St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, March 12
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
12 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Providence
Photo by: Vincent Dusovic
St. John’s Opens BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday at Madison Square Garden
3/11/2026 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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The Johnnies will meet ninth-seeded Providence in the quarterfinal round
NEW YORK - The St. John's men's basketball team will enter the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament as the no. 1 seed for the second straight year and will begin its title defense on Thursday at 12 p.m. The Red Storm will face ninth-seeded Providence in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.
St. John's will look to go back-to-back as BIG EAST Tournament Champions for the first time in its history. The Johnnies have won four tournament titles (1983, 1986, 2000 and 2025) and will make their 43rd in the appearance in the event.
Thursday's quarterfinal round will air on Peacock and NBC Sports Network with John Fanta and Donny Marshall on the call. Caroline Pineda will serve as the sideline reporter.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Vin Parise on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channel 117, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App.
St. John's holds an 8-1 mark as the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, which it will occupy for the fourth time in its program history. Last year, St. John's rolled in the 2025 edition of the BIG EAST Tournament at The World's Most Famous Arena, winning three games in three days to lift the trophy for the first time in 25 years. The Red Storm defeated Butler, Marquette and Creighton by an average margin of victory of 17.7 points per game, the highest mark by a tournament champion since Villanova in 2017 (19.0 PPG).
The Red Storm will enter the postseason as the outright BIG EAST Regular Season Champion for the second straight season. The Johnnies captured back-to-back crowns for the first time since 1984-85 & 1985-86. St. John's has won 16 of its last 17 games and finished BIG EAST play with an 18-2 record, tying the all-time league best mark for single-season victories.
In its last time out, the Red Storm clinched the top spot in the league standings downing Seton Hall, 72-65, at the Prudential Center on Friday. The Johnnies moved to 14-0 on the season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
On Wednesday, standout Zuby Ejiofor cemented his legacy at St. John's taking home the BIG EAST Player of the Year Award. The Garland, Texas native became the conference's first player in 12 years to unanimously be named BIG EAST Player of the Year and first since consensus National Player of the Year Doug McDermott in 2013-14. Ejiofor joined Connecticut's Emeka Okafor in an elite fraternity as the only two players in BIG EAST history to take home, BIG EAST Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the same season.
Ejiofor was joined by two frontcourt teammates Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell as All-BIG EAST selections. Hopkins was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team three years after earning a first team nod in 2022-23, while at Providence. The graduate student ranks top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (13.3 PPG) and rebounding (6.0 RPG). Mitchell, an All-BIG EAST Third Team and All-Defensive Team honoree, has made an impact all over the floor for the Johnnies this season. The senior forward is averaging 8.1 points, 6.9 boards and 3.1 assists per game. Additionally, the Tampa native ranks 21st in NCAA Division I with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.23.
Head Coach Rick Pitino enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a 59-17 (.776) overall record in conference tournaments and has won 15 league tournament titles at five different schools. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer is 18-8 (.692) and has won the crown at MSG four times (2009, 2012, 2013 & 2025).
Providence advanced to the quarterfinal round on Wednesday defeating eighth-seeded Butler, 91-81, in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and rallied back for the victory at Madison Square Garden. Stefan Vaaks (28), Ryan Mela (23) and Jaylin Sellers (23) combined for 74 of Providence's 91 points.
The two squads will meet for the third time this season after splitting the pair of regular season meetings. Providence captured a 77-71 win over the Red Storm on Jan. 3 despite a 33-point, 15-rebound performance from Ejiofor. In the return matchup, the Johnnies outlasted the Friars, 79-69, on Valentine's Day behind a season-high 23 points from Dylan Darling.
St. John's and Providence will meet in the BIG EAST Tournament for the eighth time. The two longtime BIG EAST foes met in the quarterfinals for in consecutive years in 2014-15, with the Friars taking both meetings.
With a quarterfinal victory on Thursday, St. John's would advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal on Friday when it would meet the winner of the fourth-seeded Seton Hall and fifth-seeded Creighton at 5:30 p.m. on FOX.
