The St. John’s men’s basketball team unveiled its full 31-game regular season schedule for the 2026-27 season on Monday, which features at least a dozen regular season home games at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off times and broadcast information have not been announced yet.
For the first time in program history, the Red Storm are set to play all of their Big East conference home games at the Mecca. The Johnnies will play at most five games on campus at Carnesecca Arena; all of those contests are non-conference
matchups against mid-major opposition, including their season opener against Monmouth on Monday, November 2. They have yet to announce a date for their contest against Iona, which is likely to be played at Madison Square Garden.
The Johnnies are participating in the Players’ Era Festival for the second straight season. Unlike last season’s chaotic format, they will now play at least three games in a 16-team tournament known as the “Players Era 16”. They begin their Las Vegas excursion with a matchup against Oregon on Tuesday, November 24. They will face either Rick Pitino’s former team Louisville or Texas Tech on Thanksgiving, then play one of Tennessee, Maryland, San Diego State, or Iowa State on Black Friday. If they advance to the championship game and play a fourth contest in Sin City, they will cancel a non-conference game against Columbia that was scheduled for Tuesday, December 1.
St. John’s’ non-conference slate features contests at the World’s Most Famous Arena against Syracuse on Sunday, November 15, and Arizona on Saturday, December 5. The Red Storm’s battle with the Orange will be their first in four years and their first meeting at Madison Square Garden since 2015. The Johnnies have a 41-51 record against their former Big East rival, but they have won their last four meetings.
As for Arizona, it would only be the Johnnies’ third all-time meeting against the Big 12 powerhouse. St. John’s defeated the then-No. 16 Wildcats out in San Francisco on December 21, 2019, which marks the last time the Johnnies defeated a ranked non-conference opponent.
One week after taking on a likely-ranked Arizona team, St. John’s are going to fly down south and complete the second leg of their home-and-home series with Alabama in Birmingham on Saturday, December 12. The Red Storm suffered a 103-96 loss against the Crimson Tide in a matchup of top-15 teams at the Garden last season.
The two-time defending Big East champions begin their title defense against DePaul on Saturday, December 19. This will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Red Storm open conference play at home against the Blue Demons, and the first time they face off at the Garden since the 2019-20 season.
St. John’s will then be tested with three straight road contests following their conference opener, starting in Newark against Seton Hall on Wednesday, December 23, then a matchup against Providence inside the hornets’ nest known as Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday, December 30, and closing with a trip to Indianapolis to face Butler on Sunday, January 3.
Remarkably for a second straight season, bitter rivals St. John’s and UConn are not going to face each other in a weekend contest. The Johnnies will first face the Huskies on Friday, January 29, at Madison Square Garden in what is almost certainly a nationally televised game, then close their Big East regular season in Connecticut on Tuesday, March 2. Including the 2026 Big East Tournament championship game, the Red Storm have won five of their last six meetings against the Huskies.
Almost all of the Red Storm’s marquee home conference matchups are scheduled in the middle of the week, including Georgetown (Wed., January 6), Providence (Wed., January 13), and Villanova (Tues., February 23). Their only home weekend games are against Seton Hall (Sat., January 23), Xavier (Sat., February 13), and Butler (Sat., February 27).
Heading into Rick Pitino’s fourth season at the helm, the Red Storm are hoping to win their third consecutive Big East regular season and tournament titles, which, barring any eligibility snags, will feature an experienced and uber-talented squad that includes Tounde Yessoufou, Keyshawn Hall, Quinn Ellis, Ian Jackson, Ruben Prey, Babacar Sane, and Reed Bailey.
