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No. 6 UConn men’s basketball delivered a monster performance against No. 15 St John’s on Wednesday night at PeoplesBank Arena. They improved to 26-3 and 16-2 in the Big East, retaking first-place from St. John’s after losing to the Johnnies at MSG earlier this month.
Tarris Reed Jr. was too much for St. John’s, dominating early and often. He dropped a game-high 20 points with 11 boards on 9-of-14 shooting. Alex Karaban added 14 points while Solo Ball poured in another 11. Reed and Karaban each finished with a team-high plus-minus of +30.
“This [was Reed’s] best game… If he shows up like this…we’re gonna be tough to beat the rest of the way,” said Dan Hurley postgame.
Zuby Ejiofor, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, was held in check. The senior averaging 16 PPG was held to just six. Bryce Hopkins, who averages 14 PPG, was held to eight points and posted a negative-32 plus-minus. Wednesday tied the program’s record for fewest points scored since 2013, when they put up 40 against Notre Dame.
After another convincing win, this time over a ranked league opponent, UConn should be a lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They came out with grit and hunger to win loose balls and the rebounding battle. Jaylin Stewart was ruled out pregame, but that was not a problem whatsoever for UConn, which dominated from the opening tip.
The Huskies jumped out to a 9-2 lead, started by Alex Karaban nailing his first triple. Karaban got back into the swing of things after dealing with a leg injury and scoring just two points in the loss to Creighton. He scored 12 points against Villanova before his 14 on Wednesday.
The Red Storm climbed back into the game early to cut the lead to two. But the Tarris Reed show was just beginning. The senior threw down a jam, followed by lay-up and free-throw for the three-point play to build the buffer. He then made a sweet spinning lay-in, which had him grinning as he ran back down the floor. He slammed home a fast break dunk to keep the run going.
On the defensive end, Reed picked off a Bryce Hopkins pass, which led to an open Braylon Mullins three-pointer to go up 7. Rick Pitino called a timeout, as People’s Bank Arena got the loudest it has been in a very long time.
It would not get better for the visitors from there. The electricity in the building was unmatched, as UConn went on a 20-0 run in the first half as St. John’s went over eight minutes, allowing the hosts to go up 33-12. Joson Sanon briefly stopped the bleeding, burying a triple with 5:32 to go in the first half.
The Red Storm got a few points back from Sanon. Their only bright spot tonight finished the half with 10 points, his first game in double figures since Jan. 28. He was scoreless in the second half, however, like many of his teammates, as they shot a combined 2-of-28 in those 20 minutes.
UConn went into halftime with a commanding 41-26 lead and just one point allowed to Ejiofor while Reed already had 14. The defense was the story of the first half. UConn was swarming the Red Storm, forcing sloppy passes and putting sheer panic in them, and it continued into the second.
The second stanza began a lot like the first, with Reed going wherever he wanted, getting easy dunks and layups down low.
Karaban forced another St. John’s timeout as he got an easy layup to cap off a 9-0 run to go up 54-31. The veteran was attacking the paint and took smart shots all game. The Huskies were up by as much as 36 points.
St. John’s missed 24 straight shots in the second half, going over 17 minutes without hitting a basket.
After conquering the top two opponents in the league in games that head coach Dan Hurley said were “must win,” UConn has one more big one, hosting Seton Hall at Gampel, before ending the season at Marquette. Senior day will tipoff at noon on FS1.