Men's College Basketball
Preview
St. John's at Marquette
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 8, 2025
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Big East regular season will end with two of the top teams in the conference facing off as No. 20 Marquette hosts No. 6 St. John's on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.

Marquette (22-8, 13-6) comes in off a disappointing loss in conference play, falling at UConn 72-66 on Wednesday.

The Golden Eagles were just 3-for-22 from 3-point range, with David Joplin hitting all three and leading the way with 23 points. The rest of the team went 0-for-16 from beyond the arc.

"I thought we made them miss enough to win, but we didn't get enough of them back," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. "You look at the 3-point number. ... the biggest number there is the offensive rebounds."

The Huskies grabbed 19 offensive boards.

The Red Storm had the week off after they took down Seton Hall last Saturday 71-61 at Madison Square Garden, clinching the outright Big East title for the first time since 1985.

"This was a goal of ours; seeing a sold-out Madison Square Garden again is very rewarding for me personally," St. John's coach Rick Pitino said. "We're excited, we need this week to get ready for a tough Marquette, and we'll get back to the basics of being one of the best conditioned teams in the nation."

RJ Luis Jr. averages a team-high 17.8 points per game for the Red Storm. Kadary Richmond contributes a club-best 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals, while Zuby Ejiofor leads down low with 8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest.

Kam Jones leads Marquette with 18.5 points and 6 assists per game. Joplin averages 5.3 rebounds and Stevie Mitchell contributes 2.3 steals per game.

On the injury front, St. John's guard Aaron Scott is dealing with an ailing knee and is questionable for Saturday's game. He played just three minutes against Seton Hall.

Marquette leads the all-time series over St. John's 23-12 and won six matchups in a row before the Red Storm claimed a 70-64 decision at home on Feb. 4.

Richmond led St. John's with 18 points and eight assists, and Luis had 17 points. Chase Ross led Marquette with 16 points and eight assists.

A key story to that game was the Red Storm's poor free-throw effort. St. John's shot just 54.8 percent from the line as well as just 18.8 percent from beyond the arc, keeping Marquette within striking distance until the end.

If the Golden Eagles win on Saturday, they will at minimum clinch the No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament and could move back into the three seed if UConn falls to Seton Hall.

If Marquette loses, it will either be the four or five seed and will play Xavier in the quarterfinals on Thursday. St. John's has secured the top spot.

Should Marquette fall into the four or five seed, it could face St. John's on Friday night in the semifinals if both win their quarterfinal matchups.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
St. John's 26-4 W5 18-0 7-2 1-2 8-2 18-2 17-2
Marquette 22-8 L1 14-2 7-6 1-0 4-2 18-6 13-6
Last Meeting
St. John's Marquette
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
2/4/25 MARQ 64 SJU 70 70 43 41.7 64 21 40.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
St. John's K. Richmond 18 57.1 2
Marquette C. Ross 16 30.8 7
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
St. John's Z. Ejiofor 13 6 7
Marquette C. Ross 8 0 8
Assists Player  
St. John's K. Richmond 8
Marquette B. Gold 2
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
St. John's R. Luis 516 44.3 113
Marquette K. Jones 554 48.6 53
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
St. John's Z. Ejiofor 241 127 114
Marquette D. Joplin 160 41 119
Assists Player  
St. John's K. Richmond 153
Marquette K. Jones 181
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar St. John's Off vs  red bar Marquette Defense
blue bar 78.4 Points For
red bar 67.0 Points Against
blue bar 44.9 FG%
red bar 43.3 FG%
blue bar 36.1 Reb
red bar 31.9 Reb
red bar Marquette Off vs  blue bar St. John's Defense
red bar 76.7 Points For
blue bar 65.7 Points Against
red bar 44.6 FG%
blue bar 40.0 FG%
red bar 30.8 Reb
blue bar 30.2 Reb