Coming off a humbling loss to Alabama in which they gave up their most points in a game since Rick Pitino was hired, St. Johns does not look like the top-five team they were picked to be in the preseason. The Red Storm showed flashes of their precipitous ceiling, but they are not where they want to be, given the overwhelming offseason expectations surrounding the program.
Unfortunately for the Johnnies, they wont have the opportunity to make a convincing counterargument that they belong among the nations best teams until they compete in the Players Era Festival ten days from now. In the meantime, it will be all about building chemistry in practice, chiseling down the imperfections exposed against the Crimson Tide, and taking care of business against mid-major competition at home, starting on Saturday against the William & Mary Pride.
Who: No. 13 St. Johns Red Storm (1-1) vs. William & Mary Pride (2-1)
When: Saturday, November 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York
TV: truTV
Radio: ESPN New York 880 / 1050
Series History: St. Johns leads all-time series, 3-0. The Red Storm won their last meeting with the Pride in their season opener of the 2011-12 season on November 7, 2011, 74-59. One month before he announced his mid-season transfer, sophomore Nurideen Lindsey led the Johnnies with 19 points on opening night. Freshmen Moe Harkless, Godsgift Achiuwa, and DAngelo Harrison scored in double figures in their college debuts.
KenPom Predicted Score: St. Johns to win 98-75 (98 percent chance of win)
Dylan Darling (calf) will play in Saturdays game against William & Mary and is at 100%, according to Rick Pitino. Darling missed last Saturdays game against Alabama with a strained calf, an injury he suffered late in the Red Storms season opener versus Quinnipiac.
Rick Pitino told the media during Fridays availability that he wanted Oziyah Sellers to attempt more three-pointers after the Stanford transfer took only three shots from deep so far this season, making none, but its not just Sellers who needs to take more threes. St. Johns has the 14th-lowest three-point attempt rate in the country (27.3% of attempts), even though theyve made 38.9% 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 clue from Pitinos three-point revolution at Kentucky in the early 90s and venture outside of the arc more. Three is a greater number than two, after all.
A lot has been said about their perimeter defense, but St. Johns also needs to clean up their half-court offense when the game slows down. After they took a one-point lead with a little over six minutes remaining against Alabama on Saturday, they went scoreless from the field for over five minutes. That drought was not a result of their much-scrutinized point guard predicament, but rather in large part due to poor shot selection. It is encouraging to see the backcourt playing aggressively with the game in the balance, but they squandered a golden opportunity to steal a game they were getting outplayed in because they rushed their offense.
A charter member of the Never Made The Tournament Club, William & Mary are as quick as a hiccup, and they empty the clip from the perimeter. According to KenPom, they are two spots ahead of St. Johns with the sixth-fastest adjusted tempo in the country of 75.8 possessions per 40 minutes, and also rank sixth nationally in three-point attempt rate (55.2 percent).
Second-year head coach Brian Earl has pulled the speedometer to the right for the past four seasons, with his teams ranking in the top 25 in KenPom tempo. Conversely, hes had a winning record in each of those four seasons.
Bill & Mary already provided a scare for a more talented team this week. Richmond sweated out a 90-86 win against the Pride on Tuesday night, even though they were separated by 100 spots in KenPom at tip-off.
Creating a dynamic offense wont be a tall hurdle for William & Mary to clear, but the main concern facing the Pride is the need to improve on their 298th-ranked defense from a season ago. Theyre only a shade better at 279th so far this season, but that wont cut it if they want to compete for a CAA title.
Leading the Prides pacey attack 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 distributing to his teammates more frequently through three games with a dime rate of 39.7% this year. The fourth-year veteran does not present as a three-point threat, having attempted only eight triples in his entire college career.
Backcourt mate Kyle Pulliam also stands at 6-foot-5, but serves as a potent slashing guard. Pulliam led all returning players on the Pride with 9.9 points per game one season ago, scoring a very good 60.5% from inside the arc, but a meager 31.3% from three beyond the arc. Hes looked even better attacking the basket early this season while remaining a pedestrian three-point threat, making 80% of his shots from two and 33.3% from deep.
Dartmouth transfer Cade Haskins and sophomore guard Reese Miller open space as deep-range threats, with Haskins hitting 46.2% and Miller hitting 41.7% of threes so far this year. A season ago, Haskins shot 36.6% from deep on 7.0 attempts per game.
Starting forwards Kilian Brockhoff and Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi are fine glass cleaners, with Brockhoff averaging 6.7 rebounds and Fasasi pulling down 5.0 rebounds to lead the team. The transfer frontcourt pairing has tried to stretch the floor like Haskins and Miller, but it hasnt come together for the bigs yet. Both players are attempting 3.7 or more threes a game, but are each shooting 18.2 percent or worse from downtown. Head coach Brian Earl is probably hoping this is nothing more than a small sample size.
Dont shy away from the pace Yes, William & Mary is a very fast team, but St. Johns should be decisively better in a track meet than the Pride. Run the floor, and the better team will emerge.
Get control early William & Marys speed and focus on three-point shooting should give them a fighting chance against the Red Storm, but their pillow-soft defense is begging to be exploited. If St. Johns enters the offensive flow to open the game, they should have no issue pulling ahead.
Win the board battle The Pride can hold their own on the boards, but this shouldnt be a contest against the Red Storms overwhelming physicality in the frontcourt. Take care of the defensive glass, generate second-chance opportunities on the ball, and win those 50/50 balls.
St. Johns is still getting out of their bad habit of starting slow in these early-season weekend games against mid-majors at Carnesecca Arena. Theres the slim chance that William & Mary is in the lead after the first or even second media timeout, but the Red Storms athleticism and size should wear down the Pride sooner rather than later in Saturdays game. St. Johns wins, 91-67.