Rick Pitino Unleashes Secret Weapon: Can St. John’s Shock Alabama This Saturday?

Who’d have thought November hoops at Madison Square Garden could pack the house like it’s March Madness already? Yet, here we are — the No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm, fresh off a stunning 108-74 demolition of Quinnipiac, are set to host No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide in what promises to be a fiery noon tip-off. Seriously, a -6.5 favorite in The Garden this early in the season? Hats off to Rick Pitino — in just two seasons, he’s not only resurrected this program but turned it into one of NYC’s hottest tickets. Meanwhile, Alabama’s Nate Oats, that old-school recruiting wizard, brings his young, hungry squad straight from the SEC into the spotlight. But here’s the kicker: Can St. John’s revamped shooting arsenal and seasoned core keep pace with Alabama’s high-tempo assault — or will the Crimson Tide’s youth and grit steal the show? Grab your popcorn; this one’s got all the makings of a classic! LEARN MORE.

It’s rare for the No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm (1-0) to sell out Madison Square Garden in November or December. But that’s the case when the Johnnies host No. 15 Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) Saturday at The Garden for a noon ET tip-off. At DraftKings, St. John’s is a -6.5 favorite and the total is 168.5 as of Friday morning.

In just two seasons, Rick Pitino has turned the Red Storm into one of the hottest tickets in New York City. Their No. 5 preseason ranking in the AP Poll is their highest ever. The Johnnies dummied Quinnipiac 108-74 as -26.5 favorites in their season opener. Alabama handled North Dakota 91-62 Monday, but ‘Bama couldn’t cover as a -35.5 favorite.

St. John’s left fans and fellow alumni (that’s right, I’m from the Class of 2008) disappointed last season. The Red Storm were 31-5 but lost as a 2-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament to 10-seed Arkansas in the second round. As college basketball analysts predicted, the Johnnies’ poor outside shooting ultimately cost them last season.

However, Pitino addressed that in the transfer portal, bringing in a few sharpshooters, including guards Ian Jackson, Oziyah Sellers, and Dylan Darling. Granted, it was only one game vs. a non-ranked opponent, but St. John’s shot 62.0% from the field vs. Quinnipiac and 42.1% from behind the arc (8-for-19).

Regardless, the Johnnies don’t need to hit shots to get their offense going. St. John’s crashes the glass, presses full-court, and gets out in transition off rebounds and steals. They were one of the best teams in the country last season at scoring off turnovers and putbacks. Those are trademarks of Pitino teams.

The Red Storm brought four 4-star recruits and one 5-star kid to Queens through the transfer portal. Their only player returning from last year’s team, C Zuby Ejiofor, was named the 2025 Big East Preseason Player of the Year. St. John’s has three players on the Naismith Trophy preseason watchlist: Ejiofor, Jackson, and PF Bryce Hopkins.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats wasn’t too active in the transfer portal. Oats opted to build his team the old-fashioned way: Recruiting. The Crimson Tide’s 2025 recruiting class was ranked 10th by 247sports.com. I don’t mean that as a slight to Oats, though. He is one of the best coaches and roster builders in college basketball.

Oats has taken ‘Bama to the Sweet 16 twice, to the 2024 Final Four, and the 2025 Elite Eight in his seven seasons as head coach. In fact, there’s a world where the Crimson Tide are ranked higher than the Red Storm entering the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Oats is that good.

Nevertheless, it’ll take time for some of Alabama’s young players to develop. The Crimson Tide have just one upperclassman in their starting 5, while the Johnnies have four upperclassmen in their starting 5. Jackson is the Red Storm’s youngest starter, and he is a 5-star recruit who hit all six shots against Quinnipiac on Monday.

St. John’s will have enough possessions to win by margin because ‘Bama has ranked 11th or quicker in adjusted tempo every season under Oats, according to Ken Pom. Lastly, with their theoretically improved shooting, the Johnnies should be able to cover the spread at the foul line in garbage time.

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