Rubber meets the road for St. John’s on Saturday. Coming off a predictable 34-point rout of Quinnipiac on Monday, the Red Storm tip off their first of several high-caliber battles on their non-conference
slate when they face the No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide at Madison Square Garden.
The Johnnies are looking for their first win over a ranked opponent in non-conference play since December 21, 2019, when they beat No. 16 Arizona in San Francisco.
Game information
Who: No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm (1-0) vs. No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0)
When: Saturday, November 9, 2025, 12:00 p.m.
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV: FS1
Radio: ESPN New York 880 / 1050
Series History: Series is tied, 2-2, with St. John’s winning both regular season meetings and Alabama winning both postseason meetings. Alabama won its last meeting versus St. John’s in the second round of the 1982 NCAA Tournament, narrowly defeating a freshman Chris Mullin and the Johnnies, 69-68.
KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win 87-81 (69 percent to win)
Injury news
Dylan Darling is questionable to play on Saturday due to a calf strain he suffered during Monday’s season opener versus Quinnipiac and has been wearing a walking boot. Rick Pitino told the media that Darling would attempt to practice on Friday, but the Idaho State transfer is “50/50” on playing.
What to watch for in the Storm
St. John’s will need a dependable playmaker in case Dylan Darling cannot play, or most likely only plays limited minutes, given what we know about calf injuries. Darling led the team in assists in their 108-74 win over Quinnipiac with six dimes on only one turnover, so it’s incumbent that someone steps up to move the ball effectively like Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, or even Ian Jackson, if he presents himself as a ball-mover.
Speaking of Oziyah Sellers, the senior guard needs to begin displaying his clinical perimeter scoring touch that he showed at Stanford. Yes, he has only played in two exhibitions and a regular season game, but the sharpshooter hasn’t made a three yet. If Sellers can hit an early triple or two, he can establish himself as an outside threat and open up the floor for the Johnnies and start building that scoring rhythm that many expect from him.
The guards will also need to stay out of foul trouble. Ian Jackson, Joson Sanon, and Dylan Darling each picked up three fouls while playing less than twenty minutes in the season opener. In the exhibition against Michigan, Jackson, Sanon, and Sellers all struggled to stay on the court after picking up fouls.
Scouting the Crimson Tide
The post-Mark Sears era begins in Tuscaloosa. The two-time consensus All-American was critical in Alabama securing 25 or more wins a season, two Elite Eight appearances, championships for the SEC regular season and tournament, and the program’s first-ever Final Four across three years with the Crimson Tide.
Alabama might not eclipse the heights of the Sears years with an array of talented freshmen and reclamation candidates from the transfer portal, but they should have the talent necessary to flourish in Nate Oats’s up-tempo, deep-range-focused offensive scheme and compete in the top four of the SEC.
Sophomore starlet Labaron Philon will be looked upon to fill Sears’s gargantuan shoes. A former top-40 recruit in high school, the Mobile native stayed in his home state and impressed as a playmaker.
Across 37 games, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 45.2% from the field, 31.5% from deep, and 76.7% from free throws, earning a spot on the conference’s All-Freshman team. Notably, he shot 54.2% from inside the arc, which is incredible for a freshman combo guard, and he should have more room to grow as an outside scorer.
This Monday, he scored a team-high 22 points and dished out eight assists in Alabama’s season-opening win over North Dakota, but gave up four turnovers.
Philon is one of multiple Crimson Tide guards who can score in bunches. Returning guards Latrell Wrightsell and Aden Holloway are proven three-point threats who each shot 41 percent or better from deep last season and provide solid secondary playmaking. Wrightsell was averaging 11.5 points on 50% shooting from the field and 42.2% from deep before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury after eight games. Holloway was a tick behind, averaging 11.4 points while shooting 41.2% from three as the Tide’s sixth man.
Houston Mallette is another sharpshooting guard who is hoping for a better and healthier 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard transferred from Pepperdine before the start of last season, but was buried in the rotation and missed most of the season due to knee injuries. In his last healthy season, Mallette averaged 14.7 points and 2.4 assists while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 41.5% from deep in the 2023-24 season.
The Crimson Tide’s starting frontcourt can also stretch the floor as three-point shooters, but they lack the experience that the departing Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi had. Returning sophomore Aiden Sherrell (3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 2024-25) was an efficient post-scorer and rebounder in the limited minutes he played, but could he continue that performance in a bigger role?
Out of the transfer portal for the Crimson Tide come Taylor Bol Bowen from Florida State and Noah Williamson from Bucknell. Bol Bowen is a rangy and mobile stretch four who provides rim protection after averaging 1.5 blocks per game as a nightly starter for the Seminoles. Williamson was the Patriot League Player of the Year, leading Bucknell with 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, but it remains to be seen if he can adapt to making the jump to the power-conference level.
Their freshman class all bring exciting scoring potential, length, and athleticism to the table, and they each showed flashes of brilliance in their college debuts versus North Dakota. 6-foot-8 forwards Amari Allen and London Jemison each registered 12 points, with Allen doing a little bit of everything as the opening night starter. Davion Hannah could develop into a matchup problem as a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, having scored nine points off the bench and producing an eyebrow-raising posterizer.
Alabama does come into the Garden pretty banged up. Former five-star guard Jalil Bethea was expected to play a major role entering this season, but the sophomore underwent toe surgery in September, and there is no timetable for his return. Only nine scholarship players were available during Monday’s season opener, among them were Wrightsell and Holloway, but the guard tandem will likely play after participating in Friday’s practice. Keitenn Bristow has been ruled out for a second-straight game, shrinking an already-questionable frontcourt rotation.
Keys to the game
Keep Philon in check – If Wrightsell and/or Holloway cannot play on Saturday, a lot of the offensive burden will be placed on Labaron Philon. The Red Storm defense needs to make someone else try to beat them, not the preseason All-SEC First Teamer.
Protect the perimeter – It’s a given that Alabama will take a ton of threes on Saturday. Jackson, Darling, Sanon, and Sellers must stay tight on their assignments, or at least run them off the three-point line.
Capitalize on turnovers – One of the few knocks on the Crimson Tide in their opening night win over North Dakota was that they were not secure with the ball, giving up 15 turnovers to North Dakota’s ten giveaways. When we last saw St. John’s face a power-conference team, at least in preseason play, they weren’t able to take advantage of Michigan’s 22 turnovers and build a strong lead. The Johnnies must make Alabama pay if they begin coughing up the ball by converting on their extra possessions.
Prediction
Even if Alabama is at full strength, St. John’s should still be the favorites to win on Saturday, but it won’t be a given against one of the best tactical coaches in the country and a young Crimson Tide team chock-full of scoring potential.
Nate Oats’s squad will enjoy one or two big scoring runs thanks to their three-point marksmanship, but St. John’s should be able to ride the waves (or the tides) and finish in the clutch with Hopkins, Ejiofor, and Mitchell taking turns exploiting an inexperienced Alabama frontcourt. St. John’s wins, 85-80.
