Three things to know about Rick Pitino's St John's squad before Saturday's matchup

Kentucky bounced back in a massive way last Saturday in Rupp Arena with a big 72-60 win over the Indiana Hoosiers, giving them their first win over a power conference team this season after losing their first four quality matchups, all in embarrassing ways. Saturday's win felt different, as the Wildcats welcomed Mo Dioubate back from injury, as well as Jaland Lowe knocking the rust from injury off after returning just days earlier against Gonzaga. Those two were the clear difference makers, and now, Kentucky is mostly healthy once again, but are expected to finally have every scholarship player available, with big man Jayden Quaintance expected to debut on Saturday.

Up next, Kentucky will look to use the big win over Indiana as momentum when they head to Atlanta to face former Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino, who coached Mark Pope in his playing days at Kentucky, and his #22 St. John's team as the two will face off in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday. The Red Storm entered the season a top 10 team, but have had a little bit of a rough start, losing each of their three games against ranked teams so far. Since losing to #21 Auburn right before Thanksgiving, Pitino's squad has picked up three-straight wins as they enter Saturday's game against the Wildcats. They've had similar struggles to Kentucky, losing three of their four games so far against quad 1 teams, and they're looking to prove something on Saturday.

Here's what Kentucky fans need to know about St. John's ahead of the Pope vs. Pitino clash in Atlanta, one that was supposed to be a top 15 matchup coming into the season.

The Red Storm front-court is elite

Dec 6, 2025; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor (24) celebrates in the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Can Kentucky handle the physicality of the St. John's big men? That will be the biggest question surrounding the individual matchups as we enter Saturday's game. Kentucky fans may know one name who is a familir face, former Wildcat Bryce Hopkins. He is the Red Storm's leading scorer at 14.0 points per game, but also offensively, the offense runs through him a lot. Then there's Zuby Ejiofor, who has cemented himself as one of the top defensive players in the country, especially with his blocking numbers this season. The 6-9 big man is 11th in the country in blocks per game, averaging 2.7 per game. Ejiofor is elite at protecting the rim. Kentucky is known for getting their points at the rim, which is how they scored against Indiana. Three-point shooting has been a struggle, but they're going to have to knock down shots to have a better chance at winning against Rick Pitino's physical, tough squad, who will try and force them to shoot. Down low, the Red Storm front court is an absolute force, who they’ll need to keep the ball out of the paint because containing them will be a challenge. The Johnnies are 35th in scoring offense and get the bulk of it from the paint, mainly from their two starting bigs, who are their leading scorers. Oh, and they're also 9th in free throw attempts per game.

This St. John's team is VERY vulnerable to committing turnovers

Nov 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Turnovers is an area of the game that Kentucky could really take advantage of. Following a game where they forced Indiana, a team that takes care of the ball well, to commit a season-high 18 turnovers in which the Wildcats scored 23 points off of, they'll get the opportunity to do that again. It was such a big part in their second-half comeback against the Hoosiers, and that needs to be a main focus coming into this Saturday. St. John's is ranked one of the worst teams in taking care of the ball, as they're 243rd in D1 among steal percentage and 254th in turnovers overall, averaging 13.1 per game. They're a very sloppy team, and that could bode well for Kentucky if they continue that aggressiveness and intensity that we saw against Indiana.

Pitino's squad brings an impactful aggressive defense

Dec 6, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Mississippi Rebels forward Corey Chest (1) and St. John's Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins (23) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

On the other hand, the Red Storm are one of the best at being effective at creating havoc on defense with how aggressive they play. Not only is their frontcourt very physical down low and feature one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball, it's a contagious physicality, as their entire team loves to force teams out of the paint and love to wall-up on the perimeter and trap, so if Kentucky is going to score, three-point shooting will need to be on-point, but they haven't shown any signs of improving that, or get to the rim and create contact to get to the free throw line. Taking care of the ball is massive, because St. John's is 5th nationally in fastbreak points off of that aggressive defense.

Overall, if Kentucky can knock down some threes, which is a big ask right now, and take advantage of St Johns' sloppy offense, while taking care of the ball on their own given the Johnnies' aggressiveness on defense, it will bode very well for Mark Pope against his former coach. If they can get to the free-throw line being aggressive at the rim, that could play in their favor, too, as the Johnnies rank 225th in fouls per game. It's going to be hard to score without drawing fouls given the defensive presence down low. Offense is going to be hard to come by, and that's how Pitino's teams like it, so they're really going to need to impact the game with points off turnovers mostly, and that goes for both sides, really. The turnover battle could decide this one.

Can the student beat the teacher? We shall see in Catlanta on Saturday.