Published: July 13, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y.
St. John’s and the BIG EAST Conference announced the 2007-08
league matchups for the Red Storm men’s basketball team on Friday.
St. John’s will take part in home-and-home series with Georgetown,
West Virginia and Cincinnati during the upcoming season, and will
meet the remaining BIG EAST league opponents once either at home or
on the road.
In 2007-08, the BIG EAST plays an 18-game conference schedule
after playing a 16-game slate for the last eight seasons. The
18-game format will allow teams to play each opponent once and
three teams twice.
“With a league like the BIG EAST, we’re always going to
have a terrific, challenging schedule,” said St. John’s head coach
Norm Roberts. “It is a tremendous opportunity for each team in the
league to play each other in determining a true champion. Also,
we’re excited to be playing West Virginia twice with new coach Bob
Huggins. Georgetown will be one of the top teams in the league, and
Cincinnati has really improved from last season, so we’re looking
forward to getting underway.”
In addition to the Hoyas, Mountaineers and Bearcats, St. John’s
will play host to Villanova, Pitt, Marquette, DePaul, Providence
and Seton Hall on one of its home courts – either at historic
Carnesecca Arena or on the grand stage at Madison Square
Garden.
The Red Storm will hit the road to face UConn, Louisville,
Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers and South Florida in addition to
Georgetown, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
“It’s good that each team is playing every other team,” said BIG
EAST Commissioner Michael Tranghese. “It makes the conference
schedule more balanced and we are still able to make some very
attractive and intriguing matchups a second time.”
The decisions regarding repeat opponents are based on natural
interest, geography, rivalries and television contractual
obligations.
The complete St. John’s men’s basketball schedule, with
non-conference opponents, dates, times and television information,
will be released with the rest of the BIG EAST conference
basketball schedules in late August.
The 2007-08 Red Storm adds a highly-touted, seven-man recruiting
class to a group of eight letterwinners from a team that posted a
16-15 record in 2006-07. St. John’s marked a return to the BIG EAST
Tournament for the first time since 2003 last season, posted its
first winning record in four years, and captured the most
conference wins since 2003 as well. For the third-straight year,
the Red Storm toppled a member of the Top 25 in No. 22/21 Notre
Dame at the Garden.