Kentucky men’s basketball (7-4) is set to take on No. 22 St. John’s (7-3) on Saturday afternoon as part of the CBS Sports Classic inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Surprisingly enough, with St. John’s being a member of the Big East, UK has already battled the Red Storm 16 times and holds an all-time 11-5 advantage.
With 16 games standing between the two, the last time the schools met was on Dec. 1, 2011, when No. 1 Kentucky, led by third-year head coach John Calipari, routed St. John’s, led by second-year head coach Steve Lavin, 81-59 in the SEC/Big East Invitational inside Rupp Arena.
That win boosted the Cats to 7-0 before they went on to win the program’s eighth national title later that season.
This time around, the matchup between the Cats and the Red Storm offers more than just the 17th meeting between the two; now it marks a showdown between Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and his former head coach and mentor Rick Pitino, who is now the head coach of the Johnnies. This will be Pope’s first time coaching against Pitino.
To this day, Pope loves reminiscing about his time under Pitino, and he often credits the 73-year-old for shaping him into the man he is today.
“He changed me to my soul, changed my DNA as a human being,” Pope said during his introductory press conference. “He allowed me to be someone who feels they can walk into any room and take on any impossible task, and I will love him forever.”
St. John’s:
The Red Storm started the year ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll on the back of returning and incoming talent. However, they dropped as low as No. 23 following losses to No. 15 Alabama, No. 15 Iowa State and No. 21 Auburn.
With those three losses, the Johnnies, like UK, still have no ranked wins. However, St. John’s does have a strong victory over head coach Scott Drew and Baylor (7-2), winning 96-81 in the Players Era Festival on Nov. 25.
Pitino’s squad is led by former Wildcat Bryce Hopkins (2021-22), who is currently averaging a team-high 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Zuby Ejiofor is a name to watch out for as well, as the 6-foot-9 Big East Preseason Player of the Year is currently putting up 13.9 points, a team-high 7.2 rebounds, a team-high 2.8 assists and a team-high 2.8 blocks per game.
St. John’s will travel to Atlanta riding a three-game win streak, taking down Ole Miss 63-58, Iona 91-64 and most recently, DePaul 79-66 on Dec. 16.
Kentucky:
Kentucky has another opportunity to earn its first ranked win of the season Saturday afternoon, currently sitting 0-4 in that category with losses to No. 12 Louisville, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 16 North Carolina and No. 11 Gonzaga.
The Cats are led by Otega Oweh, who is currently averaging a team-high 14 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Oweh has recently started to come around after a sluggish start to the season, totaling 21 points and seven rebounds against North Carolina Central (3-9) on Dec. 9 and most recently, 10 points, four rebounds and two steals against Indiana (8-3) on Dec. 13.
Led by Oweh’s performances against North Carolina Central and Indiana, Kentucky won both games, and heads to Atlanta on a two-game winning streak, grasping an opportunity to build a potential three-game win streak with a ranked win included.
Mo Dioubate and Brandon Garrison brought immense energy in Kentucky’s win over the Hoosiers and the two were praised for it by Big Blue Nation and Pope. Keep an eye on both players against St. John’s as their energy will be needed in what should be a heavyweight duel.
Tipoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 12:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed on CBS.
