Three takeaways and perspective from St. John’s men’s basketball’s dominant 89-75 win over UConn

The Red Storm played with determined and ferocious defense to sweep UConn for the first time in 25 years

Riding up the escalators in Madison Square Garden, the UConn faithful chanted, “Let’s Go Huskies.” Nevertheless, a multitude of fans dressed in red dominated one’s sight. Everyone anticipated that the game would be a memorable one.

First Half

The Connecticut Huskies started off with an 11-6 lead by the 15-minute mark of the half. Three layups/dunks and a Solo Ball three had the Johnnies reeling a bit. But the good news for the Red Storm was that their six points were two three-pointers, one by R.J. Luis, playing after suffering a groin injury, and another by Deivon Smith.

After a timeout, Kadary Richmond did what he so often does. When St. John’s falls behind, he steps up his game, in this case, fighting for an offensive rebound and putting it back in, cutting the Huskie lead to three 11-8.

Then, after Zuby Ejiofor hit two free throws, Richmond knocked the rock out of Solomon Ball’s hands, which went off Ball’s leg and out of bounds. The subsequent out-of-bounds play found the ball in Aaron Scott’s hand, who hoisted a three-pointer. It missed, but Richmond took down the rebound, got fouled, and hit two free throws. The hot start by Connecticut was over as the Johnnies led 12-11. At the ten-minute mark of the half, a layup by Alex Karaban of Connecticut put the Huskies back ahead for the last time, 20-19.

Once again, with the Huskies ahead, it was Richmond taking the lead. Ruben Prey stole the ball and fed Richmond a step beyond the foul line. Fans called out, “Attack him, attack.” So Richmond did just that and drew a foul as he charged down the left of the paint. Calmly hitting two foul shots, the Johnnies were back ahead 21-20.

The game remained close over the next two minutes, then a trio of threes by Smith, Scott, and reserve guard Lefteris Liotopoulos, sandwiched around two free throws by Ejiofor, found the Johnnies leading by thirteen, 35-22.

St. John’s’ all-around defense was tough, and with the exception of an occasional putback of a miss by a teammate, the Huskies could not score, particularly when attempting three-pointers.

The Johnnies led 50-32 at the half, and the crowd was on its feet for the final 48 seconds before both teams returned to their locker rooms. With the Red Storm up by eighteen points, Connecticut had the ball and missed six straight shots. With each miss, the crowd’s cheers grew louder. Though the Johnnies had, uncharacteristically, hit eight of sixteen three-point attempts in the half, it was clearly the team’s defensive efforts that were most appreciated.

In the first half, the Red Storm assigned Aaron Scott to guard Karaban, and he did a masterful job. It should also be noted that R.J. Luis and later Sadiku Ibine Ayo held talented freshman Liam McNeeley to four points over the first ten minutes. By half’s end, the two Connecticut stars would only combine for six points.

Halftime

St. John’s was flat-out dominating UConn in the first half. The Red Storm outshot the Huskies in field goals, three-pointers, and free throw percentage, plus they racked up more assists, outrebounded the Huskies, blocked more shots, and had more steals. The only category the Huskies led was turnovers, having nine to six for St. John’s.

Second Half

The half began with two steals by Deivon Smith, who fed first Richmond and then Scott for a 54-32 Red Storm lead. UConn called a timeout with a minute and a half elapsed in the half.

Fans shared an expectation that the two-time national champions would not go away easily. Coach Hurley changed his strategy to include full-court pressure, and after a Tarris Reed free throw and a Solo Ball jumper, the Huskies seemed rejuvenated.

Connecticut rattled off a 21-8 run over the following six minutes, and the Johnnies’ lead was suddenly down to single digits, nine points. Connecticut cleared their big men out of the paint and attacked the basket with their guards. When Red Storm defenders dropped down to help, quick passes out to the corners were open, and UConn shooters, particularly Karaban, were suddenly hitting their three-pointers.

The UConn faithful were energized, urging their team on as the St. John’s lead was down to nine with 12:36 to play after a Karaban triple. It was truly anyone’s game, and there was anxious silence amongst the St. John’s fanbase despite having around twice the turnout of the travelling fans.

Like in the first half, it was Kadary Richmond to the rescue. He hit a ten-footer from the right wing to extend the lead to eleven. Then, after Scott blocked a McNeeley layup, he received a handoff from Ejiofor at the right of the paint and drilled an eight-footer for a 66-53 lead.

