Rumble In The Garden
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St. John’s men’s basketball wrangles Texas in encouraging exhibition finale
St. John’s capped its preseason with an 87‑74 wire‑to‑wire win over No. 7 Texas at Madison Square Garden, showing it can compete with elite teams. Guard Tounde Yessoufou led the charge with 23 points, five assists and five steals, while Ian Jackson added 18 points and three triples and Keyshawn Hall posted a game‑high 24. The Red Storm forced ten Texas turnovers in the first half and built a 49‑31 halftime lead, eventually stretching the margin to 22 before easing off. Coach Rick Pitino praised the "quantum leap" and the team now turns its focus to the season opener against Monmouth on Nov. 2.
Exhibition game thread: St. John’s men’s basketball vs. Texas
St. John’s (No. 13) faces a final preseason test against No. 7 Texas at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, 12 p.m. The Red Storm, fresh off a 104‑99 exhibition win over Rutgers, rely on guard Quinn Ellis, who nearly posted a triple‑double and offers size‑defensive versatility against Texas’s frontcourt. Concerns linger over St. John’s 22% three‑point shooting and rebounding, with center Ruben Prey still silent on the glass. Texas brings a 7‑foot center, Matas Vokietaitis (15.6 ppg), and freshman Malachi Jordan will attend the game. The all‑time series is tied 1‑1, last decided by a 77‑76 Texas win in 2006. The matchup airs on MSG Network and ESPN+.
Five-star high school recruit Malachi Jordan to visit St. John’s this weekend
St. John’s will host five‑star small forward Malachi Jordan, the No. 19 overall and #6 small forward in the 2027 class, for a weekend recruiting visit. Jordan, a 6‑foot‑7 wing from Nashville with a 6‑foot‑11+ wingspan, will tour campus Friday and attend the Red Storm’s exhibition against Texas at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The visit follows interest from Alabama, USC, Kansas and others, and he holds offers from UConn, Ohio State and more. If he signs, Jordan would be the highest‑ranked high‑school commit of the Rick Pitino era at St. John’s.
St. John’s fifth-year forward Reed Bailey wins injunction in California eligibility case
St. John’s forward Reed Bailey secures an injunction in the California Glancy v. NCAA case, clearing him to play in the 2026‑27 season after a court ruling on October 14. The decision, part of a broader eligibility battle for the class of 2022, is likely to be appealed by the NCAA. Bailey joins teammates Babacar Sane and Keyshawn Hall, who hold temporary restraining orders, while point guard Quinn Ellis recently received NCAA clearance. The 6‑foot‑10 transfer, who posted 18.8 points per game at Davidson and later averaged 8.3 at Indiana, now contributes off the bench, averaging 6.5 points and 4 rebounds in early scrimmages. The Red Storm, ranked 13th, wrap up preseason with an exhibition against No. 7 Texas on Oct. 25, streamed on ESPN+.
Five St. John’s men’s basketball alumni make NBA opening day rosters
Five St. John’s men’s basketball alumni land spots on NBA opening‑day rosters, giving the Red Storm its strongest NBA presence in decades. First‑round pick Zuby Ejiofor (23rd overall, Atlanta Hawks) joins rookie teammates Dillon Mitchell (40th, Boston Celtics) and Bryce Hopkins (49th, Denver Nuggets) – the first trio of St. John’s selected in the same draft era. Veteran Julian Champagnie starts his fifth season with the San Antonio Spurs after a career‑best 11.1 points and a franchise‑record 11 threes in a single game, signing a three‑year, $45 million deal. Undrafted Daniss Jenkins secures a two‑year, $8 million standard contract with the Detroit Pistons after clutch playoff performances. The article highlights contracts, draft history, and the alumni’s expected roles for the 2026‑27 season.
St. John’s men’s basketball enters at No. 13 in AP Top 25 preseason poll
St. John’s men’s basketball opens the 2026‑27 season ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason poll, the first back‑to‑back preseason ranking since the early ’90s. Fresh off a Sweet 16 run and a No. 5 preseason spot last year, the Red Storm boast the nation’s top transfer class, including Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou and Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall, plus international talent like Quinn Ellis. They’ve already notched a 29‑point win over Drexel and a quadruple‑OT thriller versus Rutgers, and face at least four ranked foes—including UConn, Louisville/Texas Tech, Arizona and Alabama—before ending preseason play against No. 7 Texas on Oct. 25.
St. John’s men’s basketball overcomes 20-point deficit, beats Rutgers in wild quadruple overtime exhibition
St. John’s men’s basketball rallied from a 20‑point halftime hole to beat Rutgers 104‑99 in a historic four‑overtime exhibition at Madison Square Garden. Rutgers led 46‑28 at the break, but a 30‑6 second‑half surge sparked by Ian Jackson and Keyshawn Hall (each finished with 24 points, Hall added 14 rebounds) flipped the tide. Senior point guard Quinn Ellis logged 13 points, nine assists and just one turnover in a marathon 56‑minute performance, while the Johnnies hit a perfect 8‑of‑8 from the line in the final overtime. The win sets up a preseason finale versus Texas on Oct. 25.
