🎥 UConn MBB Postgame Media Availability - St. John's (2.25.26)
HARTFORD - No. 6 UConn men’s basketball picked up a massive win, both in margin and meaning, blowing the doors off of No. 15 St. John’s, 72-40, at PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday night.
In the final game in the former mall this season, the Huskies were led by their seniors as Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Alex Karaban had 14 points.
With Jaylin Stewart out nursing a knee injury, the Huskies were a bit shorthanded but they overcame it. The defense was on another level, holding St. John’s to 32 percent shooting in the first half and then an anemic 2-for-28 in the second half without a basket for the final 17:28 of the game. The Red Storm had scored 65 or more points in all 27 games coming in. On this night, they barely made it to 40.
UConn (26-3, 15-2) had a sense of urgency from the opening tip, looking for revenge from the last time the two teams faced off earlier this month. The Huskies went on an 18-0 run in the first half and a 16-0 run in the second half to make sure this one was never close again. They’re now a half-game ahead of the Johnnies with the same amount of losses, but St. John’s owns the tiebreaker.
St. John’s (22-6, 15-2) came into the day winners of 13 straight. Rick Pitino had the Red Storm clicking at the right time, winning games by an average of over 12 points during their streak. He took personal responsibility for the blowout.
Karaban got the party started for the Huskies, knocking down a wide-open three after the Red Storm doubled up on Reed in the post. Reed would score five of the next six for UConn after that to conclude a 9-0 run, including a three-point play and a slam that got the already ramped-up Hartford crowd even louder.
With UConn up 9-3, a pair of St. John’s triples sandwiched around a bucket from Reed made things 11-9 before another Husky burst. Reed had an uncontested slam in transition before Braylon Mullins drilled a corner three on the very next trip to trigger a timeout from Pitino and an eruption from the crowd.
After the stoppage, Karaban connected on another three to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 21-11. The scoring run would continue, as a Karaban slam followed by a scoop-and-score-and-1 from Malachi Smith made it a 13-0 run before a Jayden Ross fadeaway kept it going.
The run ultimately capped off at 18-0 after Mullins’ third three-pointer of the half before a free throw from Zuby Ejiofor ended it. Solo Ball came down and scored on the other end, pushing the lead to 33-12, the largest margin of the first half.
Reed continued his dominance in the opening 20 minutes, completing his second three-point play of the half to make it 36-17 and give the senior a dozen points. He would end the half with 14 points.
For as many timely buckets as there were in the first half, the Husky defense was arguably more impressive. St. John’s shot 9-28 from the field in the first half and 4-12 from deep while turning the ball over five times. The missed shots didn’t allow the Red Storm to set up their press, and the Huskies ran all over them and took a 41-26 lead into the locker room.
Reed kept rolling into the second half, spinning and throwing down another dunk before swatting a shot on the other end. On the next trip, Mullins found him for yet another wide-open slam to give him 18 points on the night.
That Mullins trey would come in the midst of another big scoring run for the Huskies. Afterwards, a steal from the freshman ended up in a fastbreak slam for Ross and a Karaban layup on the next trip called for another Pitino timeout, this one with UConn up 54-31 and in the midst of a 9-0 surge.
This run wouldn’t be ending soon, either. By the next media timeout, it reached 16-0 with St. John’s being held scoreless for over 10 minutes of action. The run finally concluded at the 6:41 mark after Bryce Hopkins hit a free throw, formerly being a 10:47 scoreless drought.
The Red Storm would miss their final 24 shots of the game, going 2-28 in the second half as a whole.
The press was something that gave UConn fits at MSG, but they attacked it impressively well in Hartford. On one inbounds play, all four Huskies lined up on the near side before Karaban threw a touchdown pass to Demary for a deuce to make it 65-32.
Hurley was able to empty the bench and get most of the end-of-bench reserves in the game. Dwayne Koroma scored four points late, including a slam to cap off a 72-40 victory.
After the biggest concern the past few weeks was the defense, UConn silenced everything with its second straight quality outing.
The win means UConn and St. John’s each have two losses with 10 days left in the regular season. The Huskies have games against Seton Hall and Marquette, while the Red Storm face Villanova, Georgetown, and Seton Hall.
Next up, UConn has its final home game of the season, against Seton Hall at Gampel Pavilion on a Saturday that will also feature Senior Day festivities. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. and will be televised on FS1.
Led by Shaheen Holloway, the Pirates are on the edge of the NCAA Tournament picture with Selection Sunday less than three weeks away. They’re ranked 52nd in KenPom overall efficiency (188th Offense, 10th Defense).
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