College Basketball Game of the Week: No. 13 Baylor Bears vs No. 22 St. John's Red Storm

The No. 13 Baylor Bears and the No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm clash on the hardwood in Nassau, Bahamas, at the Baha Mar Convention Center on Thursday night.

If you’re not a college basketball fan or are a new one, you may be asking, “Who are the St. John’s Red Storm?”

St. John’s is a university in Queens, New York, a household-name basketball school in the twentieth century. It has been seeing a resurgence lately, especially since the hire of Head Coach Rick Pitino, who is in his second year of coaching the Red Storm.

Pitino has given St. John’s basketball team hope. He brings a lot of experience, being head coach of multiple Division I college programs, including Boston University, Providence College, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and Iona University. He has won multiple National Championships at different schools throughout his impressive career.

On the other hand, Baylor has had major success in recent years. Head Coach Scott Drew led the team to a 2021 National Championship when it beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs in dominant fashion by a score of 86-70. Baylor has made four straight NCAA March Madness Tournaments since then.

This season, the Red Storm boasts a 4-0 record. They balled out in several warmup games to start the season, earning them a rank in the AP Poll. They beat up a talented New Mexico team in the previous game.

In the first game of the season, the Bears were ripped to shreds by the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They turned the page quickly with a five-point win against a good Arkansas Razorbacks squad. Baylor then took care of business with huge wins over Sam Houston and Tarleton St. to bring its record to 3-1.

Rick Pitino found his point guard for this season in the transfer portal, 6-foot-6 graduate student Kadary Richmond. Richmond played meaningful minutes last year for Big East Rival, Seton Hall.

Scott Drew found his big man, Norchad Omier, in the transfer portal from the Miami Hurricanes. Omier leads his team, averaging 10 rebounds per game on the young season this year.

Baylor lost their leading scorer from last year, Ja’kobe Walter, to the NBA Draft. They bolstered their guard play through the transfer portal with Jeremy Roach, formerly part of the Duke Blue Devils.

The Red Storm also lost their leading scorer from last year, Daniss Jenkins, to the NBA Draft. Jenkins’ departure was an astronomical loss for St. John’s because he led the team in points, assists, and minutes per game.

On the bright side, the Red Storm have a returning player this year who has been instrumental to their undefeated season. RJ Luis Jr. leads his team in points per game and rebounds per game this year. The Bears must keep him quiet if they want to win this game.

Two good teams with completely different histories will take to the basketball court in the Bahamas on Thursday at 7 p.m. Will the Red Storm get a statement win, or will the Bears calm the storm?

Chase Yingling is a third-year student majoring in digital/print journalism. To contact him, email cey5100@psu.edu.