St. John’s season will be defined by daunting stretch

The college basketball season is now roughly seven weeks away. Soon, Rick Pitino will begin his second year at St. John’s after a strong offseason in the transfer portal .

On Thursday, the Big East released its entire schedule and The Post’s Zach Braziller breaks down the Johnnies’ complete slate below:

In the span of just over three weeks, from Feb. 1-23, St. John’s will face two-time defending national champion Connecticut twice (on the road Feb. 7, at the Garden Feb. 23), host projected tournament teams Marquette, Creighton and Providence, and visit Villanova. The only soft game in that challenging period is a visit to DePaul on Feb. 19, in between games against Creighton and UConn. It’s a daunting stretch that will feature a number of high-profile contests and could determine the team’s postseason fate .

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Pitino’s first season featured a solid non-conference schedule. It is improved this year. The Johnnies will face potential top-10 preseason team Baylor, which is led by star transfers Jeremy Roach (Duke) and Norchad Omier (Miami) along with projected one-and-done lottery pick VJ Edgecombe of Long Island Lutheran, to open the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Nov. 21. That is followed by either Tennessee or Virginia in the event. St. John’s will also meet Georgia, a potential tournament team, on Nov. 24. The Red Storm’s first test comes Nov. 17 when New Mexico, coached by Pitino’s son Richard, visits the Garden. Kansas State comes to town a few weeks later, on Dec. 7. Overall, St. John’s will face five teams ranked in the top-55 of the Bart Torvik T-Rank efficiency-based preseason projections and only one – No. 254 Wagner – below 250. St. John’s is ranked 16th. The campaign begins against Fordham on Nov. 4 at Carnesecca Arena.

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St. John’s is in position to start the league season well again, as it did last year in winning four of its first five games. Four of its first seven Big East contests are at home, starting against conference punching bag DePaul on Dec. 17. While that is followed by trips to Providence and Creighton on New Year’s Eve, the Johnnies get Butler, Villanova and Georgetown all at home after that. They should be significant favorites in all four home games.

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The atmosphere at the Prudential Center on Jan. 18 should be electric when Kadary Richmond faces Seton Hall, his old team. Pirates fans are certainly expected to shower him with boos after switching to their rival. Richmond spent three years at Seton Hall, helping the Big East school win the NIT a year ago and finish a surprising fourth in the league . After last season, the standout point guard from Brooklyn entered the transfer portal and joined Pitino at St. John’s. St. John’s has struggled mightily in the Newark arena, going 1-12 all time in the building. Last season, the Red Storm lost by 15 points there, a game that Pitino missed due to a bout with COVID-19.

St. John’s will equal last year’s total of eight games at MSG, with New Mexico and seven league games being played there. One change is that the Johnnies will not be playing two conference games at UBS Arena, as it did last year. Pitino believes Carnesecca Arena is a significant home-court advantage and has said he would like to play more games there than last year’s total of five. That includes a Jan. 4 matchup with Butler that will serve as a celebration for legendary former coach Louie Carnesecca’s 100th birthday. He reaches the century mark the following day. Seton Hall and DePaul will be the other Big East games played on campus.

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