NEW YORK — In a Big East battle that brought March Madness energy to Madison Square Garden in early February, No. 22 St. John’s beat No. 3 UConn 81-72 Friday night.
Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. He matched a career high with seven assists as the Red Storm won their ninth straight game, snapping the Huskies’ winning streak at 18 in a row. UConn had not lost since Nov. 19 at home to unbeaten Arizona.
“You know you’re going to make me retire because I’m not living life without you,” the 73-year-old Rick Pitino told Ejiofor, who is in his fourth and final season.
For Pitino, it was career victory No. 903, tying him for third all-time in major college basketball with former Kansas and North Carolina coach Roy Williams.
Dillon Mitchell had 15 points and six rebounds, and Bryce Hopkins added 14 and six. Combined with Ejiofor, St. John’s starting frontcourt shot 17-for-26 from the field against UConn.
“They’re grown-ass men,” Huskies coach Dan Hurley said.
The last time St. John’s beat a top-three team at Madison Square Garden was in 2011, when the Johnnies knocked off No. 3 Duke.
Pitino and St. John’s (18-5, 11-1) moved within a half-game of first-place UConn (22-2, 12-1) in the Big East standings, beating Hurley’s Huskies for the third straight time in the budding rivalry between two of college basketball’s superstar coaches.
St. John’s has its first three-game winning streak against the Huskies since the 1999-2000 season. The rematch at UConn is scheduled for Feb. 25.
3 straight wins over UConn for the Johnnies 👀@StJohnsBBall pic.twitter.com/J8Fso7KY1H
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 7, 2026
Silas Demary Jr. scored 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for UConn, but he also committed nine turnovers against St. John’s pressure.
“It was Great Adventure. It was a roller-coaster ride,” Hurley said about his point guard’s night.
Mitchell soared high to tip in a missed 3 by Joson Sanon to put the Red Storm up 76-70 with 1:39 left in the second half, and the Johnnies were able to salt away the victory at the line from there.
“That tip that he made was amazing, absolutely amazing,” Pitino said.
St. John’s swept two regular-season games against UConn last season on the way to a Big East title and conference tournament championship. The Huskies were down in 2024-25, rebuilding after back-to-back national championships.
Hurley’s team is loaded again, a serious threat to win a third NCAA Tournament in four years. Pitino’s third St. John’s team came into the season ranked in the top 10 with a high-priced transfer portal class around preseason Big East player of the year Ejiofor, but Pitino has needed time to find the right combinations.
Inserting Mitchell into the starting lineup as a point forward has unlocked the best of Pitino’s team after finishing the nonconference without a signature victory.
UConn and St. John’s came into Friday’s game at The Garden at the top of the Big East standings, having won a combined 26 games in a row. The Big East tournament is a little more than a month away, but it sure felt like March inside of MSG.
Often when UConn and St. John’s get together at The Garden in the regular season, the Johnnies have to share their home court with a whole lot of Huskies fans.
Not Friday night. From the singing of the national anthem, St. John’s fans announced their presence with jeers toward Hurley and a few “F— UConn” chants showering down from the crowd in between the lyrics.
“I looked around during the anthem and saw a lot of red,” Hurley said. “That felt like a real road game.”
Pitino broke out the dark double-breasted pinstripe suit for the marquee matchup in front of a sellout crowd of 19,812 at the world’s most famous arena, and the teams held up their end of the bargain with an intense game that was tied at 39 at the half.
“I thought The Garden was as good as I’ve seen it,” Pitino said. “That was 90-10 (St. John’s fans).”
Hopkins made a straight-on 3 with 13:00 left in the second half that gave the Johnnies a 10-point lead, sent their fans wild and prompted a timeout by Hurley. During the break, the singalong to “Mr. Brightside” inside MSG felt a little like an actual Killers’ concert.
It was just the third time all season that UConn had trailed by double digits.
It didn’t last long. A 6-0 run by the Huskies cut the lead to 60-55 and quickly quieted St John’s fans during Pitino’s subsequent timeout.
UConn couldn’t complete the comeback, and St. John’s had its first victory against a top-three team since knocking off Villanova during the 2021 pandemic season.
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