St. John's Faces No. 7 Texas in Noon Exhibition at Garden

St. John's, ranked No. 13 in the preseason Associated Press poll, hosts No. 7 Texas on Sunday at noon at Madison Square Garden in the Red Storm's final exhibition before the regular season, according to the New York Post.

The game follows uneven exhibition performances by St. John's against Drexel and Rutgers, the Post reported, and arrives as coach Rick Pitino looks for a clearer read on where his roster stands heading into the season.

What is at stake in the exhibition matchup

Texas is coming off a preseason ranking of No. 7 nationally and is regarded by the Post as one of the premier teams in the country this season. Coach Sean Miller's Longhorns are described in the Post's report as big, deep and physical, qualities that will test a St. John's team still working out its rotation and identity under Pitino.

For a program that reached the Garden stage as a top-15 team, an exhibition loss or lopsided outcome against a roster of Texas's caliber would not carry the weight of a regular-season defeat, but it would supply an early data point on how far the Red Storm have to travel before Big East play begins.

How has St. John's looked in its first two tune-ups

The Post's account characterizes the Red Storm's showings against Drexel and Rutgers as uneven, without detailing specific scores or statistics from either exhibition. That inconsistency is the backdrop against which Pitino is framing Sunday's matchup, telling reporters the team is not yet where it needs to be on either end of the floor.

"We are nowhere near where we need to be on offensively or especially on defense to play a team like Texas," Pitino said over Zoom, according to the Post. "So it's going to be great for us to gauge where we have to improve and get better. This is a tremendous game for us, similar to Michigan last year."

"We are nowhere near where we need to be on offensively or especially on defense to play a team like Texas. So it's going to be great for us to gauge where we have to improve and get better." — Rick Pitino, St. John's coach

Why is Texas ranked among the nation's best

The Post's report attributes Texas's No. 7 preseason ranking to the Longhorns' size, depth and physicality under second-year coach Sean Miller. No additional roster or statistical detail on Texas was included in the Post's account, and this article does not add figures beyond what the Post reported.

For St. John's, the scouting profile matters less for its specifics than for what it demands: a team that can match size inside and hold up physically on both ends, areas Pitino flagged as unfinished business for his own roster.

What did Pitino say about the comparison to Michigan

Pitino directly compared Sunday's exhibition to a game St. John's played last season against Michigan, which went on to win the national championship, the Post reported. Pitino called that earlier matchup a useful gauge at the time, and he is framing the Texas exhibition the same way now, as a measuring stick rather than a must-win.

The comparison signals that Pitino views exhibition games against elite competition as diagnostic tools, chances to identify weaknesses before they surface in games that count toward postseason positioning.

When and where is the game

Tip-off is set for noon Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to the Post's report. The game functions as the final exhibition on St. John's schedule before the regular season begins, giving Pitino and his staff a last opportunity to adjust rotations, schemes or personnel based on what unfolds against a Texas team built, by the Post's description, to compete among the sport's top programs this season.

Neither team's full roster, injury report or betting line was included in the Post's report, and none is added here. The outcome, and the specific adjustments Pitino makes in its wake, will shape how St. John's enters its regular-season opener as a ranked team under pressure to prove the preseason billing is earned.