Remember last year when UConn men’s basketball carefully dissected their opponents like clockwork? Remember the way they went on run after run and how even when the opponent came back, the outcome never really felt in doubt? Well on Sunday, the Huskies got a taste of their own medicine.
Connecticut traveled to Madison Square Garden to play No. 10 St. John’s in a contest that was so rough at times that it was almost humorous. The Johnnies took care of the Huskies the way UConn did to all 37 of their victims last years.
As soon as the Red Storm got going early the Huskies had no answer. There were three different times in the first half when St. John’s went on at least an 8-0 run and the visitors couldn’t do much on offense. Every attempt to put together some success was met with an error, missed shot or turnover, making a comeback tough.
“Unlike our past teams where there were no bad matchups, there are some teams that just are not great for us,” Hurley noted. “We have an issue with teams that pressure and full court press. There are just some teams this year for us that are not great matchups. This is the first time since Maui in the Dayton game where the wheels came off.”
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Even as UConn made valiant efforts to get back into it in the latter half, they couldn’t build on it, putting themselves in the same place they started. St. Johns’ success started with their shooting from deep. Normally a bottom 25 team nationally in the category, the Red Storm shot 8/19 from distance in the game and 8/16 in the opening half. The Huskies made just 1 of their first 10.
“You play the numbers,” Hurley noted of St. John’s shooting from deep. “Kadary Richmond and [RJ] Luis are devastating in the paint. Ejiofor is a beast. With our defense, you can’t take everything away so you have to pick your poison. They stepped up and made them.”
It was just a slog all the way, with St. John’s mucking things up with their press and making life miserable for Connecticut, who is notably without a healthy top-tier point guard. They turned the ball over 18 times, which alone led to 24 points.
“The pressure is one thing,” Hurley said. “Obviously it's disconcerting to start your possession surviving to get the ball in bounds. I don’t even think it’s the full court pressure with them, it’s the positional switching that they’re able to do on ball, off ball. What makes it work is having all these big wings that are grown men's physiques.”
This game was a masterclass for St. John’s, who simply played very well. They match up against UConn’s lack of a point guard exceptionally with their press and their uncharacteristic shooting, putting the game over the top. All five starters scored in double digits, a well-rounded afternoon. They’re a team capable of a championship if they shoot the trey like they did Sunday, but that’s not typically their style.
Tarris Reed Jr.’s offensive rebounding and scoring highlighted his game, notching 15 points and 6 boards, all on the offensive glass. He did foul out, but that came as the Johnnies were in the late stages of putting the game to sleep. Reed’s defense wasn’t great, but he did bring offense to a team that was lacking it in the beginning.
A slumping Alex Karaban had another brutal first half (2 points), but began to find his rhythm during the second as the Huskies made their final push at a comeback. He hit a trio of threes and started to look like his normal self, finishing with 17 points and 7 boards. In a contest where he played so poorly for half of it, it’s not a great sign that he was still their best performer. Everything else aside, if he can use those shots to build on the outing, that would be a tremendous development for the Huskies.
“He’s going through it,” Hurley noted of Karaban. “It’s what he came back to school for. To experience being the face of something and handling that type of responsibility and pressure. It’s part of his development. The first half he struggled catching the ball around the basket where he had opportunities to catch and finish. It was good to see the way he finished the game. Going into these last four hopefully we get him going.”
Freshman phenom Liam McNeeley had a rough go of things scoring 14 points on 2/13 shooting and getting 10 points from the line. He missed all 6 tries from beyond the arc, really struggling with the physicality that the Johnnies brought. There’s no reason to fret about McNeeley long term; he’s an uber-talented player. However he will need to learn how to deal with physicality better.
The Huskies started off hot, jumping out to an 8-3 lead, but it was quickly erased. Using 9 straight points, the Johnnies flipped the script early. The teams endured a sloppy few minutes as neither side made much headway and St. John’s brought some full-court press.
But then the Red Storm turned up the heat. St. John’s went on an 11-0 run to turn a 24-22 game into 35-22–and it only got worse. Connecticut tried to punch back, but was met with a rare 8-point possession by the Johnnies.
Luis drained a triple, but as it was in the air, Samson Johnson committed a flagrant 1. That gave the Red Storm free throws and the ball and the play finished with an Aaron Scott trey. Not great. By the time halftime rolled around, the Huskies were down by 18, one of their worst halves of the season.
The beginning of the final half saw the deficit balloon out to 22, but Connecticut finally began to put things together. Karaban got his first three of the day to fall and then two more. With the help of some other answers from the Husky offense, his third triple cut the deficit to just 9.
Richmond, who was playing very injured according to coach Rick Pitino, drilled a pair of jumpers and Karaban missed a bizarre heat check. On the other end Zuby Ejiofor threw down a putback slam, but still UConn managed to keep the hole within striking distance. Then came a Simeon Wilcher jumper and after a Scott slam. Suddenly what was a game slipped away and turned into a 19-point lead for the Johnnies. And that was all she wrote.
This season is getting tougher and tougher to salvage, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that this is not a championship team. If they really were to screw things up they could conceivably miss the tournament, but that’s unlikely.
More likely is that they make the tournament as a 7-10 seed and don’t make it out of the first weekend. And that’s generally okay. Especially in an era with so much year-to-year turnover, there’s no shame in a year where you exit the tournament early. It’s tough since UConn fans have gotten used to championships, but they’ll come back next year with more talent.
For now, it’s important to enjoy what this squad is–a solid team. Next up is their XL Center finale against Georgetown this Wednesday.
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