St. John's to Play Rutgers in Exhibition at NJ

(Shamorie Ponds taking a shot from perimeter during St. John's Media Day)

Jamaica, NY--After an 84-52 victory over Division II opponent American International College, the Johnnies led by Shamorie Ponds travel down the Turnpike for a matchup between the once bitter rival in the old Big East, Rutgers Scarlet Knights. But will only be playing once this season, in a charity event, benefitting American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Head Coach Chris Mullin spoke in the press conference after the victory over AIC on Wednesday, "The number one thing about Sunday is that all the proceeds will go to hurricane relief, most important thing. And to get a road game under our belt, especially for Justin (Simon) and Marvin (Clark II) who haven't played in over a year in a half with refs and things like that. To go on the road is great for our guys, and to play in that environment."

The NCAA only allows for one exhibition per season, but has allowed their basketball teams this season to play in a second exhibition for charity. Other schools doing this includes Seton Hall and Providence.

This is only the second meeting versus Rutgers since the "New Big East" has taken effect in 2013. Last meeting was on November 19th, 2015 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, when new coach Chris Mullin took over for Steve Lavin, and defeated the Scarlet Knights 61-59. That season ended 8-24 overall.

St. John's leads overall 27-14 all time versus Rutgers. During Big East play, they led the Scarlet Knights 15-7 all time. At the RAC, the Johnnies lead the Scarlet Knights 7-6 with the last win occurring on January 23rd, 2013 with a 72-60 victor.

The Red Storm play at 1:00pm at the RAC in Piscataway, NJ on the campus of Rutgers University on Sunday, November 5th. Marvin Clark and his squad then return home on November 10th at 7:00pm for their season opener versus New Orleans.