At last, the St. John's basketball team returns to the court on Thursday night for an exhibition matchup against Rutgers, which was ranked No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press Top-25.
The Red Storm just missed getting a number next to its name at No. 27.
Regardless of the high expectations for both teams entering the season, each head coach gets his first look at the squads and what needs improvement before the regular season begins on November 4.
Rick Pitino will have the comfort of his entire roster being available to him in Piscataway after Utah transfer Deivon Smith returned after missing three days of practice last week due to a shoulder injury, which required a cortisone shot.
Pitino revealed on Tuesday at St. John's media day that RJ Luis and North Texas transfer Aaron Scott had missed time with concussions but have been cleared and are expected to play.
"Thursday is a big day for us to see where we're at," Pitino said. "We're playing a Top-25 team, and what we wanted to do is raise a lot of money for Dick Vitale's Cancer Research for children."
The hype surrounding the exhibition is even greater on the Rutgers side as its fans get to see 5-star freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, both of whom are projected to be Top-10 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.
"There's no better place than to play a sold-out place on the road to get ready for a season because Rutgers has a very distinct and strong home-court advantage," Pitino continued.
"Going on the road right away tells you about your team. It tells you who’s mentally tough, who’s physically tough and who’s ready for the likes of Baylor and Tennessee and an opening game with Fordham and Georgia and teams like that as you segue into the Big East.”
Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET inside Jersey Mike's Arena and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.