Hofstra, St. John’s Meet For First Time Since 2009

Rick Pitino, Head Coach of St. John’s Red Storm Men’s Basketball joins NYSE Floor Talk

A lot has changed for St. John’s since the arrival of Rick Pitino in March — including the Red Storm’s willingness to play Hofstra.

A local rivalry will resume on Saturday afternoon when St. John’s is slated to play Hofstra in Elmont, N.Y. Both teams are returning from a lengthy Christmas break.

St. John’s hasn’t played since Dec. 23, when the visiting Red Storm squandered an eight-point, second-half lead in a 69-65 loss against then-No. 5 UConn. Hofstra finished its pre-holiday schedule on Dec. 21 with a 74-56 setback at UNLV.

Despite the loss, St. John’s (8-4) continued its strong play — especially on defense — against UConn, which shot 42.9 percent overall and 27.8 percent from 3-point land (5 of 18).

“We had this game, we should’ve won it, but we are growing,” Pitino said following the loss to the Huskies. “Three weeks ago, (UConn) would’ve won by 25 today.”

Joel Soriano leads the Red Storm with 17.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Hofstra (7-5) continued a road-heavy December against UNLV, which led 36-24 at the half before the Pride exited the locker room on a 16-2 run to take their lone lead with 15:26 left. But the visitors missed six of their next eight shots, a span in which they committed three turnovers.

“We had a couple bad possessions where we missed some wide-open shots, then we had some costly turnovers in that time frame, kind of cost us the game,” Hofstra coach Speedy Claxton said.

Tyler Thomas is averaging 22.1 points per game for Hofstra, which was picked to finish fourth in the 14-team Coastal Athletic Conference after winning the regular season title last year and upsetting Rutgers in the first round of the NIT.

The game Saturday will be the first between the New York-area schools since Dec. 20, 2009, when St. John’s earned a 72-60 victory at Madison Square Garden.

The Pride will be the fourth local non-conference foe for the Red Storm, who earlier beat Stony Brook, Sacred Heart, and Fordham.

“That’s a great thing, to play Hofstra, to play Fordham, play those type teams,” Pitino said. “Look, when you play Iona, you play Fordham, you can lose to those teams. They’re every bit as good. We know that. But that’s OK. We want to play good teams.”

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The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.
Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.
As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.
Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.
The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.
The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.
The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.
Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.
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Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.
During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.
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In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.
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Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.
At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.
She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).
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