Ninth-ranked St. John’s has decided to move its final home game of the regular season to Madison Square Garden, shifting away from their usual venue, Carnesecca Arena. The March 1 matchup against Seton Hall, originally set to be played on campus in Queens, will now take place at the iconic New York City arena. This change was made to accommodate the growing demand for tickets from Red Storm fans. While Carnesecca Arena has a seating capacity of 5,602, Madison Square Garden can hold 19,812 for basketball games.
Before the game, St. John’s will honor its seniors on Senior Day. The Red Storm (21-4, 12-2 Big East) have been attracting large crowds this season, including a crowd of 16,521 for their February 4 win over No. 11 Marquette at MSG. Just three days earlier, 19,196 fans showed up to see St. John’s narrowly defeat Providence 68-66 at the same venue.
St. John’s is aiming for its first Big East regular-season title since 1992, with the team enjoying its best record through 25 games since the 1985-86 season and its highest AP Top 25 ranking in 25 years.
In their second year under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm are undefeated at home with a 15-0 record. They lead the Big East standings by one game over No. 24 Creighton, setting up a highly anticipated matchup between the two teams this Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
St. John’s hasn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament in six years and hasn’t won a game in the event since 2000.
“I’m having a blast seeing The Garden explode like this. Seeing St. John’s come back is so much fun,” said 72-year-old coach Rick Pitino after the team’s win over Marquette. “I’m so happy for the fans and so appreciative of everybody coming out and being supportive of us.”
The Red Storm’s 10-game winning streak was snapped with a 73-71 loss at Villanova on Wednesday, leaving them with four losses this season, all by a combined total of just seven points.
Their upcoming game against Seton Hall will be St. John’s ninth regular-season game at Madison Square Garden, the most they’ve had there in a decade. The only Big East teams to play at Carnesecca Arena this season were DePaul and Butler.