No. 6 UConn Huskies Embarrass No. 15 St. John’s Red Storm Behind Tarris Reed Jr.’s Performance
Nobody had this on their bingo card. St. John’s rolled into Hartford riding a 13-game winning streak, fresh off a dominant performance at Madison Square Garden where they handed UConn one of its ugliest losses of the season. The Red Storm looked like a team on a mission. And UConn? The Huskies had been limping through February, grinding out wins against inferior competition while trying to find some semblance of their best basketball.
Then Wednesday happened.
UConn’s Defense Was Suffocating From the Opening Tip
No. 6 UConn didn’t just beat No. 15 St. John’s — they embarrassed them. The final score was 72-40, but even that doesn’t fully capture how one-sided this thing was. St. John’s missed their final 24 field goal attempts. Their last made basket came from Zuby Ejiofor with 17:28 left in the game. From that point forward, the Red Storm couldn’t buy a bucket if they walked into a store with a fistful of cash.
Tarris Reed Jr. Was Absolutely Unstoppable
If there’s one story that defined this game, it starts and ends with Tarris Reed Jr. The 6-foot-11 center finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 blocks. More importantly, he completely neutralized Ejiofor, the frontrunner for Big East Player of the Year, who had torched UConn for 21 points and 10 rebounds in their first meeting. Wednesday night, Ejiofor was held to just 6 points and 4 rebounds. Reed didn’t just match up with him. He erased him.
Alex Karaban chipped in 14 points in what was his final home game in Hartford, and Solo Ball added 11. Silas Demary Jr. quietly ran the show with 5 assists and 8 rebounds while barely registering in the scoring column.
The First Half Set the Tone
UConn came out swinging. By the time six minutes had elapsed in the first half, the Huskies had ripped off an 18-0 run and led 31-11. The crowd inside PeoplesBank Arena barely had time to catch their breath between buckets. Karaban threw down a fast-break dunk. Reed swatted shots into the third row. Backup Guard Malachi Smith dived on the floor to recover his own steal and converted an and-one in transition.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was doing what he could from the sideline — reminding his guys not to panic, referencing a memorable comeback attempt against UConn back in the 2024 Big East tournament. But this wasn’t that. His team wasn’t panicking so much as completely falling apart at the seams. UConn took a 41-26 lead into halftime, shooting 49% from the floor while holding the Johnnies to just 32%.
The Second Half Was Just Cruel
Whatever St. John’s said at halftime, it didn’t work. Reed opened the second half with back-to-back dunks, and suddenly it felt less like a basketball game and more like a nature documentary about a pack of wolves.
The Huskies went on a 27-9 game-closing run, capped by reserve big Dwayne Koroma slamming home a dunk with a 36-point lead. Huskies Head Coach Dan Hurley emptied his bench, and UConn’s defense never let up.
By the final buzzer, St. John’s had shot just 20% from the floor in the second half. The Sahara Desert has seen more water than St. John’s saw open looks in the final 17 minutes of that game.
Big East Title Race Gets Interesting
With the win, UConn improved to 26-3 overall and 16-2 in the Big East, taking a half-game lead over St. John’s (22-6, 15-2) in the conference standings. The Huskies close out the regular season with a Senior Day matchup against Seton Hall on Saturday, followed by a road trip to last-place Marquette.
St. John’s has a trickier path. They host third-place Villanova on Saturday before finishing the regular season at Seton Hall on March 6. If Villanova beats the Red Storm, UConn would take control of the No. 1 seed for the Big East Tournament. As it stands, St. John’s holds the tiebreaker thanks to their 2-0 record against Creighton versus UConn’s split.
But math problems are for another day. Wednesday night belonged to the Huskies. They came out and played the best basketball of their season when they absolutely had to. That is what great programs do.
