Coming out of a humiliating defeat against Alabama in which they gave up the most points in a game since Rick Pitino was hired, St. John’s doesn’t look like the top-five team they were picked for in the preseason. The Red Storm have shown flashes of their steep ceiling, but they are not where they want to be, given the overwhelming offseason expectations surrounding the program.
Unfortunately for the Johnnies, they won’t get the chance to present a compelling counterargument that they belong with the best teams in the country until they compete in the Players’ Era Festival in ten days. In the meantime, it’ll be about developing chemistry in practice, ironing out the imperfections exposed against the Crimson Tide and taking care of business against a mid-major competition at home, starting Saturday against the William & Mary Pride.
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Game information
WHO: No. 13 St. John’s Red Storm (1-1) vs. William & Mary Pride (2-1)
When: Saturday November 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Or: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York
TV: truTV
Radio: ESPN New York 880/1050
History of the series: St. John’s leads the all-time series, 3-0. The Red Storm won their last meeting with the Pride in their first game of the 2011-12 season on November 7, 2011, 74-59. A month before he announced his mid-season transfersophomore Nurideen Lindsey led the Johnnies with 19 points on opening night. Freshmen Moe Harkless, God’sgift Achiuwa and D’Angelo Harrison scored in double figures in their varsity debuts.
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KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s will win 98-75 (98 percent chance of victory)
Injury News
Dylan Darling (calf) will play in Saturday’s game against William & Mary and is “100%”according to Rick Pitino. Darling missed last Saturday’s game against Alabama with a calf strain, an injury he suffered late in the Red Storm’s season opener against Quinnipiac.
Things to watch out for during the storm
Rick Pitinoold media during Friday availability that he wanted Oziyah Sellers to attempt more three-pointers after the Stanford transfer took just three deep shots so far this season, making none, but it’s not just Sellers who needs to take more threes. St. John’s has the 14th lowest three-point attempt rate in the country (27.3 percent of attempts), although it has made 38.9 percent from three through two games. Yes, the Red Storm have shown they can rely on their frontcourt to generate points inside, but the Johnnies should take a cue from Pitino’s three-point revolution at Kentucky in the early ’90s and venture more outside the arc. After all, three is a bigger number than two.
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Much has been made of their perimeter defense, but St. John’s also needs to clean up its half-court offense when the game slows down. After taking a one-point lead with just over six minutes remaining against Alabama on Saturday, they went scoreless on the field for more than five minutes. This drought was not the result of their point guard’s highly scrutinized situation, but rather was largely a result of poor shot selection. It’s encouraging to see the backcourt playing aggressively with the game on the line, but they wasted a golden opportunity to steal a game they were dominated in because they rushed their offense.
In search of pride
Founding member of I was never part of the Tournament ClubWilliam and Mary are as quick as a hiccup. According to KenPom, they are two spots ahead of St. John’s with the sixth-fastest adjusted pace in the country at 75.8 possessions per 40 minutes. Second-year head coach Brian Earl has pulled the speedometer to the right over the past four seasons, with his teams ranking in the top 25 in KenPom tempo. Conversely, he recorded a winning record in each of those four seasons.
Bill and Mary’s blazing speed has already scared off a more talented team this week. Richmond sweated a 90-86 victory over the Pride on Tuesday night, even though they were separated by 100 spots at KenPom at the time of the announcement.
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Creating a dynamic offense won’t be a big hurdle for William & Mary to overcome, but the main concern for the Pride is the need to improve its 298th-ranked defense from the previous season. They’re only a little better at 279th so far this season, but that won’t be enough if they want to compete for a CAA title.
Leading the Pride’s fast-paced offense is senior guard Chase Lowe, who impacts games with his old-school playmaking ability and 6-foot-5 frame, allowing him to crash the boards and disrupt guards at the point of attack. After ranking second in the CAA in assist rate last season (29.1%), Lowe is dishing out more frequently to his teammates through three games with a dime rate of 39.7% this year. The fourth-year veteran isn’t a three-point threat, having only attempted eight triples in his entire college career.
His backcourt teammate, Kyle Pulliam, is also 6-foot-5, but serves as a powerful sharpshooting guard. Pulliam led all returning Pride players with 9.9 points per game a season ago, scoring a very good 60.5 percent inside the arc, but a measly 31.3 percent from three from beyond the arc. He looked even better attacking the basket early in the season while remaining a pedestrian three-point threat, making 80 percent of his shots from two and 33.3 percent from deep.
Dartmouth transfer Cade Haskins and sophomore guard Reese Miller open up space as wide-range threats, with Haskins shooting 46.2 percent and Miller hitting 41.7 percent from three so far this year. A season ago, Haskins shot 36.6% from deep on 7.0 attempts per game.
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Starting forwards Kilian Brockhoff and Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi are excellent window cleaners, with Brockhoff averaging 6.7 rebounds and Fasasi grabbing 5.0 rebounds to lead the team. The frontcourt transfer duo has tried to spread the floor like Haskins and Miller, but they have yet to come together for the bigs. Both players attempt 3.7 or more threes per game, but each shoot 18.2 percent or less from downtown. Head coach Brian Earl probably hopes this is just a small sample size.
The keys to the game
Don’t be afraid of the rhythm – Yes, William & Mary is a very fast team, but St. John’s should be significantly better in a track and field meet than the Pride. Scan the field and the best team will emerge.
Take control early – William and Mary’s speed and focus on three-point shooting should give them a fighting chance against the Red Storm, but their fluffy defense begs to be exploited. If St. John’s gets into the offensive flow to open the game, they should have no problem taking the lead.
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Win the board battle – The Pride can hold their own on the boards, but it shouldn’t be a competition against the overwhelming physicality of the Red Storm in the frontcourt. Take care of the defensive glass, generate second chance opportunities on the ball, and win those 50/50 balls.
Prediction
St. John’s is still breaking its bad habit of starting slowly in these early-season weekend games against mid-majors at Carnesecca Arena. William & Mary is unlikely to be in the lead after the first or even second media timeout, but the Red Storm’s athleticism and size should wear down the Pride sooner rather than later in Saturday’s game. St. John’s wins, 91-67.
