St. John’s men’s basketball game preview: at Georgetown

The Red Storm have their first substantial opportunity to turn the page from their disappointing start and show they are a different team from their first 12 games, as they travel down to our nation’s capitol to face historical rival Georgetown on New Year’s Eve.

Game information

Who: St. John’s Red Storm (8-4) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (9-4)

When: Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 8:00 p.m.

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

TV: FS1

Radio:ESPN New York 880 / 1050

Series History: St. John’s leads all-time series, 69-57. The Red Storm have won the last nine meetings with the Hoyas dating back to December 13, 2020.

KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win 82-74 (77 percent chance of win)

Injury news

According to Rick Pitino, Ian Jackson and Dillon Mitchell each missed practice due to illness during the holiday break, but will be available for Wednesday night’s game against Georgetown.

What to watch for in the Storm

Hop’, Skip, and a Jump from a Breakout? – The holiday break came at the right time for Bryce Hopkins, who only averaged 9.8 points along with shooting 40% from the field and 25% from three in the five games leading up to Harvard. After Pitino recently called upon Hopkins to show more aggression, could we see Hopkins break out of this slump and become his old self in the new year?

The Cap-itol – While Zuby Ejiofor hasn’t taken over games in the scoring column and on the glass as frequently as last season, the Red Storm’s captain is impacting games with improved playmaking and rim protection. Ejiofor almost doubled his assist rate from 9.1% last season to 17.1% this season, and he ranks second in the Big East with 2.5 blocks per game.

New Year’s Prey – If there’s any player deserving of more playing time, it’s Ruben Prey, who is becoming a by-rate machine off the bench. Despite recording 10.7 minutes per game, Prey leads all rotation players in assist percentage (20.6%), second in block percentage (5.2%), and second in steal percentage (3.8%). He also leads all rotation players in true shooting percentage (64.5%). Giving Prey more minutes in conference play is a no-brainer.

Scouting the Hoyas

Georgetown looked like they were going to turn a corner after wins over Maryland and Clemson to open their season, but the Hoyas appear like they’re headed back to the bottom-third of the Big East unless something drastic changes. Since Thanksgiving, the Hoyas lost four of their next five “big” games to Dayton, Miami (FL), North Carolina, and Xavier — the last of which saw Ed Cooley earn a one-game suspension for throwing a water bottle into the crowd and hitting a child. It’s not what you want.

Under Cooley, the Hoyas’ offense is still struggling to find its identity. Yes, they do lead the country with the lowest turnover rate of 12.4%, but the positives end there. They are a middle-of-the-pack two-point and free-throw shooting team, ranking 156th and 162nd in both respective categories, but they are a disgusting 30.3% from three to come in at 301st in the country from beyond the arc. Georgetown is also a very pedestrian team on the defensive side and the glass, too, ranking 85th in two-point percentage, 169th in three-point percentage allowed, and 104th in offensive rebound percentage allowed.

Leading the charge for a second season is junior point guard Malik Mack, an outside scorer who is pretty limited defensively and could stand to shoot more efficiently. Mack leads the team with 14.5 points per game and has two 20-point scoring performances this season, though he is shooting 37.9% from the field and only 33.3% from deep. Mack also provides value as a solid playmaker, leading the team with 4.5 assists per game against only 2.0 turnovers per game.

After Micah Peavy departed last season, Ed Cooley brought in another athletic player capable of guarding multiple positions who grew up in the state of Texas and played at a Big 12 program. Shooting guard KJ Lewis is averaging 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and leads all Big East players with 2.2 steals per game this season. While not much of a three-point threat, he’s made a jump in efficiency from deep, shooting 18.8% last season to 30.6% this season.

Sophomore big Julius Halaifonua commands the paint for the Hoyas as former St. John’s center Vince Iwuchukwu is expected to miss another month recovering from a medical procedure. The New Zealand international saw his freshman season cut short after six games played due to a fractured ankle, but is back to full strength and become a fixture in the starting lineup. Halaifonua is a monster to deal with in the paint, playing as a 7-foot, 270-pound center. This season, he is averaging 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks, shooting 63.2% from the field. In his last four games, Halaifonua is averaging 20.5 point and, 6.3 rebounds on 75% shooting.

Senior guard and Baylor transfer Langston Love started the season off slowly after battling injuries this summer and fall, but he is beginning to find his stride in recent games. He’s only averaging a modest 3.6 points per game and hitting 27.3% from three, but he’s scored exactly ten points in three of his last five games. If Love can get healthier and string together consistent playing time, his outside shooting is due for positive regression, as he shot 38.8% from deep in his last three seasons.

Caleb Williams, not to be confused with the quarterback for the Chicago Bears, is also making the sophomore leap. The Washington, D.C. native is averaging 11.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, and shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.4% from three. Not related to Caleb, Rutgers transfer Jeremiah Williams gives Cooley another physical defensive option in the backcourt rotation.

Prediction

Coming off an eight-day holiday break to play their first true road game of the season, a slow start against Georgetown wouldn’t be shocking for St. John’s. However, the Red Storm will separate themselves from the Hoyas over 40 minutes with sharp three-point shooting and physical defensive play.

St. John’s wins, 79-68.