St. John’s joins this year’s elite doubleheader and will face Kentucky on Dec. 20 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta

Click here to watch today’s announcement with Mark Pope and Rick Pitino.

The matchups have been announced for the 12th edition of the CBS Sports Classic, which will welcome a new participant this year as St. John’s joins Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio State for the 2025 event. This year’s Classic will take place Saturday, Dec. 20 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The Buckeyes will take on the Tar Heels in the first game and will be followed by the Red Storm facing the Wildcats. Both games of the doubleheader will air on The CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+. Tip times will be announced at a later date.

“Obviously, Kentucky was Camelot for me, I’ve said it many times,” said St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino. “So now to play against The Captain [Mark Pope], who made so many special moments for me and the team, in a battle that CBS is putting on is quite special. I will remember it for a long, long time.”

Kentucky and St. John’s have met 16 times previously, with the Wildcats owning an 11-5 advantage in the series. The last meeting between the programs came in 2012 in Lexington, where Kentucky scored an 81-59 win over the Red Storm. Pitino was the head coach at Kentucky from 1989-1997, and Pope was the captain of the 1995-96 Wildcat team that won the national championship.

Ohio State and North Carolina have also met 16 times previously, with the Tar Heels holding a firm 13-3 advantage in the series. North Carolina has won each of the three previous matchups in the CBS Sports Classic against the Buckeyes, including an 89-84 overtime win in the teams’ most recent meeting in 2022.

Fans will have the opportunity to purchase official travel packages for the CBS Sports Classic, which will include game tickets for both contests of the doubleheader and hotel accommodations near State Farm Arena. Fan travel packages are set to go on sale in August, allowing fans exclusive early access to secure their seats for the event ahead of the launch of public ticket sales.  Tickets for the general public will go on sale later in August.  

Fans interested in attending the event can register to receive direct email alerts regarding ticket news and other event details at www.cbssportsclassic.com/tickets. Fans who register for these alerts will receive key information on travel package sales and will also be eligible for an exclusive ticket presale.

State Farm Arena will serve as host for the event for the second time in three years, having last hosted the event in 2023. Throughout the 11-year history of the CBS Sports Classic, the United Center in Chicago (2014, 2018), Barclays Center in Brooklyn (2015), T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (2016, 2019, 2021), Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (2017), Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland (2020) and Madison Square Garden in New York (2022, 2024) have also hosted the event.

North Carolina is 7-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, Ohio State is 6-4 and Kentucky is 5-6.

For additional information on the event, please visit www.cbssportsclassic.com.