QUEENS, NY – The St. John’s men’s basketball team will visit No. 25 Rutgers on Thursday during a charity exhibition in support of the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund and the V Foundation.

Tip-off from Jersey Mike’s Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Big Ten Network will carry the preseason matchup with Andy Katz and Austin Johnson on the call from Piscataway, NJ

Fresh off a 20-win season, St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitinowho enters his 37^e season at the helm of a Division I program, will build on a successful 2023-2024 campaign that saw Johnnies reach the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2000. Pitino, the winningest active coach in Division I, led the Red Storm to 11 wins in BIG EAST play, which is the program’s most since the 2010-11 season.

For the second time in as many years, St. John’s received votes in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Top 25 poll. The Johnnies collected 91 votes, the second most among teams outside the Top 25. St. John’s was also one of six teams from the BIG EAST to receive votes.

St. John’s ranks No. 19 in KenPom.com’s ratings for the 2024-2025 campaign, the second-highest mark for the program since the rankings were created before the 1997 season. Only the 1999-2000 team had a higher rating to enter the season at No. 7 before advancing to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

St. John’s will compete in a charity exhibition game with the Scarlet Knights for the second straight season. Last season, the Johnnies defeated Rutgers in a double-overtime thriller during the preseason, raising significant funds for the V Foundation’s Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund. Nahiem Alleynewho buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force the second overtime, led the Red Storm by 19 points en route to an 89-78 win on Oct. 21, 2023, in Queens.

The Red Storm welcomes back Zuby Ejiofor, RJ Luis Jr., Simeon Wilcher, Brady Dunlap And Sadiku Ibine Ayo. Ejiofor, who has been named the team’s co-captain for the upcoming season, is entering his second season with the Red Storm after coming to Queens from Kansas. Ejiofor played in all 33 games last season, averaging 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

Luis is the leading scorer and rebounder from a season ago, with 10.9 points and 4.6 boards to go with just over one steal per game. The Miami, Florida, native scored a season-best 20 points against then-No. 17/18 Marquette. Wilcher is also entering his second campaign with the Johnnies, as the New Jersey product posted 2.8 points and just over an assist in 9.1 minutes per game. Dunlap made 25 appearances as a freshman last season, playing 12.4 minutes per game, while Ibine Ayo missed most of the year due to injury.

With five players – Joel Soriano (14.9 ppm), Daniss Jenkins (13.8ppm), Jordan Dingle (11.6ppm), Chris Ledlum (9.5 ppg) and Naheim Alleyne (6.4 ppg) – graduated and accounted for 69.4 percent of last year’s Red Storm scoring, St. John’s reloaded with the 11^e-best transfer class in the 2024 offseason, according to On3.com.

Former Seton Hall standout and 2024 All-BIG EAST First Team selection Kadary Richmond headlines the incoming transfer class. Averaging 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, the Brooklyn native led the Pirates to an NIT championship in 2024. Richmond led the team during the title run with 13.8 points, 9, 4 boards and 6.4 assists en route to NIT All-Tournament Team honors.

The Johnnies have added another NIT champion to their roster with Aaron Scottwho spent the past three seasons at North Texas. A defensive wing born in Spring, Texas, hit the final shot against Wisconsin in the 2023 NIT semifinals before scoring 14 points in the title game to eliminate UAB. Scott also faced the Red Storm at the Charleston Classic last season, scoring 13 points and pulling down seven boards in a loss to St. John’s on November 16, 2023

As do Scott and Richmond, senior guard Deivon Smith also swapped his opponent colors to join the Red Storm this season. Despite missing the third-place matchup with St. John’s at the Charleston Classic, the Utah transfer turned in a near-historic season with five triple-doubles, tying the NCAA record just once. The Decatur, Georgia, product ended his run with the Utes by logging a pair of triple-doubles in the 2024 NIT Tournament before posting a career-best 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the semifinals against Indiana State.

Former USC big man Vince Iwuchukwu rounds out the Johnnies’ transfer class. The Lagos, Nigeria native, a 7-foot-1 center, played two seasons with the Trojans, averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

The Red Storm’s roster also includes talented freshmen Jaiden Glover, Lefteris Liotopoulos, Khaman Maker And Ruben Prey. Glover, a consensus four-star standout, helped the Patrick School to an 11-0 record with 13.1 points, 4.4 boards and 2.2 assists per game over the last 10 contests. Maker, a 7-foot-1 center, also shined nationally during the Nike EYBL Peach Jam with 2.7 blocks per game while averaging 8.4 boards and 6.3 points with the Oakland Soldiers.

Liotopoulos, from Thessaloniki, Greece, and Prey, from Lisbon, Portugal, have traveled a combined 8,300 miles to play for St. John’s this season. The duo excelled at international level, both playing for their national teams. Liotopoulos appeared in seven games for the U18 Greek national team, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Prey played a total of 18 international matches for Team Portugal. The 6-foot-1 forward starred at the 2022 U20 FIBA ​​European Championships with 16.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game over seven games.

Rutgers posted a 15-17 overall record during the 2023-24 season. However, according to On3.com, the Scarlet Knights enter the upcoming season with the sixth-best recruiting class. With five top 150 recruits, McDonald’s All-Americans Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper headline the class and will look to make an immediate impact for the Scarlet Knights. The duo were ranked as the No. 2 and No. 3 incoming freshmen in the country, respectively. Harper was also selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team.

After Thursday’s match, St. John’s will return to the Carnesecca Arena for final tune-up and take on Towson on Saturday, October 26 in a charity exhibition in support of Autism Speaks. The preseason game starts at noon. Click here to buy tickets.