St. John’s men’s basketball vs. Syracuse game preview: Scouting, keys, and prediction

Any time St. John’s and Syracuse meet in a post-old Big East world, it’s a special occasion. The Red Storm and the Orange are set to face off for the first time in four years and inside Madison Square Garden for the first time in 11 years this weekend.

These two old conference rivals will meet for the 93rd time in their renowned histories. Although Syracuse holds a 51-41 all-time lead over St. John’s, the Johnnies won the last four matchups dating back to 2014. The last time they did battle, the Red Storm took down the Orange in a 76-69 overtime dust-up inside Barclays Center in November 2022 behind 23 points from Andre Curbelo. The last time they squared off under the spotlight of the World’s Most Famous Arena, the Johnnies upset an Orange squad that later went to the Final Four, as Federico Mussini, Amar Alibegović, and Durand Johnson buried eleven triples in an 84-72 victory.

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On Sunday, the Johnnies hope to win their fifth straight over their intrastate foe and begin a season 4-0 for the second time in the Rick Pitino era (7 p.m., Peacock).

What to watch for in the Storm

Lefty is Loose: It’s been a wild summer for Lefteris Liotopoulos, from recovering from hernia surgery and making a trip into the transfer portal before returning to St. John’s to playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Greek national team. Each of these experiences seems to have impacted the junior guard for the better, who is averaging a career-best 8.7 points off the bench and is off to a 6-of-10 start from three to begin this season. Liotopoulous is also showing strides beyond scoring, as he’s making defensive plays and becoming a better rebounder.

Threes All Around: The Johnnies are shooting the cover off the ball over their last two games. As a unit, they’ve shot 51.9% from the field and 43.1% from three (25-of-58) in blowout wins over Iona and Colgate. It was a collective effort, too, as St. John’s had four players make multiple three-pointers in each…

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Publish date : 2026-11-14 07:16:00

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