PeoplesBank Enviornment (Hartford, Conn.) — Not for the primary time, an unmistakable voice lower by means of the free-throw silence with a poignant message for St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, chief of the No. 15 crew within the nation. This time, Pitino’s backup middle, Ruben Prey, had been dinged for a Flagrant 1 foul towards No. 6 UConn level guard Silas Demary Jr., his reckless contest of an tried dunk, hacksawing his opponent to the bottom. And after the replay overview, as Demary stepped to the foul line, the phrases from this specific Huskies fan pierced the air.
“Hey Pitino,” the particular person wailed, “take your soiled f—— crew dwelling!”
By then, Pitino had lengthy since waved the white flag in a recreation that arrived with a lot hype — that’s all the time the case when these two heavyweights do battle within the Huge East’s fashionable period — and ended with a historic whimper. In pummeling and pounding the Pink Storm to this diploma, 72-40, the Huskies grew to become the primary program since Virginia on March 5, 2016, to restrict a Pitino-coached crew to fewer than 50 factors, based on FOX Sports activities Analysis.
St. John’s missed an unfathomable 24 consecutive pictures to finish the sport, failing to attach on a area purpose for the ultimate 17:28 of a night that devolved right into a rout. UConn scored extra factors within the paint (42) than the Pink Storm did in complete.
“That’s most likely solely occurred to me two instances in my profession,” stated Pitino, who spoke to the media for barely a minute exterior the visiting locker room earlier than chopping off additional questions. “As soon as was my first 12 months at Kentucky once we went into Phog Allen [Fieldhouse] at Kansas, I used to be enjoying with very a lot an inferior crew [back then], not like one of these crew. It’s all on me. I’m very disillusioned in our efficiency.”
Listed here are my takeaways from UConn’s dominant win towards St. John’s:
1. Tarris Reed Jr. is the X-factor in UConn’s nationwide championship pursuit
UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. throughout the second half of the sport towards St. John’s at PeoplesBank Enviornment on February 25, 2026. (Picture by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Pictures)
When UConn head coach Dan Hurley met with the media for his pregame information convention, he repeatedly swatted apart the concept a rematch between the Huskies and St. John’s could possibly be distilled right into a one-on-one matchup between Tarris Reed Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor, the beginning facilities for every groups. Hurley wouldn’t hear it. He assured these in attendance he solely cared about profitable the sport, which might hold the Huskies afloat in a race for the Huge East common season title.
However as soon as the ball was tipped, as soon as Reed and Ejiofor started their bodily assault on one another within the low submit, grabbing and shoving and wrestling for each inch of house on each ends of the ground, a sure synchronicity developed. It was as if each Hurley and Pitino have been lastly acknowledging that the crew whose middle might extra legally bludgeon the opposite would nearly definitely depart the sector with a win. The substitution patterns for each gamers mirrored one another throughout the opening half. And each entanglement beneath the basket was met with bated breath at any time when a referee’s whistle blew in maybe essentially the most important second of UConn’s season, a rematch with first-place St. John’s that carried vital seeding implications for each the Huge East Match and NCAA Match. With the Huskies’ win, the 2 groups are tied atop the convention standings.
Reed marauded his technique to 14 factors, 4 rebounds and three assists within the opening half alone on Wednesday evening to catalyze a Huskies’ offense that produced almost as many factors within the paint (22) because the Pink Storm did in complete on the break (26).
There was a spinning layup towards the undersized Dillon Mitchell. A transition dunk when he beat Ejiofor down the ground with ease. An emphatic block on guard Bryce Hopkins to ignite a quick break that ended with a conventional three-point play for level guard Malachi Smith. He backed down Ejiofor’s substitute, Ruben Prey, for a basket plus the foul. He rebounded his personal miss and kicked the ball out for a 3-pointer by Solo Ball. All of that throughout a primary half wherein Ejiofor managed only a single level.
By the point Reed checked out with 5:56 remaining — at which era he’d scored 20 factors, snared 11 rebounds and tied a profession excessive with six blocked pictures — a rowdy crowd of greater than 15,000 gave him a standing ovation, to which he responded with a collection of fist pumps. When Reed reached the bench, assistant coach Luke Murray stopped his main pupil and pointed a finger into his chest, successfully telling the Huskies’ star that a lot concerning the evening’s consequence was a results of his particular person efforts. It was a sentiment Hurley echoed again and again in his post-game remarks.
