St. John’s basketball has put the nation on notice.
After a statement win against No. 11 Marquette in Madison Square Garden, No. 12 St. John’s traveled to “the College Basketball Capital of the World” to receive their second landmark victory of the season, a 68-62 win over the No. 19 UConn Huskies.
The fourth time proved to be the charm for Pitino as he earned his first win against Dan Hurley after losing each of their three matchups last season.
UConn landed the first punch as leading scorer Solo Ball (13 pts, 3 asts, 5-12 FG) exploded for eight points in the opening five minutes of the contest.
Hurley’s Huskies continued this hot start by spreading the St. John’s defense thin with their patented aggressive shooting approach, jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first half fueled by a barrage of three-pointers.
Ignited by a Deivon Smith four-point-play the Red Storm roared back into this game and seized the lead from UConn with a 25-9 run to go into halftime.
During this sequence, Rick Pitino deployed a smothering full-court press that caused many of the Huskies’ 20 turnovers.
“I felt the full-court press would take a little starch out of their shots,” Pitino said regarding his ambitious tactic. “They’d take a little time in the backcourt and that’d make us ultra aggressive.
After scoring 18 and 24 against Providence and Marquette, Kadary Richmond’s zero first-half points continued Pitino’s mantra surrounding St. John’s: “This team defies statistical value.”
In Richmond’s absence, RJ Luis Jr. (21 pts, 7 rebs, 10-21 FG) acquired the offensive burden for much of the matchup. While Richmond’s repatriation in the second half was pivotal to maintaining the lead, the St. John’s offense ran through Luis.
Luis battled with projected NBA lottery pick Liam McNeeley (18 pts, 11 rebs, 4-15 FG) as both stars traded baskets for the bulk of the second half.
From trailing by as much as six to having an eight point advantage, St. John’s streakiness was on full display in Storrs as the tension inside Gampel Pavilion mounted.
McNeeley kept UConn alive, as two consecutive successful free-throw trips cut the Red Storm lead to a minuscule 64-62 with under 40 seconds remaining.
After a blocked Simeon Wilcher three-point attempt, three seconds remained on the shot clock and hope dwindled.
But in a show of faith and basketball expertise, Pitino designed a Golden State Warriors-esque circle screen to feed Luis’ hot hand off the inbounds pass. With the game in his hands, Luis delivered and drained a mid-range jump shot to close off the back-to-back national champions in their home and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Wins over two ranked opponents should secure St. John’s place in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll, something that hasn’t happened in 26 years.
The next stop for Pitino and the Johnnies in this magical season is a date with Villanova in Philadelphia on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
To access the full box score from the St. John’s win over UConn, click here.
