Rick Pitino’s surging St. John’s Red Storm squad brings a seven-game winning streak to Wintrust Arena on Tuesday night, where a DePaul Blue Demons team still searching for its first signature win of the season awaits. Our St. John’s vs. DePaul prediction includes projected starting lineups, a full score forecast, and analysis for this pivotal Big East showdown.
St. John’s vs. DePaul Projected Lineups and Key Matchups
St. John’s Red Storm Starting Lineup
- Joson Sanon (G)
- Ian Jackson (G)
- Oziyah Sellers (G)
- Dillon Mitchell (F)
- Zuby Ejiofor (F)
DePaul Blue Demons Starting Lineup
- Layden Blocker (G)
- CJ Gunn (G)
- RJ Smith (G)
- Brandon Maclin (F)
- NJ Benson (F)
St. John’s vs. DePaul Prediction and Preview
The Red Storm are playing their best basketball at exactly the right time.
During their current seven-game winning streak, six different players have led St. John’s in scoring: Zuby Ejiofor, Lefteris Liotopoulos, Oziyah Sellers, Bryce Hopkins (twice), Dillon Mitchell, and Ian Jackson. That kind of balance makes them nearly impossible to game plan against.
Ejiofor (15.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.0 bpg, 1.2 spg) has lived up to his billing as one of the most versatile players in the nation, but the real story lately has been Mitchell’s emergence.
In the Red Storm’s last four games, Mitchell has averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 60.5% from the floor. His 14-point, 13-rebound performance against Butler helped Pitino notch career win No. 901.
St. John’s is second in the Big East, scoring 85.4 points per game and is shooting 46.9%. The Red Storm ranks among the nation’s leaders in free throw attempts (26.3) and offensive rebounds (13.9) per game, two areas where DePaul has struggled defensively.
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DePaul (12-10, 4-7 Big East) is coming off a heartbreaking loss. CJ Gunn’s game-tying 25-footer with six seconds left seemed destined to force overtime, but Filip Borovicanin connected on a jumper at the horn for Xavier’s 68-66 win.
In Big East action, Gunn leads DePaul with 14.8 points per game and 23-of-64 shooting (35.9%) from 3-point range.
The Blue Demons have talent. Layden Blocker (12.3 ppg, 3.6 apg) and super-sub Brandon Maclin (10.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg) also average double figures in league play. But DePaul is seeking its first win over the Red Storm since 2022, and St. John’s won the first meeting this season 79-66 in Queens.
Chris Holtmann’s team simply doesn’t have the defensive tools to slow down St. John’s balanced attack. St. John’s scores 16.0 more points per game (85.4) than DePaul gives up (69.4).
The Red Storm’s frontcourt of Ejiofor and Mitchell should dominate the glass, and DePaul’s tendency to foul will only fuel St. John’s nation-leading free-throw rate.
Prediction: St. John’s 82, DePaul 68
How To Watch St. John’s vs. DePaul
- Date: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Arena: Wintrust Arena
- TV Channel: Peacock
- Live Stream: Peacock
