UConn men fall to St. John’s in Big East Tournament title bout

NEW YORK – The UConn men’s basketball team couldn’t weather the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden as it fell to No. 1 seed St. John’s in the Big East Tournament championship Saturday night, 72-52.

The second-seeded Huskies (29-5) spotted a 10-point lead out of the gates and couldn’t overcome the defensive intensity of the Johnnies as they turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 3-for-19 (15.8%) from beyond the arc.

St. John’s, winning its fifth tournament title all-time in the rubber match of Big East behemoths, became the first back-to-back dual-champion in the league since its divisional era ended in 2004.

It was the first 20-point loss for UConn since March 15, 2019, when it fell to Houston, 84-45, in the second round of the AAC Tournament.

“Just the way St. John’s was able to kind of wash what we did to them, we’ve got to be able to put this behind us quickly,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Those guys earned it. They went 18-2 in this league and then in this big, big game tonight, they showed up and we didn’t. The same thing happened to us in ’23 – and I’m not predicting the same run, this team has showed a lot more flaws that that team showed at that point – but we’re very confident that we’re going to play our best in the NCAA Tournament.

“This is a really, really physical league. That was a really, really, really physical game, and we’re excited to play in the NCAA tournament that doesn’t get played like that.

Hurley still believes that the Huskies, who came into Saturday with the fifth-best resumé in the country, according to EvanMiya.com analytics, will be a No. 2 seed when the March Madness bracket is announced on Sunday night.

The Huskies’ coach provided a positive update on his point guard, Silas Demary Jr., who had to be helped into the locker room with three and a half minutes remaining. He was told that it was a “very mild (ankle) sprain with no swelling.”

“Obviously we’ll take precautions with an X-ray,” he said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed. I mean, it didn’t look– hopefully it’s not something that lingers.”

The Johnnies were led by 18 points a piece from bigs Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins, and a 14-point effort from guard Oziyah Sellers. UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. was the only Husky to finish in double-figures as he scored 17 points with seven rebounds.

UConn got jumped from the moment the ball was tipped.

Overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of a St. John’s team that was motivated by the embarrassing 72-40 loss it took in Hartford in the last matchup, the Huskies allowed a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the game.

“They punched us in the mouth early and they kept that momentum the whole game. We weren’t able to come back,” Reed said.

“We knew that it would be a very forceful response from them and we just weren’t able to match it,” Hurley said. “We weren’t able to finish some things around the basket and just kind of settle into the game. And then just playing catch-up was an issue. But all the stuff for us that’s been problematic throughout the year, just defense in the first half, the turnovers, and then obviously just a brutal night shooting. Just a brutal night shooting.”

UConn started the game 1-for-9 from the field. At the defensive end, it allowed easy runs to the rim and St. John’s made 10 of its first 14 shots, most coming as layups or dunks, as it continued to pile on. The Johnnies finished the game with a 24-10 advantage off turnovers.

Frustration boiled over on the Huskies’ sideline as Hurley stomped his foot and earned a technical foul from referee James Breeding with 12 and a half minutes left in the half.

The game didn’t get out of reach before halftime, despite UConn turning the ball over 11 times. St. John’s closed the half shooting just 2-for-12 from the field and went into its locker room with a 40-27 lead.

UConn made a run, 13-2, as Reed scored six straight points inside and cut the deficit to seven with 12 and a half minutes left. But the Huskies were worn down by St. John’s pressure and couldn’t maintain their level of play.

“They just set the tone, and we just had to find a way to respond and we just didn’t do that to start the first half. I mean, they pressure, they’re athletic, they could switch. They have a really good defense, they’re super well-coached. And then the shots just didn’t fall our way today. But I’m not going to take away credit from St. John’s. They deserve all the credit for how they played defensively,” said Alex Karaban, who was the Huskies’ second-leading scorer with seven points, five rebounds and five assists.

Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year, snatched the momentum with a rare 3-pointer from the top of the key before a vicious block on Demary, which led to a flashy dunk from Dillon Mitchell (nine points, nine rebounds, two steals). Demary was slow to get up and left the court on his own power. He spent a short time in the locker room before coming back and immediately joining the Huskies’ huddle.

Malachi Smith came in and immediately got involved with a transition layup through contact that cut the deficit back to 10 points with eight to play. But St. John’s landed the final knockout blows with a 13-0 run that blew the game open as its lead swelled to as many as 23 with three and a half minutes left, when Demary left the game for good.

UConn didn’t make a shot from the field in the final eight minutes of the game, missing 13 in a row.

“We just couldn’t settle into the game and then it just kind of unraveled for us,” Hurley said. “This team has definitely showed a level of fragility that some of our best teams haven’t. But I do think that once you get into the excitement of the draw tomorrow and March Madness… I’m concerned about some of the shot-making. If you look at the quality of shots, I think they’ve been pretty good. So am I concerned that some guys are pressing on the perimeter right now that are getting really good looks at 3s? And the ball security? Those are the things that are very worrisome.”