“Airball, Airball, Airball.”
Humiliation echoed through People’s Bank Arena as UConn students heckled Bryce Hopkins after completely whiffing a mid-range attempt with eight minutes remaining, trailing 61-31.
Throughout the season, Rick Pitino has preached to his team when down, when your backs are against the wall — how bad do you want it? It’s simply win or go home. on Wednesday night, the Red Storm went home, shattering their historic 13-game win streak with a brutal beatdown delivered by UConn.
With the Big East regular-season title on the line, the two goliaths, UConn and St. John’s, squared off at People’s Bank Arena in Hartford, south of Storrs. The Red Storm entered the contest with control, holding a game over the Huskies in both the head-to-head series and conference record. Meanwhile, for Connecticut, it was do-or-die time. A win was needed in order to keep its chances at the Big East regular-season title alive.
The second heavyweight bout of the season — the first in favor of the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden, which saw what Rick Pitino described as a 90/10 split in favor of the Johnnies. This time, however, the Huskies brought their fans, loud and proud, as they attempted to get revenge on their home turf. Revenge was exactly what they got, and more, downing the Red Storm 72-40.
St. John’s simply didn’t show up, their 40 points settling in as their eighth-lowest total in program history in a regulation game. Along with this, their offensive outing marked the fewest points for a Pitino-coached team in a career spanning five decades and 1,224 games. His previous low was 43 with Boston College on Dec. 12, 1981, at UCLA.
As a team, St. John’s went 11-for-56, shooting a rough 19% from the field, ending the game by missing 24 straight attempts over a 17-minute span — the worst stretch of D1 basketball play in at least the last eight seasons.
For the Huskies, it was an all-out Tarris Reed Jr. feast, completely dominating the acclaimed St. John’s interior defense, scoring 14 points in the first half while going 6-for-10 from the field, with the Huskies as a team dominating the paint offensively, 22-10. Reed finished with a dominant 20 points and 11 rebounds, having to do minimal work in the second half due to the blowout.
UConn fed off its fans early, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead, forcing the Red Storm to start the night 1-for-5 from the floor. The offensive woes continued throughout the first half for St. John’s, stretching their struggles to a 4-for-18 start, along with five turnovers due to excessive attempts at forcing the ball.
St. John’s entered halftime with its largest deficit of the year, trailing the Huskies 41-26. It would be a steep hill to climb if the Red Storm wanted to find its way back into the contest — that hill was indeed far too steep.
Like in the first half, it was all Connecticut, completely dominating on both sides of the court. The Huskies outscored St. John’s 31-14 in the final 20 minutes, with the Red Storm failing to make a field goal over the final 17 1/2 minutes.
“It’s on me,” Pitino said following the brutal beatdown. After suffering one of his worst losses ever, the legendary coach chose not to speak at the postgame press conference, shuffling off after the three-word punchline and slamming the locker room door.
The loss to UConn is simply one you move on from, burn the tape, and never look back. It’s humbling, giving Pitino and St. John’s something to learn from heading into March, which may be a good omen.
With three games remaining, St. John’s still holds possession and a shot at capturing the No. 1 overall seed in the Big East Tournament and a share of the Big East regular-season title. Next up, a Saturday night showdown with Villanova at the Mecca, a chance for the Red Storm to respond after a brutal ending.
