The Red Storm begin their road to San Antonio in Providence with a first-round matchup versus the Mavericks of the Summit League
It only took six years of anxious waiting, but St. John’s has returned to March Madness. Over these next three weeks, the Red Storm can build on a dream season that saw them win both the Big East regular season and tournament titles, reach the 30-win plateau for the third time in program history, and achieve their highest AP Poll ranking in 34 years, among many other accomplishments.
Before they can start dreaming of a trip to San Antonio in early April, the Red Storm must begin by taking care of business and avoid becoming the 12th two-seed to ever lose to a 15-seed when they face the Omaha Mavericks in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Here is the thread for Thursday’s St. John’s men’s basketball game versus Omaha in the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to face 7-seed Kansas or 10-seed Arkansas in the Second Round on Saturday.
You can follow updates of tonight’s game on Rumble in the Garden’s official X account (formerly Twitter) at @rumbleSBN or on Rumble in the Garden’s new Bluesky account at rumbleinthegarden.bsky.social. Make sure to check out our game recap and analysis after the game.
Game information
Who: 2-seed St. John’s Red Storm (30-4) vs. 15-seed Omaha Mavericks (22-12)
When: Thursday, March 20, 2025, approx. 9:45 p.m.
Where: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island (West Region)
TV and Streaming: CBS / NCAA.com
Radio: Learfield
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Series History: This is the first-ever meeting between the Red Storm and the Mavericks.
Seed History: St. John’s only played as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament once in program history. In 2000, the second-seeded Red Storm narrowly defeated 15-seed Northern Arizona in the First Round by a score of 61-56.
KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win, 82-64 (95% chance to win)
Know your foe
Making their first NCAA Division-I tournament appearance, the Omaha Mavericks also completed their conference’s double by winning the Summit League regular season and tournament titles under head coach Chris Crutchfield.
Omaha boasts one of the best offenses in the mid-majors this season, ranking 97th nationally in KenPom adjusted offense, 43rd in three-point percentage (36.7%), and within the top 100 in turnover percentage and effective field goal percentage. However, the Mavericks are leaky on the other side of the ball, only ranking 252nd in KenPom adjusted defense.
On the boards, Omaha does a great job of protecting the defensive glass by holding opponents to a 25.4% offensive rebound percentage (19th-best nationally), but they also won’t generate many second-chance opportunities with their 29.2% offensive rebound percentage (205th-best nationally).
The Mavericks are led by the All-Summit League First Team senior duo of 6-foot-7 Marquel Sutton and 6-foot-2 guard JJ White.
Sutton won the Summit League’s Player of the Year award after ranking second in scoring and rebounding in the conference, averaging 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. The Tulsa native shoots 48.4% from the floor, 29.2% from deep, and 74.4% from the free throw line.
White averaged 13.7 points and a conference-best 4.0 assists per game this season, shooting 49.7% overall, 43.9% from three, and 78.8% from the free throw line.
Tony Osburn (40.2%), Kamryn Thomas (39.0%), Ja’Sean Glover (36.2%) are also threats to shoot from around the perimeter. 6-foot-4 guard Lance Waddles is not as efficient as any of the previously-mentioned players, shooting 46.7% in effective field goal percentage, but he takes the fourth-most shots per game with 8.0.
Pregame links
- Video: Is it Final Four or bust for St. John’s in March Madness? — New York Post Sports
- Providence is the perfect place for Rick Pitino, St. John’s to start NCAA Tournament — Mike Lupica, New York Daily News
- For billionaire backer Mike Repole, St. John’s March Madness magic is personal: ‘It’s giving me chills’ — Kirsten Fleming, New York Post
- Mark Jackson wonders why St. John’s bypassed him as head coach — Brandon Contes, Awful Announcing