St. John's will look to go back-to-back as BIG EAST Tournament Champions for the first time in its history. The Johnnies have won four tournament titles (1983, 1986, 2000 and 2025) and will make their 43rd in the appearance in the event.
Thursday's quarterfinal round will air on Peacock and NBC Sports Network with John Fanta and Donny Marshall on the call. Caroline Pineda will serve as the sideline reporter.
The LEARFIELD St. John's Radio Network broadcast will be available with John Minko and Vin Parise on 1050 AM ESPN New York, the ESPN New York App, the Varsity Network, TuneIn, Sirius XM Channel 117, the SiriusXM App and the St. John's Red Storm App.
St. John's holds an 8-1 mark as the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, which it will occupy for the fourth time in its program history. Last year, St. John's rolled in the 2025 edition of the BIG EAST Tournament at The World's Most Famous Arena, winning three games in three days to lift the trophy for the first time in 25 years. The Red Storm defeated Butler, Marquette and Creighton by an average margin of victory of 17.7 points per game, the highest mark by a tournament champion since Villanova in 2017 (19.0 PPG).
The Red Storm will enter the postseason as the outright BIG EAST Regular Season Champion for the second straight season. The Johnnies captured back-to-back crowns for the first time since 1984-85 & 1985-86. St. John's has won 16 of its last 17 games and finished BIG EAST play with an 18-2 record, tying the all-time league best mark for single-season victories.
In its last time out, the Red Storm clinched the top spot in the league standings downing Seton Hall, 72-65, at the Prudential Center on Friday. The Johnnies moved to 14-0 on the season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
On Wednesday, standout Zuby Ejiofor cemented his legacy at St. John's taking home the BIG EAST Player of the Year Award. The Garland, Texas native became the conference's first player in 12 years to unanimously be named BIG EAST Player of the Year and first since consensus National Player of the Year Doug McDermott in 2013-14. Ejiofor joined Connecticut's Emeka Okafor in an elite fraternity as the only two players in BIG EAST history to take home, BIG EAST Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the same season.
Ejiofor was joined by two frontcourt teammates Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell as All-BIG EAST selections. Hopkins was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team three years after earning a first team nod in 2022-23, while at Providence. The graduate student ranks top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (13.3 PPG) and rebounding (6.0 RPG). Mitchell, an All-BIG EAST Third Team and All-Defensive Team honoree, has made an impact all over the floor for the Johnnies this season. The senior forward is averaging 8.1 points, 6.9 boards and 3.1 assists per game. Additionally, the Tampa native ranks 21st in NCAA Division I with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.23.
Head Coach Rick Pitino enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a 59-17 (.776) overall record in conference tournaments and has won 15 league tournament titles at five different schools. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer is 18-8 (.692) and has won the crown at MSG four times (2009, 2012, 2013 & 2025).
Providence advanced to the quarterfinal round on Wednesday defeating eighth-seeded Butler, 91-81, in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and rallied back for the victory at Madison Square Garden. Stefan Vaaks (28), Ryan Mela (23) and Jaylin Sellers (23) combined for 74 of Providence's 91 points.
The two squads will meet for the third time this season after splitting the pair of regular season meetings. Providence captured a 77-71 win over the Red Storm on Jan. 3 despite a 33-point, 15-rebound performance from Ejiofor. In the return matchup, the Johnnies outlasted the Friars, 79-69, on Valentine's Day behind a season-high 23 points from Dylan Darling.
St. John's and Providence will meet in the BIG EAST Tournament for the eighth time. The two longtime BIG EAST foes met in the quarterfinals for in consecutive years in 2014-15, with the Friars taking both meetings.
With a quarterfinal victory on Thursday, St. John's would advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal on Friday when it would meet the winner of the fourth-seeded Seton Hall and fifth-seeded Creighton at 5:30 p.m. on FOX.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward/ Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballZuby Ejiofor and Rick Pitino Big East Awards Media Availability 3.11.26
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