Kansas basketball and St. John’s sets up interesting battle in New York

Kansas basketball will be making the trip to St. John’s for an early-season Big East-Big 12 Battle, marking the first meeting between the Jayhawks and the Red Storm since 2000.

Back then, former Kansas head coach Roy Williams was running the show, leading that year’s squad to a 26-7 record and the Regional Semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.

Last time around, the Jayhawks mounted an 82-74 victory over the Johnnies at Madison Square Garden, supported by future NBA Jayhawks Nick Collision and Kirk Hinrich.

All 10 matchups for the upcoming Big East-Big 12 Battle series have been released, with Kansas and St. John’s is arguably the most intriguing. The Red Storm haven’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and will be entering their third season under head coach Mike Anderson.

St. John’s sophomore guard Julian Champagnie led the Big East’s in scoring this past season. The program is awaiting a decision to return from Champagnie, who is exploring the NBA Draft process at the moment. Losing his support would be a setback for the Red Storm, forcing them to explore new options to replace their critical offensive weapon.

The Jayhawks should provide quite a test for St. John’s in December, considering the progress that has been made in Lawrence over the past few months.

Kansas has been making quite a buzz this offseason with the additions of transfers Remy Martin, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Joseph Yesufu, and Cam Martin. Head coach Bill Self will be looking to bounce back following a second-round loss to USC that ended his 2020-21 season.

The road trip will make for matchup fans won’t want to miss, as Kansas will be looking to get off on the right note. Meanwhile, St. John’s will be welcoming a tough test to tip-off the month of December against a growing Jayhawks roster.