The Huskies were outplayed start to finish at Madison Square Garden.
Volatility and uncertainty continue to cloud the UConn men’s basketball team, who had no answers for No. 10 St. John’s in its 89-75 loss Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Momentum was on UConn’s side with the rematch against the Red Storm looming. The Huskies (18-9, 10-6 Big East) had successfully completed a late-game comeback against Villanova Tuesday, clawing back from down 14 points with 12 minutes to play to steal the win. Heading into Storrs South, the win should have been ‘galvanizing,’ as Hurley put it postgame. But the UConn team that took the court Sunday looked far from galvanized — it looked sloppy and haphazard, a common theme this season.
UConn started on the right foot, opening a small 11-6 lead in the first half, but quickly regressed and never was able to climb back once the Red Storm took over. Turnovers tormented the Husky offense, again — specifically for Alex Karaban, who coughed it up four times in the game’s first 11 minutes.
UConn also struggled from beyond the arc early, hitting just one three in 10 attempts in the first half. The team opted instead to run its offense through its centers, who finished the frame with a combined 17 points on 7-9 shooting. Of their 32 first-half points, 22 came inside the paint. Tarris Reed Jr. — who helped lead the charge in UConn’s win over Villaova — continued to be a bright spot, finishing the game with 15 points and six rebounds despite fouling out late.
Aside from Reed and Samson Johnson, the Husky offense struggled to get off the ground. Solo Ball, Liam McNeeley and Karaban combined to shoot 3-18 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, accounting for six of the team’s nine first-half turnovers. St. John’s broke the doors down with a 16-2 run late in the frame, including an 8-0 run over a five-second span of clock time. By the half, the Red Storm were in clear control, opening its largest lead of the game at 50-32.
In a possession indicative of UConn’s struggles all game, the team missed six shots in its last possession of the half, unable to capitalize on second-chance opportunities. UConn outrebounded St. John’s 39-36 and 18-15 on the offensive end, but could not follow with the same effectiveness that the Red Storm could.
The Huskies played much better in the second half, and it looked for a few minutes like they could spark another comeback. Back-to-back threes from Ball and Karaban put UConn on an 8-2 run, cutting the lead to 11. But down the stretch, the team continued to trip over itself. Turnovers and poor defensive rebounding allowed St. John’s to maintain its sizeable lead.
In the end, UConn was never able to break through on a big run that it needed to get back into the game. It turned the ball over 18 times and gave up 24 points off said turnovers. It gave up 15 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points. Every St. John’s starter finished with double-digit points, and the team collectively shot the lights out from range (8-19, 46%) despite being the Big East’s worst three-point shooting team coming into the game in both percentage (25.3%) and threes per game (5.4).
Karaban led the way for UConn with 17 points, powered by a strong second half in which he scored 15 on 4-6 (3-5 from three) shooting. Ball had 15, also coming alive in the second half with 10. McNeeley chipped in 14, but masked a volume shooting night (2-13 from the field) with a strong day from the free-throw line (8-9). Notably, Jaylin Stewart played just 13 minutes and had no points, unable to escape foul trouble.
With the loss, the Huskies’ turbulent season continues. The team is now 6-4 in their last 10 games of Big East play and with four games remaining in the regular season, the Huskies are merely treading water in the conference standings, firmly on the bubble of the top-five teams. Meanwhile, the Red Storm’s dominance continues, now 24-4 on the year and 20 games over .500 for the first time since 1985-86.
As the Big East tournament draws near, every win carries additional significance in seeding, as the top-five teams are all awarded a bye into the quarterfinal round. Xavier (9-7 Big East) and Villanova (9-8 Big East) are nipping at the Huskies’ heels. UConn will play Georgetown next, a 6:30 p.m. tip Wednesday night at the XL Center, before closing out its season against Providence, Marquette and Seton Hall.