St. John’s men’s basketball game preview: DePaul

It’s easy to forget, but the Red Storm need to take care It’s easy to forget, but the Red Storm needs to take care of another game before their much-hyped matchup against Kentucky in Atlanta on Saturday. For the fourth time in five seasons, St. John’s will open its Big East schedule against the DePaul Blue Demons at their on-campus home of Carnesecca Arena.

Game information

Who: No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm (6-3) vs. DePaul Blue Demons (8-3)

When: Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Carnesecca Arena, Queens, New York

TV: Peacock

Radio:ESPN New York 880 / 1050

Series History: St. John’s leads all-time series, 35-22. The Red Storm has won each of the last seven meetings by an average margin of 22 points. Their most recent loss to DePaul came on February 27, 2022, and their last home defeat against the Blue Demons was on February 20, 2021.

KenPom Predicted Score: St. John’s to win 84-67 (94 percent chance of win)

Injury news

There is no injury news to report for St. John’s entering Tuesday night’s game.

What to watch for in the Storm

Win-dy City – St. John’s has won its last five Big East openers, with four of those victories coming against DePaul at their on-campus home of Carnesecca Arena, where they haven’t lost a single game in three seasons. They can make it a fourth if they take care of DePaul and Harvard in the next two weeks.

Midway Monster – Chicago native Bryce Hopkins has done the most with the fewest minutes per game he’s averaged since his freshman year at Kentucky. While only logging 23.9 minutes per contest, Hopkins is averaging 14.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and is shooting a career-best 52.4% from the field.

Within the Big East, Hopkins ranks fifth in offensive rating (127.1) and fourth in win shares per 40 minutes (.233). Could Hopkins’ minutes increase as the Red Storm begin conference play and he builds more familiarity in Rick Pitino’s system?

Cutting Loose – While Ian Jackson’s new hairstyle was all the talk this weekend, he still didn’t look like a new man on the court against Iona. Jackson did score 14 points, pulled down a season-high five rebounds, and dished out three assists, but he also turned it over 5 times and only shot 1-of-7 from three.

Even though it wasn’t a complete performance, his presence allowed Oziyah Sellers and Joson Sanon to comfortably play off-ball and combine for seven made triples. If Jackson improves and becomes an effective point guard, he can change the entire trajectory of this season.

Scouting the Blue Demons

There have been worse days on the north side of Chicago, but DePaul would have certainly loved to turn a corner in Chris Holtmann’s second year, which they haven’t.

The Blue Demons are ranked 121st in KenPom, a 43-spot drop from their preseason ranking, putting them at the bottom of the Big East conference. The Blue Demons hold some fine victories against Georgia Tech on a neutral court and Wichita State on the road, but a brutal 13-point defeat to Buffalo and a narrow four-point win against 347th-ranked Arkansas Pine Bluff tanked their metrics. In their only game against a top-50-ranked KenPom opponent so far, they were run off the floor by LSU in a 33-point loss.

DePaul’s KenPom metrics are more favorable this season, though there is a significant caveat: these results came against the fourth-easiest non-conference schedule in the country. The Blue Demons are middle of the pack offensively, ranking 171st, and are better defensively, ranking 80th. They hold opponents to an effective FG rate of 47.2% and a turnover percentage of 20.6%, which rank 60th and 45th in the country, respectively.

The Blue Demons are operating inside the arc more frequently this season, with triples only accounting for 40.7% of total attempts compared to 46.2% a season ago. More than two-thirds of their made buckets have come off assists, ranking seventh nationally in assists per field goal made.

Fortunately for DePaul, they can hit another gear with three of their top four scorers returning. Senior C.J. Gunn serves as the team’s triggerman and leads the Blue Demons with 14.2 points per game, using his 6-foot-6 frame to bury tough jumpers over smaller defenders. His efficiency vaulted from shooting 30.3% from three to 36.0% this season. Gunn recorded 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half to help the Blue Demons overcome a 16-2 deficit and knock off Wichita State this weekend.

Alongside Gunn in the backcourt is junior point guard Laydon Blocker, who is averaging 11.1 points on a less-efficient 40% from the field and 30% from three, and is supplying a modest team-high of 3.5 assists per game. Blocker is becoming more of a defensive threat, swiping 1.9 steals per game. The Little Rock, Arkansas native tends to attack downhill, though he is a pretty average scorer at the basket (61.5% on attempts at the rim).

Holding down the frontcourt is senior NJ Benson, who is scoring 11.3 points per game and pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. Although undersized at 6-foot-8, Benson ranks third in total rebound percentage (17.1%) and fourth in block percentage (5.4%) among Big East players. Benson leads all Blue Demons with a 72.6% field goal percentage.

Radford transfer Brandon Maclin has been a regular starter for the Blue Demons, but he has missed his last three games due to a shoulder injury. In eight games, the 6-foot-5 senior guard is averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and is shooting 42.9% from the floor and 36.8% from three.

Like CJ Gunn, senior Kaleb Banks began his college career at Indiana and played there for two seasons before eventually finding himself at DePaul. Banks is a two-way forward who won All-AAC honors with Tulane a season ago, where he averaged 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds after starting in all 32 games played.

However, he is having a disappointing start to his senior year and was relegated to the bench after his first two games. So far, the 6-foot-7 wing is averaging 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds, and is shooting 48.1% from the field and 41.4% from deep.

Sophomore forward Théo Pierre-Justin replaced Banks in the starting lineup, but he hasn’t made much of an impact, only averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds. The French international will be a game-time decision on Tuesday due to a shoulder injury.

The first two guards off the bench are freshman Kruz McClure and Colorado transfer RJ Smith. Ranked as the 146th-best prospect in the 2025 class, McClure is already making an impact for DePaul, scoring 8.0 points per game and shooting 38.5% from three. He logged a career-high 22 points against LSU, making 3-of-6 from deep.

RJ Smith comes to Chicago after starting 16 games at Colorado a season ago. Smith is averaging 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. While he projects as a marksman at guard, Smith is going through a shooting slump. After shooting 44.8% from the field and 38.6% from three when he played for the Buffaloes last season, Smith is only shooting 38.5% from the field and 35.1% from three through 11 games for DePaul. Assuming Brandon Maclin cannot play, Smith will make his fourth straight start of the season on Tuesday.

Prediction

Tuesday’s game is not only one St. John’s can’t lose, but also one they need to dominate to keep their top-20 metrics afloat. The Johnnies have to build momentum heading into their game against Kentucky and start Big East play with a statement, which they will do.

St. John’s wins, 90-62.