Welcome to the thread for Saturday’s St. John’s men’s basketball matchup against Villanova. Please be respectful in the comment section and do not share any illegal streams of the game.
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Game information
Who: No. 15 St. John’s Red Storm (22-6, 15-2 Big East) vs. Villanova Wildcats (22-6, 13-4 Big East)
When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV: FOX
Radio: ESPN New York 880 / 1050
Series History: The all-time series is tied, 67-67. St. John’s has won four of the last five meetings and are looking for their second season sweep of Villanova in the last three seasons.
KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win, 75-71 (66% chance of St. John’s win)
Injury news
There are no injury news to report for Saturday’s game.
What to watch for
Menace the Apprentice: It’s no secret that Rick Pitino does incredibly well against his former assistants, holding a record of 46-14 (.767) in games against his former proteges. He’s an even better 7-1 (.875) against Kevin Willard, who worked under Pitino with the Boston Celtics and Louisville.
Post Problems: St. John’s might find their best success against Villanova by breaking them down inside the paint. The Wildcats’ starting frontcourt of Duke Brennan and Matthew Hodge couldn’t match up well against Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, and Bryce Hopkins and fell were in foul trouble when they last met the Red Storm. Mitchell has averaged 3.0 points on 22.6% shooting in his last five games, but he had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double against ‘Nova on January 17. Saturday night’s game stands as a great opportunity for him to find his form again.
On Jo Mode: During Friday’s media availability, Rick Pitino said he wants to see more out of Joson Sanon. The sophomore from Massachusetts still hasn’t enjoyed a scorching hot streak like he did as a freshman at Arizona State, only shooting 35.1% from the field and 35.7% from three. Sanon did score in double-figures for the first time in six games during the Red Storm’s blowout defeat to UConn, but he shot 3-of-10 in the loss.
Pregame links
- How St. John’s men’s basketball responds to rancid UConn loss will define their season
- Matt Lukoskie from our sister blog previewed Saturday’s game from Villanova’s perspective
- Rick Pitino isn’t mincing words about St. John’s matchup with Villanova: ‘Most important game’ — Zach Braziller, New York Post
- Pitino also stated during Friday’s media availability that he wants St. John’s to stop taking “Joson shots”, or in other words, difficult two-point jumpers
- And the Hall of Famer said he won’t wear his trademark white suit for Saturday night’s “White Out” game, which likely means he will.
- Kevin Willard suits Villanova fine in 1st season on the bench. The Wildcats are winners again. — Dave Gelston, Associated Press
