St. John’s Faces Marquette in Top-15 Showdown at Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK — St. John's University, ranked No. 12 in the latest Associated Press poll, will face No. 11 Marquette in a highly anticipated Big East showdown Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm (19-3, 10-1 Big East), riding an eight-game win streak and a perfect 14-0 record at home, are looking to solidify their first-place standing in the conference against the Golden Eagles (18-4, 9-2).

This marks St. John’s first top-15 matchup since their 1999 Elite Eight loss to Ohio State. Under head coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm are off to their best start in nearly four decades. A win would not only extend their dominance but also position Pitino to become the first coach to lead six different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

Marquette, however, has been a formidable opponent for St. John’s, winning the last six meetings under head coach Shaka Smart. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 77-69 loss to Connecticut but have won nine of their last 11 games. Senior guard Kam Jones, averaging 19 points and 6.2 assists per game, leads Marquette’s offense, while junior forward David Joplin adds 14.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.

For St. John’s, junior guard RJ Luis Jr. has been a standout performer, averaging 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds over the last eight games. Junior forward Zuby Ejiofor, with 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, has also been a consistent force. The Red Storm are favored by 2.5 points, with the over/under set at 148 points.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden, where St. John’s hopes to prove their ranking is well-deserved. Marquette, meanwhile, aims to continue their dominance in the series and close the gap in the Big East standings.