How to watch UConn men's basketball vs. St. John's

UConn’s chances at a share of the Big East regular season title will largely come down to Wednesday’s top-15 matchup in Hartford against St. John’s.

Rick Pitino’s Red Storm, looking to repeat as champions of the league, carry a half-game lead over the sixth-ranked Huskies after taking the first matchup, 81-72, and snapping UConn’s 18-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 7.

A UConn win on Wednesday would tie the programs atop the league standings with two losses a piece and set up a gripping final two weeks of the regular season. The Huskies will have two games left against Seton Hall and at Marquette, while St. John’s has to host third-place Villanova and Georgetown before its season finale at Seton Hall.

If UConn wins and both teams win out the rest of the way, the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament would still go to St. John’s based on the current league standings. The tie-breaker is based on head-to-head results – both teams would be 2-0 against third-place Villanova and 2-0 against fourth-place Seton Hall, so it would come down to Creighton, which St. John’s swept and UConn split.

Providence (5-11), which beat St. John’s, would have to pass Creighton (8-9) in the standings for UConn to have the tie-breaker advantage, unless the Red Storm take another loss down the stretch.

Here are three keys for UConn in its highest-stakes game of the year:

UConn guard Silas Demary Jr, middle, drives between St. John’s guard Ian Jackson, left, and forward Bryce Hopkins during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/John Munson)

Ball security

St. John’s, leading the league in turnover margin, scored 20 points off of 15 turnovers when UConn visited MSG. It was essentially a repeat of the way both matchups went last season, when an entirely different St. John’s squad was relentlessly disruptive with its guard pressure and unstoppable in transition.

Nine of the Huskies’ turnovers came from point guard Silas Demary Jr., who has had ball security issues with Pitino’s team in the past. He had 10 giveaways before making a steal in the final seconds of a 66-63 Georgia win in the Bahamas last season. A contender for Big East Player of the Year, Demary had similar trouble with seven turnovers in UConn’s win at Villanova on Saturday.

Hurley’s message stayed the same after both games.

“I just think they’re so avoidable for him,” Hurley said. “They’re a little bit casual. Just every dribble you take as a guard, like you’ve got to change angles, you’ve got to change the cadence of your dribble, you’ve got to change speeds.”

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Bench production

Hurley didn’t have many trusted alternatives when Demary or any of his other starters struggled earlier this month.

Backup point guard Malachi Smith only played five minutes against the Johnnies, missing two shots and giving the ball away once. Jaylin Stewart was most effective, playing 11 minutes and making his only shot from the field with three rebounds and an assist. Jayden Ross, who has been counted on in a larger role of late as a wing defender, played eight minutes and went 1-for-2 from the field. And Eric Reibe struggled to hold his own against the Johnnies’ physicality, only playing five minutes with two points, a rebound and a steal.

The bench unit as a whole combined for just six points with three turnovers.

Hurley adjusted his approach in Philadelphia on Saturday with more faith in his reserves, allowing them opportunities to play through mistakes. He was rewarded with 22 points off the bench on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, plus 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. But they will need to match the intensity on Wednesday.

Protect the paint

The Big Three in St. John’s frontcourt – Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell – combined for 50 points on 65% shooting against Tarris Reed Jr., Alex Karaban and Braylon Mullins, who was at a size disadvantage in his matchup against Mitchell.

UConn will have to do a better job of managing the physicality without fouling, which hurt it in the first matchup. While Villanova doesn’t have the three bigs, the Huskies returned to the formidable defense they showed in the nonconference part of the season.

They will need a similar effort from Reibe for him to stay on the court and help keep Reed fresh and out of foul trouble for what is sure to be an exhausting battle in the paint.

“I thought what was most impressive about our bigs today was that they showed the ability to get out and blitz and blow up ball screens and zooms and different things, but then also made it tough on (Villanova’s bigs) in terms of rolling,” Hurley said Saturday. “That’s the capability that Tarris and Eric have. We can’t let each other down anymore.”