“If he needs to be a draft choose, if he needs to win championships, he’ll hold exhibiting up like that,” Hurley stated. “If he doesn’t, it hurts our probabilities, after which we’re letting one another down. We all the time wanted Tarris to play like an All-American for this to work. And he definitely did right now, and he did versus ‘Nova. I hate to place all of it on one participant, however I believe once we get that Tarris — and once more, that’s a repeatable factor. There’s nothing he did that was, like, fortunate or laborious pictures. He simply performed with an identification tonight that was dominant.”
2. UConn’s protection is harkening again to early season type
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – FEBRUARY 25: Bryce Hopkins #23 of the St. John’s Pink Storm shoots towards Alex Karaban #11 and Jayden Ross #23 of the Connecticut Huskies throughout the first half of an NCAA males’s basketball recreation at PeoplesBank Enviornment on February 25, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Picture by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Pictures)
Late within the second half, with the end result already safe, a flurry of air balls from the Pink Storm verged on comedic. A spinning baseline floater from Hopkins landed a number of toes in need of the rim. A floater from Prey on the following possession missed the rim huge left, at which level Pitino berated his massive man for such an ugly try. Guard Ian Jackson missed every little thing on an tried 3-pointer that by no means had an opportunity. Then he whiffed once more on a deep 2-pointer a number of possessions later. None of them even got here shut.
Such a stretch of eyeball-burning futility mirrored each the offensive implosion by St. John’s, which prompted Pitino to say his crew “did issues that we’ve by no means carried out.” And a reincarnated UConn protection is as soon as once more wanting like a reputable power following an uncharacteristic lull for many of the month. Stunningly, the Pink Storm solely made two of 28 area purpose makes an attempt within the second half and failed to succeed in the 40-point mark till reserve guard Dylan Darling made a meaningless set of free throws with 1:29 remaining.
“It was simply our evening, ?” Hurley stated. “It simply begins snowballing on you when you have got an evening like this. Clearly, we performed actually good protection on them. I assumed we demoralized them slightly bit, , when the rating will get to the place the rating received. I simply suppose it was a kind of nights the place every little thing went nice for us and every little thing went unsuitable for them.”
In blocking 9 pictures, dogging the 3-point line and defending the paint with waves of defenders, the Huskies turned in a efficiency harking back to the way in which they performed early within the season, when superior metrics urged this group was among the many finest handful of groups within the nation at that finish of the ground. It rewrote and upended a pitiful four-game defensive droop earlier this month wherein UConn misplaced twice and surrendered 108.7 factors per 100 possessions, based on Torvik, a quantity so unhealthy it ranked one hundred and seventy fifth nationally for that individual stretch. It’s additionally greater than 15 factors worse than the Huskies’ season common of 93.5 factors per 100 possessions and near double the microscopic mark of 69 factors per 100 possessions towards the Pink Storm on Wednesday.
“I believe it’s taking pleasure,” UConn ahead Alex Karaban stated, “taking pleasure on the defensive finish. Simply particular person matchups. Simply actually guarding our yard. After which simply having belief in each other.
“Belief that we’re going to assist one another out. Belief that we’re going to be within the gaps. Belief that we’re going to assist Tarris or Eric after they hedge a ball display screen. Simply having belief. I believe we misplaced that belief for some moments, and we didn’t take as a lot pleasure throughout the moments that we didn’t play nice protection. Now we’re getting again to that degree that we’ve received to maintain the remainder of the 12 months.”
3. Huskies lastly deal with the full-court strain
UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. drives to the rim towards St. John’s Ruben Prey throughout the second half at PeoplesBank Enviornment on February 25, 2026. (Picture by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Pictures)
When these two groups met at Madison Sq. Backyard on Feb. 6, a quite comfy St. John’s win in a raucous environment, Pitino unleashed his trademark full-court press in a fashion that largely dismantled UConn’s offensive rhythm. Ninety-plus toes of strain from ball-hawking guards Oziyah Sellers and Dylan Darling drove the Huskies to commit 15 turnovers — 9 of which have been charged to Demary — and imbued the sport with a physicality that UConn couldn’t match. Hurley even joked earlier than Wednesday’s rematch that his crew “missed the window” to do sufficient within the weight room to counter the Pink Storm’s uncooked power.
