On Thursday, the Big East schedule was unveiled for the 2018-19 season and we break down the road ahead for the St. John’s Red Storm.
The full Big East men’s basketball schedule was released on Thursday afternoon as the St. John’s Red Storm get set for the 2018-19 season that will be filled with NCAA Tournament aspirations. You can check out the full schedule here.
There isn’t much intrigue with the schedule because each team in the conference plays each other twice. With that being said, the order of the games and when they are on TV is always the fun part about these releases.
The Red Storm will open Big East play on December 29 at the Prudential Center when they face Seton Hall (8:30 pm, FS1). Seton Hall does lose most of its core from last season, but this is a good local rivalry to get the Big East slate underway.
January will not be an easy month for Chris Mullin’s team. They play four of seven games on the road including a trip to Villanova to play the reigning national champs on January 8 (7 pm, FS1).
In January, their home opener is at Carnesecca Arena against Marquette (January 1, 7 pm, FS1) and they will have both meetings against Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas (January 5, 1 pm in D.C. on CBS and January 27, 12 pm, at MSG on FOX). St. John’s played Georgetown three times last year and their only win against them came in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
February brings a lot more home cooking for St. John’s. They will play five of their eight games in that month at home. This includes a game against Villanova (February 17, 5 pm at MSG on FS1) and against Seton Hall (February 23, 8 pm, FS1). Also, they add an extra game at Madison Square Garden when they host Providence on February 9 (12 pm, CBS Sports Network).
The season will wrap up with two road games in March against DePaul (March 3, 12 pm, FS1) and Xavier (March 9). That March 9 game is the final day of the season and the Red Storm will play Xavier twice in the final three games. With the Musketeers having a new coach (Travis Steele), those games might be the good way to end the year heading into the conference tournament.
For St. John’s, early success in Big East play is going to be imperative, especially after they lost their first 11 games in the league a year ago. Marquette is expected to be a good team so Carnesecca Arena should be a packed house on New Year’s Day. Plus, don’t sleep on Butler coming to Carnesecca on February 12 (8:30 pm, CBS Sports Network). The Red Storm beat Butler last year at home and the Bulldogs are expected to be near the top of the league.
With the lack of key non-conference games outside of Duke on February 2 (12 pm, ESPN at Cameron Indoor Stadium), St. John’s will need to bulk their NCAA Tournament resume up in the league. With Shamorie Ponds leading the way, the March Madness goal is definitely realistic.
