The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will take a bite out of the Big Apple this winter.
On Monday, Zach Braziller with the New York Post reported that the Rebels are slated to battle St. John’s in the historic Madison Square Garden on December 6. Though the Ole Miss Athletics Department has yet to confirm the report, the contest would feature two of the hottest names in the college hoops coaching industry and a pair of teams on the rise.
Both programs will enter the 2025-26 campaign fresh from NCAA Tournament appearances. St. John’s compiled a 31-5 overall record and went 18-2 in the Big East. The Red Storm, led by iconic frontman Rick Pitino, were bounced from the postseason in a 75-66 loss to Arkansas. Prior to the Round of 32 shortcoming on the scoreboard, the Johnnies won the Big East Tournament, and Pitino earned the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award.
The Rebels, in year two of Chris Beard’s tenure, went as far as any previous Ole Miss squad had. Led by a litany of veteran contributors, the Rebels amassed two top-five regular-season victories and reached the Sweet 16 during March Madness. Beard and company proved strong in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but fell just shy of beating Michigan State with the chance to make the program’s first-ever Elite Eight on the line.
St. John’s, located in Queens, currently joins Ole Miss in working to reload its roster by way of the transfer portal ahead of the upcoming campaign. By the time the new season rolls around, both teams will have finalized rosters featuring some of the most coveted prospects from other colleges.
The contest between the two rising stars would certainly draw viewers from college football conference championship games set to take place that day. At this time, no additional details surrounding the reported matchup have been released.
