Any time St. John’s and Syracuse meet in a post-old Big East world, it’s a special occasion. The Red Storm and the Orange are set to face off for the first time in four years and inside Madison Square Garden for the first time in 11 years this weekend.
These two old conference rivals will meet for the 93rd time in their renowned histories. Although Syracuse holds a 51-41 all-time lead over St. John’s, the Johnnies won the last four matchups dating back to 2014. The last time they did battle, the Red
Storm took down the Orange in a 76-69 overtime dust-up inside Barclays Center in November 2022 behind 23 points from Andre Curbelo. The last time they squared off under the spotlight of the World’s Most Famous Arena, the Johnnies upset an Orange squad that later went to the Final Four, as Federico Mussini, Amar Alibegović, and Durand Johnson buried eleven triples in an 84-72 victory.
On Sunday, the Johnnies hope to win their fifth straight over their intrastate foe and begin a season 4-0 for the second time in the Rick Pitino era (7 p.m., Peacock).
What to watch for in the Storm
Lefty is Loose: It’s been a wild summer for Lefteris Liotopoulos, from recovering from hernia surgery and making a trip into the transfer portal before returning to St. John’s to playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Greek national team. Each of these experiences seems to have impacted the junior guard for the better, who is averaging a career-best 8.7 points off the bench and is off to a 6-of-10 start from three to begin this season. Liotopoulous is also showing strides beyond scoring, as he’s making defensive plays and becoming a better rebounder.
Threes All Around: The Johnnies are shooting the cover off the ball over their last two games. As a unit, they’ve shot 51.9% from the field and 43.1% from three (25-of-58) in blowout wins over Iona and Colgate. It was a collective effort, too, as St. John’s had four players make multiple three-pointers in each contest.
Quinnsanity: Quinn Ellis is making an indispensable impact for St. John’s this season, and the college basketball world is beginning to take notice. Ellis is the Big East’s leader in assists (9.0) and steals (4.0) per game, and he is the only NCAA Division I player since 2005-06 to record seven or more assists, three or more steals, and one or fewer turnovers in three straight contests, per Elias Sports Bureau.
Scouting the Orange
“To go forward, you must go back” could best describe the philosophy St. John’s has adopted to succeed in the modern era of college basketball. In 2023, they hired one of Lou Carnesecca’s old adversaries, Rick Pitino, to free them from two decades of futility, and the results have spoken for themselves.
Syracuse relied on that same line of thinking when picking their next head coach this spring. They turned to Gerry McNamara, the beloved program icon who helped win the team’s only-ever National Championship in 2003 and then coached for 14 years under Jim Boeheim. The Orange hoped he could bring this old basketball powerhouse—decaying in ways not too different from St. John’s—back to life.
While McNamara’s head coaching résumé is a tad short, the early results are promising. At his first coaching job at Siena, he improved their win total from four to 14 in his first season, then won the MAAC (now the Metro) Tournament championship and nearly orchestrated the third-ever 16-over-1 seed upset in NCAA tournament history against Duke in the following season, had the drained Saints starting five that played the entire game not run out of gas.
In year one, “G-Mac” brought a couple of key starters from that Siena squad that almost slayed the giant with him, specifically All-MAAC selection Gavin Doty. Much like Pitino retaining Daniss Jenkins from his Iona stint, McNamara will lean on Doty to carry over the sandpaper-tough identity from their time together with the Saints.
Not only does the 6-foot-5 guard provide great length on the perimeter, but Doty also relishes every little scrap and struggle in a game. So far through three games, Doty is averaging 12.3 points, a team-high 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Expect the upstate New York product to produce hustle plays with regularity on Sunday night.
Doty isn’t the only defensive pest on the Orange. Former Providence and Seton Hall guard Garwey Dual joins his fourth program in four years. The once-upon-a-time Red Storm recruiting target landed with the Orange after a junior year with McNeese in which he averaged 8.4 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
St. John’s fans are familiar enough with Dual to know that while he is a non-factor offensively, the 6-foot-5 guard is a pain-in-the-you-know-what to score against.
The Red Storm will be tested inside by the explosive Sadiq White. The former top-30 recruit boasts a bouncy vertical among his exciting arsenal of physical tools that allows him to be a defensive difference-maker, but the 6-foot-8 forward is still finding his game as a shooter. Through three games, he’s averaging 11.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game on 56.5% shooting and 1-of-5 from three. He’ll be tasked with stopping Keyshawn Hall and contesting drives to the rim by Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou.
White will be backstopped by Appalachian State transfer Luke Wilson. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound center won the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year award after averaging 10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks for the Mountaineers a season ago. Although his rebounding and block rates have dipped over three games, Wilson is providing consistent scoring production with 9.7 points per game on 76.9% shooting. Wilson’s truck-like size could necessitate more minutes for Theo Edema if he can suit up.
One of McNamara’s teammates by the name of Carmelo Anthony is also synonymous with the Syracuse brand. Melo’s son Kiyan hopes to shine the way his father did on the Garden hardwood this Sunday night. The junior Anthony didn’t live up to his four-star recruiting pedigree as a freshman, posting 8.0 points on shooting splits of 39.9% from the field, 25.4% from three, and 62.8% on free throws. The 6-foot-5 guard is hoping to round into a more complete and consistent player as a sophomore.
So far in his second year, Anthony has taken charge of the Syracuse offense after anticipated first-option Temple transfer Aiden Tobiason started the season with a hamstring injury. He’s averaging a team-high 15.7 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds on 48.4% from the field, 35.7% from three, and 85.7% from the charity stripe in three games off the bench.
Anthony is sure to receive a warm reception from the traveling Syracuse supporters and some St. John’s fans who support a different kind of orange and blue. Still, it remains to be seen if he can put on a strong outing befitting of his last name at Madison Square Garden.
Other names to know are freshmen Mark Morano and Ryan Moesch. Morano, a 6-foot-6 wing from Slovenia, is Syracuse’s surest outside threat to start this season, hitting 8-of-18 from deep. Moesch, a four-star recruit who originally committed to Siena before following McNamara to the Salt City, enjoyed a mini-breakout against Indiana earlier this week. The 6-foot guard scored a team-high 19 points, gave out six assists, and recorded two steals off the bench.
Keys to the game
Clamp Kiyan: Kiyan Anthony’s shot selection is questionable, at best. It’ll be key for St. John’s to force Anthony into bad shots and keep the microwave shooter from finding his confidence early.
Squeeze the Orange: Syracuse hasn’t given up the ball this season—their 12.4% turnover rate ranks 17th in the country—but they haven’t faced a defense that’s truly challenged them with pressure. St. John’s must make Syracuse feel uncomfortable from the opening tip, or else this could be a much closer game than the Red Storm would hope.
Win the War Inside: Ruben Prey recovered nicely in his most recent game with an 11-point, 8-rebound showing against Colgate, but the learning curve at the center spot is about to steepen for the first time this season. Wilson and White aren’t going to be in the top five toughest frontcourts he faces by season’s end, so he’ll need to stand up strong and prove he can be the starter that Red Storm can be confident in.
Prediction
Without Aiden Tobiason, Syracuse doesn’t have the offensive firepower to get in a shootout with St. John’s, so their chances of an upset hinge on a brutal shooting night for the Red Storm. Unfortunately for the Orange, the Johnnies are rolling and it doesn’t appear that they’ll be dragged into a rock fight. St. John’s wins, 84-72.
