St. John’s To Open At Saint Mary’s As Part Of 24-Hour ESPN Marathon

QUEENS, N.Y. (Aug. 16, 2010) – St. John’s new head coach Steve Lavin is giving fans a reason to wake up in the early morning hours on Nov. 16 – his Red Storm coaching debut on national television.

ESPN revealed the schedule for its third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon for Tuesday, Nov. 16, and Lavin’s new squad is a part of it. St. John’s will take on 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Saint Mary’s (Calif.) at the Gaels’ home in Moraga, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 2 a.m. E.T. The matchup is the second game slated as part of the 12 live college basketball games in 24 consecutive hours on ESPN. With four participating teams, the BIG EAST is the most-represented conference in the marathon.

“Opening our season at St. Mary’s in a nationally-televised matchup on ESPN is an outstanding early-season test to gauge where we are as a team,“ said Lavin. “The Gaels return four starters from a team that went to the Sweet 16, and McKeon Pavilion is a hostile environment for opponents. A contest like this will pay great dividends in preparing our team for the rigors of the BIG EAST.”

“The Worldwide Leader in Sports” is palpably excited about Lavin’s return to the coaching ranks. Breaking down the slate for its second-straight season featuring a 24-hour marathon, ESPN said it its news release:

“The schedule will include three teams from last year’s men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four (defending national champion Duke, Butler and Michigan State), defending women’s NCAA National Champion Connecticut, the first game at Louisville’s new arena and the debut of new St. John’s coach Steve Lavin.”

In addition to the season-opener against the Gaels, who finished 28-6 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 last March, the Red Storm will be joining Arizona State, Ball State, Drake, Houston Baptist, Southern Utah and Weber State in the 2010 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout from Nov. 24-27.

St. John’s plays a host of marquee home matchups against conference opponents in 2010-11. Syracuse, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Rutgers, USF and DePaul all travel to New York City for matchups on one of St. John’s home courts, either at the newly-renovated Carnesecca Arena, or on the grand stage at Madison Square Garden, “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” The Red Storm will hit the road to face Villanova, Louisville, Marquette, West Virginia, Providence and Seton Hall in addition to Georgetown, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

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 at a later date this fall. The complete non-conference schedule will be released later in the summer.

Fans can be a part of the 2010-11 St. John’s hardwood campaign – the first under the direction of new head coach Lavin – by visiting Redstormsports.com or by clicking Here to order men’s basketball season tickets.