Sunday marks the closing costume rehearsal for St. John’s, and it will be a vital check after uneven performances against Drexel and Rutgers. 

Texas, which is expected to be one of the premier groups in the nation this season, is coming to the Garden for a midday tipoff. Coach Sean Miller’s Longhorns are massive, deep, bodily and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press preseason ballot. 

It is a good barometer for the new-look and No. 13 Red Storm, related to the exhibition sport against eventual nationwide champion Michigan prior to last season. 

“We are nowhere near where we need to be on offensively or especially on defense to play a team like Texas,” Pitino said over Zoom. “So it’s going to be great for us to gauge where we have to improve and get better. This is a tremendous game for us, similar to Michigan last year.”