A three-second sequence in Sunday’s 89-75 win by No. 10 St. John’s over UConn offered a perfect encapsulation of the Red Storm’s dominance.
With 4:23 left in the first half at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s guard RJ Luis Jr. made a 3-pointer over Connecticut’s Liam McNeeley.
As UConn center Samson Johnson grappled for position under the basket, he drove St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor to the ground, resulting in a flagrant-1 foul. Ejiofor sank both free throws, and St. John’s maintained possession.
Aaron Scott then drilled a 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining before halftime.
One possession. Eight points.
The incredible progression capped a 19-4 run, putting St. John’s up 43-26 and earning an eruption from the capacity crowd of 19,812.
It was that kind of afternoon for Rick Pitino’s red-hot Red Storm (24-4), who dominated the back-to-back NCAA champions on both ends. The one-sided win completed a regular-season sweep of Dan Hurley’s unranked Huskies (18-9).
Once again, St. John’s and its Big East-best defense set the tone early.
Luis and fellow guard Kadary Richmond took turns clamping down on UConn freshman Liam McNeeley, an anticipated lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
McNeeley, a 6-7 forward, finished with 14 points on 2-of-13 shooting.
He shot just 1-of-7 from the field for four points during a dreadful first half in which his -20 point differential was the worst in the game. McNeeley came into Sunday averaging 23.0 points per game over his last three.
The Red Storm’s unrelenting press helped force 18 turnovers — including nine in the first half — that led to 24 points.
UConn struggled to take care of the ball or set up its offense during a nearly eight-minute stretch in the first half in which point guard Hassan Diarra went to the bench with foul trouble. UConn led, 11-10, when Diarra checked out but trailed, 31-22, by the time he returned.
Offensively, St. John’s found another gear.
The Johnnies entered the game shooting a Big East-worst 29.8% on 3-point attempts, but they went 8-of-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc against UConn, including 8-of-16 in the first half.
St. John’s led, 50-32, at the break, but UConn cut its deficit to nine behind a trio of Alex Karaban 3-pointers in the first eight minutes after halftime.
Richmond responded with jumpers on back-to-back possessions. Two possessions later, Ejiofor again electrified the sellout crowd with a put-back dunk, putting St. John’s back up by 13 with 9:50 remaining.
Conference-leading St. John’s improved to 15-2 in Big East play and 17-0 in home games.
All five St. John’s starters scored in double figures. Richmond and Ejiofor tied for the team lead with 18 points.
Luis, who missed Wednesday’s win at DePaul with a groin injury, finished with 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting in his return.
Scott scored 13 points, while Deivon Smith added 12 points with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Karaban led UConn with 17 points.
St. John’s won its first meeting against the then-19th-ranked Huskies, 68-62, on Feb. 7 in Storrs, Conn., behind 21 points from Luis.
McNeeley shot just 4-of-15 for 18 points in that game, which marked his return from a high ankle sprain that had kept him out for more than a month.
That was the final victory in a 10-game win streak that propelled St. John’s to its first top-10 ranking in the AP Poll since the 1999-2000 season. It was also the game that dropped UConn out of the top 25 for the first time since 2022.
UConn swept St. John’s in three meetings last season, including a win at the Garden in the Big East Tournament semifinal that proved to be the Red Storm’s final game of the year.
But UConn lost four starters from last year’s team, including a pair of top-seven NBA draft picks in guard Stephon Castle and center Donovan Clingan.
The Huskies entered this season ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll but have failed to live up to expectations. Their nine losses already exceed their eight in 2022-23 and their three last season.
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