Exhibition game thread: St. John’s men’s basketball vs. Rutgers
After an 81-52 blowout of Drexel in their preseason opener Wednesday night, the Red Storm are back in exhibition action against Rutgers at the World’s Most Famous Arena. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a narrow 77-75 defeat to Villanova in their first preseason game last Sunday, October 11, in which they played without their […]
New look St. John’s men’s basketball stifles Drexel in preseason opener
Wednesday’s contest against Drexel looked every part like a mid-October exhibition, yet St. John’s came away with plenty to be excited about ahead of the new season. Touting ten newcomers on their fully eligible roster (for now), the Red Storm showcased their athleticism in an 81-52 blowout win over the Dragons, holding them to 25.8% […]
Exhibition game thread: St. John’s men’s basketball vs. Drexel
There is no doubt this was the most overwhelmingly chaotic offseason that St. John’s has ever seen. Not only was there the usual transfer portal mayhem, but there was a devastating injury to key addition Donnie Freeman that ended his season before it began, international signings galore—a couple of whom couldn’t join the program—multiple fifth-year […]
Standout point guard Quinn Ellis ruled eligible to play for St. John’s by NCAA
Just moments after a New York court ruled that Keyshawn Hall’s temporary restraining order will remain in place, Rick Pitino and the Red Storm received even more good news, this time in another eligibility battle. Multiple reports say the NCAA ruled former EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis eligible to play for St. John’s in the […]
St. John’s men’s basketball announces tip-off times and broadcast information for 2026-27 season
The Red Storm revealed the tip-off times and broadcast information for nearly all of its 2026-27 men’s basketball games earlier this week. The athletics department has not yet announced broadcast information or tip-off times for its matchup against Alabama on Saturday, December 12, or any of its Players Era Festival games, though ESPN will broadcast […]
No decision reached in Babacar Sane eligibility case, St. John’s forward can play first two regular season games
The Babacar Sane eligibility saga is still ongoing, but the Red Storm still got some good news in the courts. The Queens County Supreme Court could not reach a decision in Sane’s eligibility case on Monday afternoon and has scheduled a second hearing on Monday, November 9. Sane has a temporary restraining order that keeps […]
Rick Pitino announces Ian Jackson and Babacar Sane as St. John’s men’s basketball co-captains for 2026-27 season
Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino has had a team captain each of his previous three years leading the St. John’s basketball program. A change in locker room leadership was always coming, with senior captains Zuby Ejiofor, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, and Dillon Mitchell departing the program. This season, the Red Storm players picked a […]
St. John’s forward Keyshawn Hall receives TRO as eligibility hearing looms next week
Another major St. John’s men’s basketball newcomer looking to secure eligibility received positive news on Friday. Red Storm forward Keyshawn Hall was granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) by the Queens Supreme Court, making him eligible until a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday morning, October 6 will decide whether he can suit up for the […]
St. John’s men’s basketball picked second in Big East preseason poll
The Big East’s coaches don’t believe a Red Storm three-peat is coming. The league’s coaches ranked St. John’s second in the conference’s preseason poll ahead of Tuesday’s Media Day festivities. The Johnnies only received two first-place votes, while the Huskies earned eight. Marquette finished fourth, behind Villanova, and still earned one first-place vote from Rick […]
St. John’s star forward Keyshawn Hall moves eligibility lawsuit against NCAA to New York court
Fifth-year Red Storm forward Keyshawn Hall is moving his eligibility case from his home state of Ohio to New York, where he hopes to get a ruling sooner rather than later, with preseason play set to tip off in two weeks. Hall submitted a summons and complaint against the NCAA in the Queens Supreme Court […]
St. John’s men’s basketball releases its full 2026-27 schedule
The St. John’s men’s basketball team unveiled its full 31-game regular season schedule for the 2026-27 season on Monday, which features at least a dozen regular season home games at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off times and broadcast information have not been announced yet. For the first time in program history, the Red Storm are set […]
St. John’s basketball forward Babacar Sane granted temporary restraining order in eligibility pursuit
Babacar Sane took a step closer to gaining college eligibility for the 2026-27 season. The talented St. John’s forward was granted a temporary restraining order by the New York Supreme Court after he was deemed ineligible by the NCAA for his prior G-League experience. This order allows Sane to work out and practice with the […]
St. John’s breakout candidate Ruben Prey impresses for Portugal in FIBA World Cup Qualifiers
There are massive expectations for Ruben Prey entering his junior year. After two seasons serving as Zuby Ejiofor’s understudy, the Red Storm are anticipating the Portuguese international to become the full-time starting center and take the leap as a formidable post player. Prey made his presence felt representing Portugal during the second round of FIBA […]
Get the best of Rumble In The Garden on the new SB Nation app
It’s a big day for Rumble In The Garden. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Red Storm. You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android. A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the […]
St. John’s men’s basketball 2026-27 player preview: Reed Bailey
On August 18, St. John’s announced the signing of 6-foot-10 forward Reed Bailey, coming from Indiana. Entering his fifth collegiate season, Bailey now looks to put the 2025-26 season behind him and rediscover the form that made him one of the more intriguing players in the transfer portal. Bailey posted 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds […]
Star Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall commits to St. John’s men’s basketball
Rick Pitino has completed his construction of the Red Storm’s roster with a final flourish that should vault St. John’s back into the Final Four conversation. Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall, one of the top remaining players in the transfer portal, committed to St. John’s on Tuesday evening. Hall announced the decision on social media shortly […]
Former St. John’s star RJ Luis Jr. cleared to play for LSU after winning injunction
Months after R.J. Luis announced plans to come back to college basketball and play at LSU, he finally received the court decision he wanted in order to solidify his return. Luis was granted a temporary injunction by a Louisiana judge on Monday evening, clearing a pathway for the ex-Red Storm standout to compete in the […]
Djordije Jovanovic reportedly won’t join St. John’s men’s basketball team due to visa issues
It’s almost September, and the St. John’s men’s basketball roster continues to be a work in progress. One day after welcoming its newest addition in Indiana transfer Reed Bailey, the Red Storm are already saying goodbye to a player who hasn’t even stepped on campus yet. Montenegrin forward Djordije Jovanovic will reportedly not join the […]
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