For the third consecutive year the men's basketball program, led by fourth-year head Coach John Alesi, will begin their season taking on a high major Division I opponent. 

After facing Rutgers in 2014 and almost stunning eventual Big East champion Seton Hall in 2015, the Bearcats will head to Queens to take on the St. John's University Red Storm for an exhibition contest on October 31^st, 2016 at Carnesecca Arena.
 
St. John's, one of college basketball's all-time winningest programs, are looking to bring back the glory days under second year Head Coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin. The Red Storm, from the prestigious Big East Conference, return seven letterwinner's from last year's squad who scored a signature win over Final Four participant Syracuse University. In addition, they have one of the top-ranked recruiting classes in the nation.
 
Baruch is coming off their second consecutive trip to the CUNYAC Finals and an ECAC semifinal appearance during the 2015-16 season.  The Bearcats raised some eyebrows early last year when they nearly knocked off Seton Hall University in their exhibition game. The Bearcats led for a majority of that contest before ultimately falling to the Big East Champion Pirates,84-79, behind Isaiah Whitehead's (drafted by the Brooklyn Nets) 40 point effort. Despite an uneven regular season, Baruch would hit its stride late last year as they defeated Hunter, Medgar Evers and top-seeded Lehman to return to the CUNYAC Final where they would fall to Brooklyn College on ESPN3.
 
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to open our season with a game against an opponent such as St. John's University," said Alesi. "In my opinion, there is no better test to see where we are at as a team than to play against the best early and often. We are looking forward to the challenge."
 
The Bearcats return seven players from last year's team, including CUNYAC First-Team All-Star Chimaechi Ekekeugbor. Last year Ekekeugbor led the squad in both scoring (19.2ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), and will look to take on more of a leadership role this season.  Alesi will also be looking to a talented group of newcomers to provide immediate impact in hopes of returning to a third consecutive CUNYAC Finals appearance. 

"Our goal is to get better each and every day," said Alesi. "We feel we have a good mix of players and are excited about this season.  I can't think of a better way to start than against one of the top programs in college basketball history in St. John's.  It will be great for not only our players and coaches but for our entire Baruch community as well."
 
Please check back to BaruchAthletics.com for ticket and game information in the near future.