Such struggles towards the press additionally perpetuated a story that has gnawed at UConn the final two seasons. For the Huskies to reply the way in which they did on Wednesday evening by solely turning the ball over 5 instances, one among which was an intentional shot clock violation within the waning seconds, felt just like the psychological conquering of a multi-year bugaboo.
“We knew we needed to get stops to keep away from having to in-bound the ball towards the strain and simply to attempt to play forward of their protection,” Hurley stated. “We’re doing a greater job, I believe, of getting out in transition as a result of our protection is reinvigorated the final couple video games.”
By reworking one defensive cease after one other into transition probabilities, the Huskies successfully mitigated one among Pitino’s most potent weapons for giant chunks of the sport. Every time UConn compelled a missed shot, Hurley waved his gamers up the courtroom wildly, imploring them to assault the rim at any and each alternative earlier than the Pink Storm’s protection received set. A 14-0 edge in fast-break factors mirrored the Huskies’ dedication to attacking St. John’s at tempo.
Demary, the Georgia switch who’s now enjoying like among the best level guards within the nation, was the chief of all of it. He responded from the nightmarish effort at Madison Sq. Backyard with a superb flooring recreation that included seven factors, eight rebounds, 5 assists and a steal, content material to let the gamers round him deal with many of the scoring.
“Silas has received a variety of weapons,” Hurley stated. “This crew is about stability. Silas did the suitable factor right now. He took 5 pictures, he received on the glass, he took care of the ball, he discovered his teammates. He quarterbacked the crew right now.”
4. The Pink Storm’s match résumé
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino (Picture by Patrick McDermott/Getty Pictures)
Few groups in school basketball, if any, have improved as a lot as Pitino’s for the reason that begin of the season — a blowout loss to UConn however. There was some extent in early January when St. John’s misplaced at dwelling to lowly Windfall and fell to only 8-5 general, with prior defeats towards each high-profile non-conference crew. For Pitino to reply by reeling off 13 consecutive victories getting into Wednesday’s recreation was merely the newest reminder of his unimaginable teaching prowess. St. John’s remains to be within the thick of this 12 months’s race for the Huge East common season title.
However how and the place the Pink Storm will likely be seeded within the NCAA Match is kind of a bit trickier to challenge, as a result of even Pitino’s prolonged win streak can’t undo his crew’s unsavory begin. Losses to then-No. 15 Alabama, then-No. 15 Iowa State, then-No. 21 Auburn and then-unranked Kentucky have left St. John’s with a reasonably hole résumé as choice Sunday approaches. In truth, the Pink Storm’s solely marquee victory was their win over then-No. 3 UConn earlier this month. And even that result’s clouded, to a point, by the demolition that unfolded right here within the rematch.
Barring one other victory over UConn within the Huge East Match — assuming the league’s two finest groups are prone to face one another within the championship recreation — Pitino’s group will enter Choice Sunday having solely overwhelmed one ranked foe. That’s not lots for the choice committee to ponder.
“We’re nonetheless enjoying for a league championship,” Pitino stated. “It doesn’t matter whether or not you lose by one or 40. The league championship remains to be at stake. Clearly, we now have to make our corrections and transfer on.”
4½. What’s subsequent?
St. John’s now embarks on what could possibly be a difficult ending stretch that features another recreation than the Huskies. A extremely winnable dwelling contest towards Georgetown subsequent week is sandwiched by two tough matchups with Villanova (dwelling) and Seton Corridor (away) earlier than the convention match at Madison Sq. Backyard. Now tied for first place within the Huge East, any slip-up by the Pink Storm might squander the prospect to grow to be the primary crew to win consecutive, outright Huge East common season titles since Villanova in 2015-16 and 2016-17 beneath former coach Jay Wright.
The Huskies ought to now have an injection of motivation to complete their remaining video games in type with a path towards a possible No. 1 seed within the NCAA Match squarely in play. A house date with Seton Corridor this weekend will give technique to the street finale at Marquette on March 7.
“I believe our ceiling has all the time been profitable a number of video games and profitable big-time video games and pushing for a Huge East Match and even a nationwide championship,” Demary stated. “We simply form of went by means of a stretch of letting issues slide, and 1772095146 we form of locked again in [on] doing the issues we have to do.”
