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HARTFORD, CT— Coming into tonight’s game, St. John’s held a firm Big East lead and seemed to assert their league dominance ever since defeating UConn on February 6th. They had won thirteen straight games and looked to tie their own 1984-85 record for most consecutive conference wins in league history.

That streak ended with a resounding period in Hartford, as UConn destroyed the Johnnies, 70-42. 

It was never a close game, with Tarris Reed Jr. (20 pts, 11 rebs, 9-14 FG) ensuring that the Huskies dominated down low. His opposing big man Zuby Ejiofor, who is well on his way to being the Big East’s Player of the Year, matched up well with him in their first meeting. In that game, Ejiofor had 21 points and 10 rebounds. He was far and away the best player on the court. In tonight’s game, he was a very small factor. He scored just six points on five shots total. 

Reed’s dominance down low was something missing from UConn’s season. Despite their record that showed just three losses, there was something missing from UConn’s demeanor. It never has felt like they had their killer instinct of recent years. It never has felt like this team was ready to step on the throats of their opponents— until tonight. 

Alex Karaban (14 pts, 6-13 FG) and Solo Ball (11 pts, 4-7 FG) were the only other double digit scorers in the game for Connecticut. The bench scored a combined 11 points. Silas Demary was relatively quiet, although his command of the offense has been the main factor in UConn’s improvement from last year. Braylon Mullins nailed a trio of three pointers. Everyone was a supporting actor to Tarris Reed Jr.’s lead role. 

Joson Sanon (10 pts, 3-10 FG) was the lone double digit scorer for St. John’s. Bryce Hopkins scored eight points and hit just three field goals. Off the bench, Ruben Prey scored seven points on just three shots. 

There were two main reasons that the deficit for this game ended at 32 points. Tarris Reed Jr. was reason number one, and UConn’s suffocating defense was number two. Last season, and even this year, St. John's calling card has been their relentless defensive effort. UConn flipped the script on them in this game, with an insane level of intensity on the defensive end. They are no slouches in the metrics— they rank 9th in defensive efficiency— but it was clear there was a level up tonight. They forced the Johnnies to go 20% from the field. Switching on screens and extra efforts on loose balls gave the Red Storm fits. They had no rhythm offensively, and it got progressively worse as the game wore on.

UConn barely outrebounded St. John’s (41-37), but at times it felt like there were six players in white on the floor. UConn turned the ball over just five times to St. John’s nine. The Huskies scored 14 fast break points— the Red Storm scored zero. St. John’s led by two 58 seconds into the game, which was their largest lead of the night. In fact, it was their only lead of the night. UConn’s largest lead was 36, with the final margin a measly 32. UConn scored 31 second half points. St. John’s scored 14, and failed to make a field goal within the final 17:58 of the second half.

It is hard to fathom how unexpected this result is, especially in the immediate aftermath. Rick Pitino himself spoke to the media for under two minutes, and did not even hit the postgame dais. He spoke to a scrum outside the locker rooms, clearly in shock. St. John’s had asserted themselves atop this league when they defeated UConn earlier this month. The Red Storm ended UConn’s 18 game winning streak that night, reminding the Huskies that it was them who were the reigning conference champions. Tonight, UConn reminded St. John’s right back— there is still a lot to play for in this league. 

These two squads are very clearly on a collision course. March 14th, 6 pm EST, Madison Square Garden. Nobody will be shocked if these two end up duking it out for a rubber game to win the conference tournament. They are the two best teams, with the two best coaches. St. John’s commanded their home floor weeks ago, and UConn violently punched back on their own turf tonight. 

The first edition was intriguing. The second edition was downright shocking. 

If the basketball Gods are truly real, then we won’t have to imagine what the third edition will look like. If they are truly real, then St. John’s-UConn III is just a few weeks away. 

Sean Murawski is a writer for his own personal sports website, smsports.net. He publishes weekly columns and rankings on men’s college basketball, as well as coverage columns for the MLB.