NEW YORK- No. 2 seed UConn men’s basketball couldn’t finish the job in the Big East Tournament, falling to No. 1 seed St. John’s 72-52 in a championship game that was not close.
The Red Storm controlled the game from the opening tip, scoring the game’s first 10 points. The Huskies never led a single second in the loss and shot 34 percent from the floor as a team and 16 percent (3-of-19) from three while turning the ball over 17 times.
UConn (29-5, 17-3) never got into a flow offensively after the surprising start to the game. Tarris Reed Jr. was the lone Husky in double figures, finishing with 17 points. The Huskies’ starting backcourt shot a combined 4-22 from the floor and the bigs were in foul trouble early.
St. John’s (28-6, 6-14) came into the day coming off back-to-back dominant wins in the previous rounds. They also claimed the regular-season crown after the Huskies’ season-ending loss to Marquette.
UConn finally broke through on the scoreboard on a three-point play from Ball 4:05 into the game.
The Red Storm kept their foot on the gas, hitting big shots and forcing turnovers throughout the game to maintain their lead. They would score 13 of the next 20, taking a 23-9 lead into the next stoppage.
Dillon Mitchell had an uncontested dunk after sneaking behind the Husky defenders getting back, triggering Hurley to call his first timeout.
Before the timeout, Demary scored a tough basket underneath on a great offensive rebound from Ross. Hurley believed there was a foul while Ross was grabbing the board and let the refs know it, getting a technical foul.
Karaban would finally break the team’s seal from three around the 10 minute mark, his program record-tying 276th career triple.
The lead for St. John’s peaked at 17 in the first half, as Mitchell finished another alley-oop slam to make it 36-19 and force another Hurley timeout. The Husky transition defense was lackluster in the first half, allowing multiple open run-outs.
UConn built a little momentum late in the half thanks to a sequence of a Karaban bucket, a defensive stop, followed by an alley-oop from Solo Ball to Eric Reibe. That cut it back to 13, which was ultimately the Huskies’ halftime deficit at 40-27. UConn had 11 first-half turnovers, which turned into 15 St. John’s points.
Braylon Mullins got into a rhythm early in the second half after not scoring in the opening 20 minutes. He scored a quick five, including a transition three that made Pitino call a time-out at the 15:55 mark, trimming the deficit to 47-36.
Reed would score after the timeout to make it a 9-0 UConn run, but Bryce Hopkins answered to push the lead back to double digits at 49-38. Reed responded with another two baskets to get it down to seven for the first time since it was 10-3 in the opening few minutes, calling for another Pitino timeout.
After the stoppage, St. John’s scored the next five to push the lead back to 12, as Hopkins hit a mid-range jumper and Zuby Ejiofor knocked down a three. Reed would hit a free throw, but Ejiofor answered with a post hook to make it 56-43 at the 10-minute mark.
On the next play, Ejiofor swatted a Demary layup attempt that ended in a fastbreak flush for Mitchell. Demary stayed down after the play, taking some time before gingerly walking to the locker room. He did return a few minutes later.
Dylan Darling hit a couple of key baskets down the stretch, including one that made Hurley called a time-out after the St. John’s lead got to 65-49 with 5:01 to play. The Huskies went the final 8:03 without a field goal.
By the final buzzer, St. John’s walked away with a dominant 72-52 final score. The Red Storm played to their identity, forcing turnovers and making life miserable for the Huskies’ top scorers.
Demary was helped to the locker room a second time late in the game, this time with the trainer and Alec Millender supporting him all the way there. His status remains unknown, but any injury is a bad injury with the NCAA Tournament right around the corner next week.
Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. were named to the All-Big East Tournament Team despite the loss on Saturday
The Huskies will find out where they’ll be and who they’ll play in the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night. It’s the expectation that they’ll be a two-seed and play in Philadelphia during the first weekend, but nothing is official until the Selection Show on Sunday night.