Karaban made two foul shots, but with ten minutes to play, Ejiofor tipped in a Luis miss, and the thirteen-point lead was maintained. There was “Still time for Connecticut to catch up,” murmured nervous fans, and one fan responded: “Our offense is scoring, and our team has tended to tighten its defense at the end of games.

In the last few minutes of the game, it became a foul shooting contest as officials’ whistles seemed a bit more frequent, but the Red Storm ended the game with a decisive 89-75 victory.

Takeaway #1: Balanced scoring from the starters

Every coach would love to have a team that has balanced scoring like the Johnnies. St. John’s’ starting five combined to score 75 of the Red Storm’s 89 total points. All five starters scored in double figures, ranging from 12 points for Smith to 18 points for Ejiofor and Richmond. In addition, four of the five starters recorded an assist, with Smith leading the way with eight and Ejiofor with six. His proficiency as a passer out of the post is an asset that will produce open shots for teammates from the corners and the wings as the season moves through the last three league games and into the tournament clashes ahead.

Takeaway #2: Three-point shooting continues to make strides

UConn basketball podcast Locked on UConn spent several minutes after the game at Madison Square Garden singing the praise of this St. John’s Team. Their evaluation praised the Johnnies’ “ferocious defense,” and the team’s quickness in moving the ball down the court to give the Johnnies added time to run the team’s sets. The conclusion shared was that the Johnnies would be a “formidable team at tournament time.”

Then they added that they saw today an ability for the Johnnies to convert three-point shots. They concluded that if the team continued to shoot even 35 percent from three-point range in the future, the Red Storm could be a Final Four team.

Coach Pitino pointed out after the game that Deivon Smith’s speed allowed him to feed his teammates for open shots from three-point land, which the team connected on in the past two games.

In Sunday’s game, St. John’s assisted on 20 of 30 made field goals. Of the 30 field goals made, eight were from long distance. The percentage made (8-of-19) was 42%, and four different Johnnies made at least one three-pointer.

Takeaway #3: Ferocious defense

It begins with what Coach Pitino preaches and the pride each member of the team takes in their defensive performance. In Pitino’s postgame press conference, he stated that the team’s ability to be a dominant defense depends on the “matchups” each opponent brings.

The strength of the St. John’s defense is not simply their “ferociousness.” It is, as coach Dan Hurley stated in his postgame conference, the Red Storm’s “positionless switching on and off the ball” that is so disruptive.

The different defensive talents of each of the starting five give Coach Pitino the tools to match up with most teams that the Red Storm may face as the postseason arrives.

• Deivon Smith brings quickness, particularly lateral quickness, that nullifies opponents’ ability to break past him and negates the need for teammates to rotate away from their assignments. His quickness is also an asset in getting to and taking down defensive rebounds.
• Kadary Richmond, six inches taller than Smith, can take on taller opponents and has incredible timing when defending. He is also an excellent rebounder.
• RJ Luis is perhaps the most athletic of all the Johnnies. He is quick, a reliable rebounder, and is capable of blocking shots as anyone on the team.
• Aaron Scott is perhaps the best shutdown defender, smothering his opponent, and often receives the most challenging assignments.
• Zuby Ejiofor is the strongest of the Johnnies but adds quickness to his defensive game. He can pressure his assignment as far as twenty feet from the basket and yet return to protect the rim when his assignment gives up the ball.
• The second teamers have all bought into the Johnnies’ defensive system, with Sadiku Ibine Ayo and Ruben Prey standing out in their defensive assignments.

Outlook

The Locked on UConn podcasters may be ready to declare the Johnnies to be a Final Four contender if they continue to make strides shooting from deep. Still, the Johnnies, from Rick Pitino to the players, continue emphasizing a “one game at a time” mentality. Coach Pitino did not sell the 13-14 Butler Bulldogs short, stressing at Sunday’s postgame press conference that it would not be easy to go on the road and get a win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

St. John’s outlook is excellent because of how they’ve adopted this “one game at a time” mantra. The team has the skills and determination to be prepared and, thus, perform to their best ability.

Coach Pitino did express concerns about the double groin pull injury Kadary Richmond is facing, that he has to get better and may need additional rest.

It is one game at a time, and this talented Red Storm team will be more than prepared to take on Butler, even if Richmond’s participation is limited.