The Red Storm tip off the first of 13 regular-season games at Madison Square Garden against Iona, a team Rick Pitino knows well. Before arriving at St. John’s, the Hall of Fame head coach spent three seasons leading the Gaels from 2020-2023, guiding them to two NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in New Rochelle.
Pitino isn’t the only figure in Sunday afternoon’s game with connections to both schools. Former Red Storm captain Sadiku Ibine Ayo will face St. John’s for the first time since transferring
to Iona this offseason.
The Red Storm lead the all-time series against the Gaels, 8-3, and have won their previous two meetings. In their last matchup last season, the Johnnies cruised to a 91-64 victory inside Madison Square Garden.
What to watch for in the Storm
Got Hall They Need: Keyshawn Hall says scoring comes easy to him. You don’t need to take his word for it, as his stats from Monday night’s opener tell it all. The Auburn transfer had a team-high 26 points (8-of-13 from the field) and was immune from the Red Storm’s shooting inconsistency. He’s going to be St. John’s’ go-to option if they struggle to take the lid off against Iona.
Second Half Slump: St. John’s were never in any danger of losing Monday’s season opener against Monmouth, but they also never turned it into a blowout as they should have. In Quinn Ellis’s eyes, the Red Storm lost concentration and got away from their game. The Red Storm went 35.1% from the field and gave up eight turnovers in the second half.
Ted Talk: Rick Pitino says freshman center Theo Edema will make his college basketball debut versus Iona after he was a surprising DNP in Monday’s game against Monmouth. Although he’s still very raw, Edema brings the physicality St. John’s needs to control the paint. The 6-foot-10 big man had four points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes in the Red Storm’s 87-74 win over Texas in their exhibition finale, including four offensive boards in the second half.
Scouting the Gaels
Second-year head coach Dan Geriot is looking to build off an 18-14 debut campaign with Iona. The Gaels are already 2-0 on the young season after a dramatic last-second victory over Vermont on opening night, then a comprehensive 72-49 blowout of NJIT on Thursday.
The Gaels hope to carry their defense-first blueprint from last year, when they held opponents to a 48.9% effective field goal percentage (64th-best in the country) and 30.6% shooting from three (26th-best in the country).
Drexel transfer Kevon Vanderhorst is the Gaels’ offensive engine. The speedy 6-foot-2 junior guard is averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists over his first two games, shooting 60.9% and going 5-for-10 from three. Vanderhost scored the game-winning coast-to-coast layup with 0.4 seconds remaining in the Gaels’ season opener on Monday, capping off a 27-point night (10-of-15 from the field, 3-of-4 from three).
The inbounder on that play was none other than Sadiku Ibine Ayo, the former two-time captain of the Red Storm. Ibine Ayo is back where his college career began, and he’s now a nightly starter for the first time at the college level. After going scoreless in Monday’s game against Vermont, the 6-foot-6 wing had 10 points and five rebounds in the Gaels’ rout over NJIT. No player will be better prepared to face the Johnnies than the player who spent four years working in Rick Pitino’s system.
Vanderhorst and Ibine Ayo have the support of returning fifth-year shooting guard Kosy Akametu in the backcourt, who brings downhill scoring and a two-way skill set. Akametu began his college career as a minor role player at Santa Clara before transferring to Iona last year and becoming a full-time starter.
The preseason All-Metro First Team guard averaged 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds a season ago, but needs to improve his efficiency after shooting 41.9% from the field and 30.1% from three. So far this year, the 6-foot-5 guard put up 13.0 points per game on 52.2% shooting in his first two games, and he had 18 points (8-of-15 from the field, 2-of-4 from three) in Monday’s win over Vermont.
The Gaels have better frontcourt size than most mid-majors. VCU transfer Keyshawn Mitchell and returning Alliou Fall form a platoon at center, and each player stands 6-foot-10 or taller and has a career offensive rebound percentage better than 11 percent.
Mitchell made only two starts with the Rams last year, averaging 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds, but was an effective big man in his last season as a starter with Bryant back in 2024-25, when he averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds on 52.4% from the field on an NCAA Tournament team. The 6-foot-11 Brooklyn native is already applying pressure on the glass, averaging a team-high 8.0 rebounds across two contests this season.
Fall was an immediate deterrent in the painted area during his freshman year. According to Metro Conference basketball expert Sam Federman, the Gaels only allowed 45.8% shooting at the rim when the Swedish international was on the court. Without him, that number rose to 62%. The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 1.2 blocks and recorded a 6.9% swat rate last year.
Keys to the game
A Full Forty Minutes: St. John’s ravaged Monmouth for the first nine minutes of their season opener, then couldn’t put any more heat on the Hawks for the remainder of the game. The Red Storm need to find an early flow and sustain it throughout Sunday’s contest, which means not forcing shots, letting their offensive sets play out, and opening the game up in transition.
Contain Kevon Vanderhorst: Iona will rely on Vanderhorst to carry their offense, if their first two games are any indication. The Drexel transfer is going to have to put up numbers if he wants to make Sunday’s game interesting, and it’s on Quinn Ellis to keep him in check.
Win the Board Battle: The Gaels can challenge St. John’s inside with their size. Keyshawn Mitchell is as strong on the glass as his 6-foot-11 frame implies. Sunday stands as a great opportunity for Ruben Prey to get off the schneid and beat Mitchell in the post.
Prediction
St. John’s shouldn’t have to worry about any kind of upset on Sunday, but they do need to win convincingly enough to start building momentum. The Johnnies might continue to scuffle through some periods of ugly offense, but Keyshawn Hall and Quinn Ellis will lift them to another stress-free win. The Red Storm win, 82-65.
