday Night Contest with Xavier at MSG
2/8/2026 1:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Red Storm men’s basketball team carries a nine-game win streak into its matchup with the Musketeers at 6:30 p.m. on FS1
QUEENS, N.Y. - Fresh off its highest ranked win in five years, the No. 22/22 St. John's men's basketball team (18-5, 11-1 BIG EAST) will return to Madison Square Garden on Monday to meet Xavier at 6:30 p.m.
Monday's contest will mark the second meeting this season and sixth all-time between Head Coaches Rick and Richard Pitino. FS1 will carry the national telecast with Alex Faust and Donny Marshall on the call from The World's Most Famous Arena.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Vin Parise on 880 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App.
Tickets are still available for tomorrow night's BIG EAST battle at The Mecca. To secure your seat, click here, visit RedStormTix.com, call 1-888-GO-STORM or e-mail redstormsports@stjohns.edu.
The BIG EAST Road Trip mobile tour will also roll into Midtown Manhattan on Monday night. The conference's fan fest will be held pre-game at the new Stout location at 215 W 35th Street, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free for all attendees.
The Red Storm is coming off a victory over No. 3/3 UConn, 81-72, on Friday in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. It marked the highest ranked for the Red Storm since it defeated No. 3/3 Villanova on Feb. 3, 2021 and highest at MSG since it downed No. 3/3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011.
The Johnnies extended their winning streak to nine games, which ranks second longest in the country amongst high major programs, trailing only undefeated and top-ranked Arizona. The Red Storm is off to an 11-1 start in BIG EAST play for the second straight season and the nine-game league winning streak marks the third longest in program history.
During its nine-game winning streak, the Red Storm has controlled the second half outscoring opponents by 10.3 points per game over the final 20 minutes since Jan. 6. The Johnnies and Huskies were tied at the break on Friday before St. John's outscored UConn, 42-33, in the latter stanza and shot 60.1 percent from the field during the frame. The Johnnies have also engineered two 15+ point second half comebacks during this stretch in wins over Seton Hall (Jan. 20) and Xavier (Jan. 24). The Red Storm mounted its largest come-from-behind victory of the season in its first meeting with the Musketeers rallying back from 16 down in the second half in Cincinnati.
St. John's victory in the first meeting between the two teams marked the 900th career win for Head Coach Rick Pitino. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer has another chance to make history on Monday as a Red Storm win would propel Pitino into sole possession of third place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list, surpassing Roy Williams (903).
St. John's and Xavier (12-11, 4-8 BIG EAST) will meet for the 28th time in the all-time series. The Musketeers lead the series, 17-10. However, St. John's has won four of the last five contests and seven of the last 10 battles.
On Friday, Zuby Ejiofor put forth a memorable performance, becoming the only player in NCAA Division I this season to record 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals in a single-game. The 6-foot-9 forward leads the team and ranks top-10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (15.9 PPG), rebounding (7.6 RPG), assists (3.5 APG) and blocks (2.0 BPG) per game. Ejiofor is the only player in high major basketball and one of three across NCAA Division I to rank top-10 in his respective conference in all four of those statistical categories.
Fellow front court starters Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell have provided the Johnnies a huge boost during the nine-game winning streak. Mitchell is averaging 10.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing during that span. Hopkins is logging 14.3 points and 6.1 boards per contest and has eight double-figure scoring performances over his last nine appearances. In the win over the Huskies, the trio combined for 50 points on 65.3 percent shooting, 22 rebounds and 11 assists.
Xavier will play its first contest in six days after falling to No. 3/3 UConn on Feb. 3. The Musketeers rank 21st in the country in assists per game (18.0) and 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.75).
Xavier is led by graduate student Tre Carroll, who paces the BIG EAST in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Prior to a nine-point effort against UConn, the Florida Atlantic transfer logged five consecutive 20-plus point outings, including a 31-point performance in the first meeting against St. John's on Jan. 24.
Following Monday's matchup with Xavier, St. John's will hit the road to face Providence on Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. inside Amica Mutal Pavilion.
Monday's contest will mark the second meeting this season and sixth all-time between Head Coaches Rick and Richard Pitino. FS1 will carry the national telecast with Alex Faust and Donny Marshall on the call from The World's Most Famous Arena.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Vin Parise on 880 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App.
Tickets are still available for tomorrow night's BIG EAST battle at The Mecca. To secure your seat, click here, visit RedStormTix.com, call 1-888-GO-STORM or e-mail redstormsports@stjohns.edu.
The BIG EAST Road Trip mobile tour will also roll into Midtown Manhattan on Monday night. The conference's fan fest will be held pre-game at the new Stout location at 215 W 35th Street, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free for all attendees.
The Red Storm is coming off a victory over No. 3/3 UConn, 81-72, on Friday in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. It marked the highest ranked for the Red Storm since it defeated No. 3/3 Villanova on Feb. 3, 2021 and highest at MSG since it downed No. 3/3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011.
The Johnnies extended their winning streak to nine games, which ranks second longest in the country amongst high major programs, trailing only undefeated and top-ranked Arizona. The Red Storm is off to an 11-1 start in BIG EAST play for the second straight season and the nine-game league winning streak marks the third longest in program history.
During its nine-game winning streak, the Red Storm has controlled the second half outscoring opponents by 10.3 points per game over the final 20 minutes since Jan. 6. The Johnnies and Huskies were tied at the break on Friday before St. John's outscored UConn, 42-33, in the latter stanza and shot 60.1 percent from the field during the frame. The Johnnies have also engineered two 15+ point second half comebacks during this stretch in wins over Seton Hall (Jan. 20) and Xavier (Jan. 24). The Red Storm mounted its largest come-from-behind victory of the season in its first meeting with the Musketeers rallying back from 16 down in the second half in Cincinnati.
St. John's victory in the first meeting between the two teams marked the 900th career win for Head Coach Rick Pitino. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer has another chance to make history on Monday as a Red Storm win would propel Pitino into sole possession of third place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list, surpassing Roy Williams (903).
St. John's and Xavier (12-11, 4-8 BIG EAST) will meet for the 28th time in the all-time series. The Musketeers lead the series, 17-10. However, St. John's has won four of the last five contests and seven of the last 10 battles.
On Friday, Zuby Ejiofor put forth a memorable performance, becoming the only player in NCAA Division I this season to record 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals in a single-game. The 6-foot-9 forward leads the team and ranks top-10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (15.9 PPG), rebounding (7.6 RPG), assists (3.5 APG) and blocks (2.0 BPG) per game. Ejiofor is the only player in high major basketball and one of three across NCAA Division I to rank top-10 in his respective conference in all four of those statistical categories.
Fellow front court starters Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell have provided the Johnnies a huge boost during the nine-game winning streak. Mitchell is averaging 10.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing during that span. Hopkins is logging 14.3 points and 6.1 boards per contest and has eight double-figure scoring performances over his last nine appearances. In the win over the Huskies, the trio combined for 50 points on 65.3 percent shooting, 22 rebounds and 11 assists.
Xavier will play its first contest in six days after falling to No. 3/3 UConn on Feb. 3. The Musketeers rank 21st in the country in assists per game (18.0) and 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.75).
Xavier is led by graduate student Tre Carroll, who paces the BIG EAST in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Prior to a nine-point effort against UConn, the Florida Atlantic transfer logged five consecutive 20-plus point outings, including a 31-point performance in the first meeting against St. John's on Jan. 24.
Following Monday's matchup with Xavier, St. John's will hit the road to face Providence on Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. inside Amica Mutal Pavilion.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward/ Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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