For well over a century the St. John’s Red Storm has been winning basketball games. Back in the 70’s and 80’s the university was a generational program; they made 16 out of 18 March Madness tournaments during their heyday.
But here in the 21st century, the Johnnies have struggled. The Red Storm hasn’t won the Big East Conference since 1992 and haven’t made March Madness outright since 2015.
But this season has been special. St. John’s is BACK and are a certified threat going into the 2025 postseason. They currently are ranked 9th in the nation and have a 22-4 record which leads the Big East.
Rick Pitino
In his second year at St. Johns, Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has turned this program around through his iconic old-school hustle style of play. Pitino is the only coach ever to win a national championship with two different universities(Kentucky 1996 & Louisville 2013) and has the second highest winning percentage for a coach in March Madness history.
No wonder his guys are playing so hard.
Pitino’s greatest strength for the Red Storm this season has been the defensive mindset he’s legitimately forced upon his players. St. John’s full court presses more than anybody in college basketball, sometimes for nearly the whole game.
It’s been a trademark of Pitino’s career and has served him well this season.
“What the press has done for me, for 40 years, has worn people out, legs-wise, where they don’t shoot the ball as well,” Pitino said in a post game conference after beating the two-time reigning national champion UConn earlier this season. “It’s always been the gift that my teams have had. If we can wear out their legs, they won’t shoot as well.”
Red Storm Swarming The Defensive Statistics
Utilizing the full court press is just one of the defensive tools St. John’s has in its possession this season. They also…
- Allow only 65.6 points per game, the 34th lowest in the nation.
- Grab 9.3 steals per game, the 11th highest in the nation.
- Force 15.8 turnovers a game, the 9th highest in the nation. Astonishingly, they force more turnovers on the road than at home. When they visit opponents they average 17 a game.
The Johnnies are also lockdown one-on-one defenders. Five of their players average 1.3 steals a game or more and the biggest offensive threats they have faced this season(Villanova’s Eric Dixon and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner) have scored less than 20 all four times they have played them.
The Offensive Prowess Of RJ Luis Jr.
The Red Storm also have a formidable offense; They score nearly 80 points a game led by guard RJ Luis Jr. who averages 17.6 PPG.
RJ Luis Jr. has been the driving force for this St. John’s offense this season and is putting up career high numbers in PPG, RPG, APG and more. Going back to last season, college basketball fans saw the moment Luis Jr. recognized his impact on the game and took everything about himself to the next level.
It was before the Big East Conference semifinal game, Luis had been hurt but came back early from injury to play in the game versus Seton Hall where he would hit a buzzer-beater, game-winner to send the Johnnie’s to their conference’s championship game.
When asked about when RJ Luis Jr. decided to come back Coach Pitino said this, “Just this week. He came to me and said, Coach, this is the important time. This is March, and I need to practice.
I said, well, how are you feeling?
He said, doesn’t matter. I need to practice. If he plays like that going forward, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
Well the Red Storm have certainly been hard to beat this season. St. John’s has lost four games by a combined total of seven points so far here in 2024-2025 and are 15-0 at home.
Interestingly enough, it’s not just the Queens, NY community coming to support the Johnnie’s this season. That’s because their home turf has transitioned to one of the most iconic places to play basketball in the entire world…
St. John’s Home Game Predicament
The team’s basketball stadium, Carnesecca Arena, was remodeled in 2023 but only sits 5,602 people. With St. John’s success gaining national attention, there aren’t enough seats to go around. So what does the university do? The move certain home games to “The World’s Most Famous Arena:” Madison Square Garden.
The school has played eight games at MSG this season with another coming on March 1st. St. John’s has had this issue before and responded the same way but this will be the most games the Red Storm has played at The Garden in a single season in school history.
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