HARTFORD, Conn. — Tarris Reed Jr. tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks, as No. 6 UConn limited 15th-ranked St. John’s to 20% shooting in a 72-40 decisive victory on Wednesday night, which concluded the Red Storm’s 13-game unbeaten sequence.
Alex Karaban contributed 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who reclaimed their top position in the Big East by retaliating for an 81-72 defeat to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6.
St. John’s struggled, failing on 12 successive shots in the first half and then their last 24 field goal attempts throughout the game, as the Huskies (26-3, 16-2) cruised to their most commanding win in the history of their matchups.
“They’ve been performing exceptionally, given the run that they were on. … So it was simply our evening,” UConn’s coach, Dan Hurley, remarked. “Things just start compounding on you when you experience a night like this. Evidently, we exhibited outstanding defense against them, and I believe we disheartened them somewhat as the score reached its eventual mark. And I just feel it was one of those nights where everything unfolded perfectly for us and everything went awry for them. Nevertheless, we played a significant role in making that occur.”
This marked by far the most significant loss for the Red Storm in three seasons under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, and their lowest point total in a game since tallying 40 against Notre Dame in March 2013. St. John’s experienced its most substantial setback as an AP-ranked team since March 15, 1960, when it was vanquished by St. Bonaventure by 35 points.
For Pitino, this contest represented the second-most substantial defeat of his career as the leading mentor of an AP-ranked team, eclipsed solely by a 33-point loss suffered with then-No. 5 Louisville in February 2009.
Solo Ball contributed 11 points and four assists for UConn, while Silas Demary Jr. supplied seven points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Joson Sanon registered his entire 10-point total in the first half for St. John’s (22-6, 15-2), which converted just 11 of 56 attempts from the field and consequently slipped a half-game back of UConn in the conference standings. The team’s impressive 13-game unbroken victory run was its most extended in over four decades.
Although Zuby Ejiofor netted a pair of swift scores for the Red Storm early in the second half, the Huskies swiftly responded with a 16-point surge. A driving layup by Karaban extended their lead to 23 with 13:42 remaining, and St. John’s endured a field goal drought for the last 17:27 of the contest.
During UConn’s 18-0 scoring spree in the first half, Braylon Mullins contributed six points and Karaban added five. Subsequently, a driving layup from Ball provided the Huskies with a 33-12 advantage.
Sanon accounted for 10 of St. John’s subsequent 12 points as the Red Storm commenced reducing their disadvantage. However, Reed secured his own offensive rebound and passed the ball out to Ball for a 3-pointer, ensuring the Huskies entered the intermission holding a 41-26 lead.
UConn’s initial lineup bested the Red Storm’s first-string unit 61-28, and the Huskies further boasted a 42-12 dominance within the key.
Information for this article was supplied by The Associated Press and ESPN Research.