The first meeting between the two schools was on December 8, 1909 which was won by St. John's 41–26.

The two teams played off and on since that first matchup until 1965, when they began annually scheduled games, and they only intensified when both programs became founding members of the Big East Conference in 1979.

The rivalry was brought to national attention during the 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season when both programs were ranked #1 and #2 throughout the season and met on four occasions, including during the 1985 Big East Championship and the 1985 Final Four.

The college basketball rivalry gained renewed interest in 2013 when both schools moved to the new Big East Conference during the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment.

Both programs were formerly coached by their school's Hall of Fame players, Chris Mullin and Patrick Ewing from the 1984–85 season.