One Bold Prediction for St. John's Basketball vs. Syracuse

Here is one bold prediction for the St. John's Red Storm in their matchup against the Syracuse Orange.

Nov 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Ruben Prey (17) looks to drive past Iona Gaels forward Keyshawn Mitchell (22) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm are getting set for a big matchup against the Syracuse Orange on Sunday night at MSG, and this will be a rivalry renewed between a couple of former Big East foes. 

For both teams, they are entering the season and this game with some different expectations. After years of struggling, the Red Storm are back with Rick Pitino in his fourth year as the head coach. 

One of the best coaches in the history of college basketball has been able to come in and turn this program around. Now, with some time with the program, Pitino has established arguably his best roster for the team. If things go right, the Red Storm have the potential to be a final four caliber team. 

Through the first three games of the year, there have been a lot of positives for the team. The Red Storm are 3-0, and they have looked really impressive on both ends of the court. However, the competition that they have faced hasn’t been the strongest, and that will start to change against Syracuse. 

As the team prepares for this big matchup, they will need a solid game from their starting center, Ruben Prey.

Bold Prediction: Double-Double for Prey

Nov 11, 2026; Queens, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Ruben Prey (17) looks to post up against Colgate Raiders guard Josh Ahayere (4) and forward Cameron Brennan (9) in the second half at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the top concerns for St. John’s right now is whether or not they have the interior presence to matchup against some of the bigger teams in the country. While there is no shortage of talent on the team, one of the most important players is going to be Prey. 

In the first two games of the season, the results really weren’t there for the big man for the Red Storm. He totaled just seven points and nine rebounds in those games, but against Colgate he seemingly got going a bit. 

Prey got into foul trouble early in that game, but he was still able to have a strong second half and helped the Red Storm cruise to a win. In the victory, he had his best game of the season, totaling 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and he also made a three-pointer. 

This is the type of performance that St. John’s is going to need from Prey in order to take things to the next level, and perhaps that game will be the start of something special. 

In a big matchup against Syracuse, Prey will avoid foul trouble and put up his first double-double of the season.