St. John's Releases Non-Conference Schedule, Which Opens With Fordham

 

St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino on the sidelines at Carnesecca Arena last season. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team announced its non-conference schedule on Wednesday, and it features 11 games, featuring two tournaments in the Bahamas and matchups with five opponents they haven't faced in over two decades, Delaware, Harvard, Kansas State, New Mexico, and Quinnipiac.

The first matchup of the season will be at Carnesecca Arena, colloquially known as The Lou (credit always to Josh Adams), and they will be taking on local rival Fordham. 

Last season, the Red Storm met the Rams in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden on December 16, 2023, and came away with the 77-55 win, their third straight win against Fordham.

Quinnipiac will be up next at Carnesecca on November 9. This will be just their second ever game against the Bobcats, with their first coming on December 29, 2001, as some familiar faces led the way, as Marcus Hatten had 22 points and five steals, and Anthony Glover put up 19 points and eight rebounds.

After that, another city school, this one from Staten Island -Wagner, who made the NCAA Tournament as winner of the NEC last season - will visit The Lou on November 13.

St. John's then makes its Madison Square Garden debut on November 17, and it'll be a family affair, as Rick Pitino will be facing his son, Richard, and the New Mexico Lobos. It will be the fourth time they have met in their careers, and Rick won the first two matchups with his Louisville squad before Richard led New Mexico to a win over Iona in 2022. Historically, St. John's is 3-0 against New Mexico, and they won their last meeting, 70-62, on November 20, 1999.

Then, it is off to the Bahamas as St. John's, along with Baylor, Virginia, and Tennessee, will take part in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center on November 21 and 22.

In quite the gambit of scheduling, St. John's stays in the Bahamas to take on Georgia on November 24 in The Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas. St. John's has won two of their three games historically against Georgia, including their last matchup, 66-56, on December 9, 2009 at The Garden.

St. John's returns home to Carnesecca Arena to host Harvard on November 30, their first matchup with the Ivy League school since November 28, 1987, when St. John's won 105-60 in Queens.

The Red Storm then host Kansas State in the Big 12 - Big East Battle on December 7 at The Lou. It is just the third meeting between the schools, and first since a 72-65 win on December 10, 1965, in Lou Carnesecca's first year at the helm. St. John's Hall of Famers Sonny Dove (27 points) and Ken McIntyre (22) led the way, as the game was part of the Sunflower Doubleheader at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

The non-conference schedule concludes with St. John's hosting Delaware on December 28 at Carnesecca Arena. It is their first matchup in nearly a century, and St. John's has won all three games against the Fightin' Blue Hens.

St. John's then hosts Bryant on December 11 at Carnesecca Arena, a