St. John’s Basketball Announces Three Exhibition Games

Who will the St. John's Red Storm be playing in their exhibition schedule in October?

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm had a successful 2025-26 campaign, advancing to the Sweet 16, where they were defeated by the Duke Blue Devils.

The Red Storm will be looking to build upon that positive momentum and break through during the 2026-27 season, the fourth with Rick Pitino at the helm. He has improved the team’s performance each year he has been with St. John’s, not making the NCAA tournament in 2024 but advancing to the Second Round in 2025 and the Sweet 16 in 2026.

Will they be able to advance deeper into the tournament in 2027? Only time will tell, but that journey will begin soon. With training camp only a few weeks away, insider Jon Rothstein has revealed three of the exhibition games that the Red Storm will be playing in October to prepare for the season.

The first game will be against the Drexel Dragons of the Coastal Athletic Association. They went 17-16 last season, finishing fifth in the CAA with a 10-8 record. That game will be played on Oct. 14, but a venue has not yet been announced, nor has a start time.

St. John's announces exhibition dates against Drexel, Rutgers and Texas

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Their second exhibition game will be against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights out of the Big Ten. They are coming off another disappointing campaign, going 14-20 under head coach Steve Pikiell. The Scarlet Knights were 6-14 in Big Ten play, finishing in 14th place.

However, considering they won only one less game than the previous year, when they had NBA lottery picks Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper on the roster, the 2025-26 campaign for Rutgers wasn’t as bad depending on the lens it was viewed through.

That game against the Scarlet Knights will be played on Oct. 18 and held at Madison Square Garden. A week later, St. John’s will game the floor again at MSG, this time against the Texas Longhorns of the SEC.

Sources: St. John’s is slated to play the following three exhibition games in October.

Drexel (October 14th, location TBD)
Rutgers (October 18th, MSG)
Texas (October 25th, MSG)

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 30, 2026

In the first season under Sean Miller, the Longhorns qualified for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 21-15 record and a 9-9 record in the SEC, finishing in 10th place. They had a nice run, going from a First Four victory over the North Carolina State Wolfpack to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by the Purdue Boilermakers.

More games will be announced in the coming weeks as the Red Storm prepares for the 2026-27 campaign. Right now, only three opponents are official: the Oregon Ducks at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on Nov. 24 in the first round of that tournament.

On Dec. 5, they are facing the Arizona Wildcats as part of the Hall of Fame series being held at Madison Square Garden. A week later, on Dec. 12, St. John’s is playing in the C.M. Newton Classic at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, against the Alabama Crimson Tide.