NEW YORK CITY – If a win at Kansas was just another outing for UConn, you should believe Dan Hurley when he calls St. John’s a “death match.” The Big East Tournament tipped off Wednesday with several other hopeful contenders, but this battle between juggernauts has felt like a sure thing for months.
Over the course of conference play, the Huskies and Red Storm have traded wins and exposed each other’s weaknesses.
UConn enters Saturday ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll, with a blemished Big East record but wins over Florida, Kansas, Illinois and BYU. The Johnnies arrive on the end of a 17-1 hot streak, their only loss a 72-40 evisceration by Connecticut. Both teams dismantled their Big East Tournament opponents, a foregone conclusion as far as Hurley was concerned.
“You knew there was going to be a third round and here we are,” he said in a press conference Thursday night.
The conference championship is as much a matchup between coaches as it is between programs. Hurley and St. John’s coach Rick Pitino are the twin faces of the Big East, a pair with deep “tension,” per Hurley.
To the Huskies, winning is everything.
“I mean, listen, somebody’s walking out of the tunnel with nothing and somebody is getting confetti dropped on their head tomorrow,” said Hurley. “I think you know (how badly I want it to be me). You’ve seen how I act.”
In their Feb. 6 match, UConn and St. John’s swapped leads until late in the second half. The Huskies were plagued by intercepted passes, sloppy defense and inconsistency from the free-throw line. An uncharacteristic poor outing from 6-foot-4 guard Silas DeMary Jr. cost Connecticut nine turnovers, which St. John’s parlayed into a game-winning run.
“When you go minus-17 point-wise at the foul line and turn the ball over 15 times and get outrebounded, you’re not going to win on the road,” said Hurley. “Credit St. John’s. They’ve got a real physicality that plays real well in these conference games.”
The Huskies had no answer for 6-foot-9 forward — and now Big East Player of the Year — Zuby Ejiofor, who rained hellfire on them from midrange and led the contest in points, rebounds and assists. Notably, UConn was affected by a hostile crowd at Madison Square Garden — a venue favorable to them against any opponent save St. John’s.
Connecticut must have binge-watched tape, because the Feb. 25 rematch against the Johnnies — this time in Hartford — was no contest. The Huskies sank 9 of 11 from the free-throw line, turned the ball over just five times and looked like the strongest two-way team in the nation. St. John’s shot a dismal 20 percent from the field against an oppressive UConn defense and managed just 40 points — a season low. It was the Red Storm’s last loss to date.
“We did not shoot the ball well, at all, did not play well, but we gave effort. And I just said, don’t worry about it, let’s get on with it,” Pitino told Hoops HQ. “Sometimes when you coach young players and their offense is not clicking and they’re not doing well — and it was the whole team’s offense not doing well — your defense starts to go the other way.”
Like UConn, the Johnnies course-corrected after the loss. They routed 22-7 Villanova at home, then steamrolled through the Big East, unseating UConn as the No. 1 team in the conference.
Both teams sailed to the Big East title game. While Seton Hall forced a fight out of St. John’s, a balanced attack by Ejiofor, 6-foot-7 forward Bryce Hopkins and 6-foot-8 forward Dillon Mitchell — a recent inductee to the Hoops HQ All-Glue Team — decided the game. The Johnnies’ transition defense and length proved insurmountable for one of the smallest teams in the conference.
In the Friday nightcap, UConn battered Georgetown with drawn fouls, physicality and floor spacing. The Hoyas hung on, but could not control the pace of the game, nor stop the Huskies’ best shooters from grabbing open looks. An explosive outing from 6-foot-6 guard Braylon Mullins with support from Demary (zero turnovers) was more than enough to win the day.
The rubber match could go either way. St. John’s is running hot, and the defense — long and hounding — seems perfectly crafted to counter UConn’s motion offense. If the Johnnies can restrict movement, stick to their guys, contest shots and maintain momentum in the paint, they can piece together a win. Conversely, if the Huskies can control the pace and force St. John’s (ranked 305th in possessions per game) to play quickly, the Johnnies are liable to take bad shots and turn the ball over.
Regardless of the outcome, this is the marquee match of the Big East Tournament, and a final reckoning for one of the season’s great conference rivalries. Should UConn win, the Huskies have an argument to poach Florida’s No. 1 seed. Should St. John’s prevail, the Red Storm could soar to the No. 3 seed line. There’s no better way to spend your Saturday night. St. John’s-UConn tips off at 6:30pm in Madison Square Garden.
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