A 3-second sequence in Sunday’s 89-75 win by No. 10 St. John’s over UConn provided an ideal encapsulation of the Crimson Storm’s dominance.
With 4:23 left within the first half at Madison Sq. Backyard, St. John’s guard RJ Luis Jr. made a 3-pointer over Connecticut’s Liam McNeeley.
As UConn middle Samson Johnson grappled for place beneath the basket, he drove St. John’s ahead Zuby Ejiofor to the bottom, leading to a flagrant-1 foul. Ejiofor sank each free throws, and St. John’s maintained possession.
Aaron Scott then drilled a 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining earlier than halftime.
One possession. Eight factors.
The unimaginable development capped a 19-4 run, placing St. John’s up 43-26 and incomes an eruption from the capability crowd of 19,812.
It was that sort of afternoon for Rick Pitino’s red-hot Crimson Storm (24-4), who dominated the back-to-back NCAA champions on each ends. The one-sided win accomplished a regular-season sweep of Dan Hurley’s unranked Huskies (18-9).
As soon as once more, St. John’s and its Huge East-best protection set the tone early.
Luis and fellow guard Kadary Richmond took turns clamping down on UConn freshman Liam McNeeley, an anticipated lottery choose on this summer season’s NBA draft.
McNeeley, a 6-7 ahead, completed with 14 factors on 2-of-13 capturing.
He shot simply 1-of-7 from the sphere for 4 factors throughout a dreadful first half wherein his -20 level differential was the worst within the sport. McNeeley got here into Sunday averaging 23.0 factors per sport over his final three.
The Crimson Storm’s unrelenting press helped drive 18 turnovers — together with 9 within the first half — that led to 24 factors.
UConn struggled to maintain the ball or arrange its offense throughout an almost eight-minute stretch within the first half wherein level guard Hassan Diarra went to the bench with foul hassle. UConn led, 11-10, when Diarra checked out however trailed, 31-22, by the point he returned.
Offensively, St. John’s discovered one other gear.
The Johnnies entered the sport capturing a Huge East-worst 29.8% on 3-point makes an attempt, however they went 8-of-19 (42.1%) from past the arc in opposition to UConn, together with 8-of-16 within the first half.
St. John’s led, 50-32, on the break, however UConn minimize its deficit to 9 behind a trio of Alex Karaban 3-pointers within the first eight minutes after halftime.
Richmond responded with jumpers on back-to-back possessions. Two possessions later, Ejiofor once more electrified the sellout crowd with a put-back dunk, placing St. John’s again up by 13 with 9:50 remaining.
Convention-leading St. John’s improved to 15-2 in Huge East play and 17-0 in house video games.
All 5 St. John’s starters scored in double figures. Richmond and Ejiofor tied for the group lead with 18 factors.
Luis, who missed Wednesday’s win at DePaul with a groin damage, completed with 14 factors on 4-of-18 capturing in his return.
Scott scored 13 factors, whereas Deivon Smith added 12 factors with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Karaban led UConn with 17 factors.
St. John’s gained its first assembly in opposition to the then-Nineteenth-ranked Huskies, 68-62, on Feb. 7 in Storrs, Conn., behind 21 factors from Luis.
McNeeley shot simply 4-of-15 for 18 factors in that sport, which marked his return from a excessive ankle sprain that had stored him out for greater than a month.
That was the ultimate victory in a 10-game win streak that propelled St. John’s to its first top-10 rating within the AP Ballot for the reason that 1999-2000 season. It was additionally the sport that dropped UConn out of the highest 25 for the primary time since 2022.
UConn swept St. John’s in three conferences final season, together with a win on the Backyard within the Huge East Match semifinal that proved to be the Crimson Storm’s last sport of the yr.
However UConn misplaced 4 starters from final yr’s group, together with a pair of top-seven NBA draft picks in guard Stephon Fortress and middle Donovan Clingan.
The Huskies entered this season ranked No. 3 within the AP Ballot however have did not dwell as much as expectations. Their 9 losses already exceed their eight in 2022-23 and their three final season.
