St. John's Big East schedule: 5 Thoughts

Chris Mullin and St. John's will need to play hard from start in Big East season, as Red Storm's league slate begins with marquee games against Seton Hall and Marquette. (Photo by Rumble in the Garden)

St. John's learned its Big East Conference fate Thursday afternoon, and for a team whose non-conference schedule eschewed early-season tests in favor of stacking the opening part of the season with mounds of winnable games, the maturity curve for the Red Storm will grow steep right out of the gate.

The tremendous upside Chris Mullin leads into battle entering his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater will be put through the gamut immediately in conference play, with three of St. John's first four games coming on the road, and doing so against the heavyweights of the Big East in the process.

The slate does grow favorable for the Red Storm toward the middle of the 18-game schedule, but by and large, the corner of Union and Utopia could soon grow restless if success does not brew itself in a season where a double-digit win total in the Big East is seemingly a requisite for the NCAA Tournament berth that the rabid St. John's fan base is viewing as the barometer by which 2018-19 is to be judged, especially if Mustapha Heron is able to receive a hardship waiver to play in a rotation centered by Big East Preseason Player of the Year favorite Shamorie Ponds.

Before the ball is tipped, and before the non-conference season gets underway, we offer some insight on what the future may ultimately hold for Mullin and the Red Storm, beginning with the arduous journey that awaits in the opening stages of league play:

1) High stakes in the opening hand.

For the third time in five seasons, the Red Storm and local rival Seton Hall will square off in December, doing so this year in an 8:30 p.m. soiree at the Prudential Center in the December 29 conference opener. Last season, St. John's put forth a gallant effort without the services of both Ponds and Marcus LoVett, yet fell five points short to a Pirate outfit that later went on to win an NCAA Tournament game and nearly reach the Sweet Sixteen. Seton Hall will not be as experienced as they have been in recent meetings, but nonetheless, the prospect of Ponds and Myles Powell engaging in a shootout represents a pivotal battle to commence Big East play for a team whose road gets tougher from there, hosting Marquette at Carnesecca Arena on January 1 before hitting the road again for clashes with Georgetown and reigning national champion Villanova, the latter coming on campus at The Pavilion, a nearly impossible environment in which to prevail as a visitor, unlike St. John's captivating victory over the then-top-ranked Wildcats at Wells Fargo Center this past February.

2) The early bird catches the worm.

Of the nine conference home games, only two will tip off after 7 p.m., allowing fans to come out in full force to support the Red Storm, who will have five of its league tilts on campus at Carnesecca Arena (more on that later) during the second half of the season. The two late-night windows do not come until February, with Butler visiting for an 8:30 start on February 12, followed by Seton Hall returning the home-and-home series with a Saturday night special, facing St. John's in an 8 p.m. skirmish from Madison Square Garden, which welcomes the Pirates for a fifth time in seven years.

3) Welcome to my house.

Carnesecca Arena has slowly returned to its intimidating form in recent seasons, chief among these instances being a sellout crowd exhorting the Red Storm to victory over Butler in December 2016, and the old bandbox will once again be home to a majority of conference contests for the Red Storm in 2018-19. An appetizing New Year's Day meeting with Marquette is first up for Mullin & Co., who also welcome the likes of Butler, Creighton, DePaul, and Xavier back to the Queens campus in a similar layout to last year's schedule. In fact, only Providence -- against whom St. John's opened the league season last year -- is changing venues, going from Carnesecca to Madison Square Garden this time around, taking on the Red Storm in a noon matinee on Saturday, February 9.

4) Midwest swing with a side of non-conference.

The highly anticipated rematch with Duke -- which comes in Durham on February 2 -- sandwiches what is traditionally the toughest road trip of the season, the trek to Omaha and Milwaukee to face Creighton and Marquette. All in all, St. John's gets three of its marquee games on the road, going from the 18,000-seat CHI Health Center to Cameron Indoor Stadium, then to the new Fiserv Forum to face a Golden Eagles team predicted to be the strongest threat to usurping Villanova's crown.

5) The season-defining stretch?

Five of six games at home in February will ultimately make or break St. John's, beginning with Providence on February 9 at Madison Square Garden. The opener of a three-game homestand that welcomes Butler to Carnesecca and then Villanova to the Garden on February 17, the Friars are forwardly placed on paper in the preseason rankings, and should bring a raucous fan base that is sure to create a great college basketball atmosphere when meshed with the Red Storm faithful. Following a trip to Rhode Island to take on the same Ed Cooley-coached program, Seton Hall and Xavier visit the Big Apple on February 23 and 28, respectively -- Xavier doing so at Carnesecca in what could be a monumental opportunity for the Red Storm -- to wrap up a spate that can bring a positive return if navigated properly.