The St. John’s basketball team will honor a previously scheduled non-conference game.
In the summer St. John’s had agreed to host Sacred Heart at Carnesecca Arena this season, but that game was in serious doubt after the NCAA had pushed back the start of the 2020-21 season to November 25 and talk about bubbles had emerged around the country.
The Red Storm opted out of the Orlando bubble where the program was scheduled to play in the Preseason NIT over concerns regarding COVID-19 protocols.
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Instead of making the trip to Florida, the Johnnies are hosting its own multi-team event (MTE) in Queens along with La Salle, Manhattan, and Bryant, where the Red Storm will play each team in the event.
Like Sacred Heart, St. John’s had agreed to play a non-conference game against La Salle on campus this year and that game will be carried out thanks to the MTE.
However, the Red Storm and Pioneers will be playing this season in Queens, according to a report from Dan Gardella of TheSpectrumSHU, the student newspaper of Sacred Heart University.
No date has been announced for the matchup, but Sacred Heart does have a daunting non-conference slate of games as Gardella reports that the Pioneers will be traveling to Connecticut, Rutgers, and St. John’s this year.
Sacred Heart has three high major games scheduled as of now: UConn, Rutgers, & St. John’s, Anthony Latina tells me.
— Dan Gardella (@DanGardella) October 6, 2020
No contracts have been signed yet. They are waiting on the NEC’s ruling on when conference play starts. @NYPost_Brazille @DaveBorges @MattNorlander @John_Fanta
St. John’s and Sacred Heart have played four times the history of both programs and the Johnnies are 4-0 against the Pioneers with the latest victory coming in 2018 where the Red Storm came away with a 104-82 victory.
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The Johnnies also agreed to host NJIT during the non-conference slate of games in the summer, but there has been no update on that game considering the constant changing schedules around the country.
However, do not be surprised if the Red Storm end up playing Highlanders as the program wants to play as many local teams as possible this season.
In addition to its MTE, the Red Storm are also slated to make the trip to Texas to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big East vs. Big 12 Challenge.
ALSO READ: St. John’s reportedly to host MTE to begin 2020-21 season
As the NCAA is only allowing teams to play in seven non-conference games this season, head coach Mike Anderson and the Red Storm still have two open slots to play before Big East play comes around, which a handful of games are likely to be played in early-to-mid December.