How to Watch Ole Miss Basketball vs. Rick Pitino, St. John's Red Storm on Saturday

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Ole Miss men's basketball team will play in one of the most iconic venues of the sport, as they prepare to take on No. 22 St. John's on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m. CT in Madison Square Garden on Peacock.

TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 5-3, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 3rd Season at Ole Miss (49-27) • 286-125 career record (14th Season)

No. 22/23 St. John's Red Storm (Record: 4-3, 0-0 Big East)
Head Coach: Rick Pitino • 3rd Season at St. John's (55-21) • 766-311 career record (38th Season)

ON THE AIR
Television/Online: Peacock
Play-by-Play: John Fanta
Analyst: Donny Marshall
Sideline: Caroline Pineda

OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Gary Darby
Analyst: Murphy Holloway

SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. JOHN'S
Ole Miss has faced off with St. John's once before, matching up in the National Invitation Tournament back in 1989 where the Red Storm took down the Rebels 70-67 in the opening round.

LAST MEETING: March 15, 1989 (L, 67-70, New York, N.Y.)
• Ole Miss led 42-36 at the half, but would fall to an efficient offense by the Red Storm, as they shot 62.5% from the floor, led by eventual first-round NBA Draft pick Jayson Williams.
• Gerald Glass (Ole Miss): 29 points, 11 rebounds.
• Jayson Williams (St. John's): 25 points, 15 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE RED STORM
St. John's holds a record of 4-3 to begin the 2025-26 season, playing one of the tougher non-conference slates in the nation. Their wins have come against Quinnipiac, William & Mary, Bucknell, and Baylor, while they've dropped battles with No. 15 Alabama, No. 13 Iowa State, and No. 21 Auburn. The Red Storm began the season ranked No. 5 in the nation, and have recently been listed at No. 22 in the Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the AP. They enter Saturday's game with a NET Ranking of No. 22.

The Red Storm own one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 92.3 points per game which ranks No. 14 in all of college basketball.

A large portion of their points come from the fastbreak, averaging 22.9 per contest for the fourth-best average in the country; a product of their 15.9 forced turnovers per game which ranks among the top 40.

St. John's also ranks among the top 50 in free throw attempts per game (29.1, No. 10), free throws made per game (20.7, No. 19), offensive rebounds per game (14.6, No. 27), assists per game (18.3, No. 36), bench points per game (33.7, No. 44), and turnover margin (+3.9, No. 47).

Six players average double digits in the scoring column per game, led by Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins at 16.1.

The team's leading rebounder at 6.6 boards per contest ranks second on the team in scoring, as Zuby Ejiofor is adding 15.6 points per game while shooting 59.0 percent from the floor. Their four other players averaging 10 or more points per game are Ian Jackson (12.0), Oziyah Sellers (11.6), Dillon Mitchell (11.0), and Joson Sanon (10.1).

A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, a two-time NCAA National Champion, and a collegiate and NBA coach since 1974, Rick Pitino is in his third season at the helm of St. John's. His 766 collegiate victories rank sixth among active head coaches.

Pitino helped lead the Red Storm to 20 wins in his first season in 2023-24, before guiding them to 31 victories a year ago and a Big East title. He has led six college programs to the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four or better runs at three different schools.

Pitino's legendary career has been littered with success at each stop, including Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and Iona. He was a head coach at the NBA level across six seasons with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

THA BLOCK IS HOT
A strong defense has been a staple for Ole Miss under head coach Chris Beard, and this year's team has used their length and athleticism to average 6.1 blocks per game, the 10th-best mark in the nation.

They have been led by forward James Scott, who's average of 2.0 blocks per contest rank 40th in the country and third among SEC programs. Through the first eight games this season, 11 different players have recorded a block paced by Scott's 16, eight from Ilias Kamardine, and seven from both Malik Dia and Corey Chest.

More LSU News:

LSU Football Hires Elite Offensive Coordinator, Five Assistant to Lane Kiffin's Staff

Three Takeaways From Lane Kiffin's Introductory Press Conference With LSU Football

Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.