4 Takeaways From St. John's Upset Win Over UConn

[ad_1] MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (NEW YORK) — Profanity-laced chants directed at UConn head coach Dan Hurley started ringing across the area in the course of the nationwide anthem, at occasions overshadowing an amazing rendition of the track. "F--- you, Dan!" one St. John’s pupil shouted, alcoholic beverage in hand. "F--- Dan Hurley!" a number of others answered.

The trendy Huge East’s most thrilling rivalry got here to life earlier than the ball was even tipped.

It didn’t used to appear and feel this manner inside The World’s Most Well-known Enviornment, the place a sell-out crowd on Friday night time bathed the constructing in pink. The cut up, based on St. John's head coach Rick Pitino, was "90-10" in favor of the Purple Storm. That actually didn’t occur in years passed by, when legions of followers supporting UConn — a program that refers to Madison Sq. Backyard as "Storrs South" — routinely crammed the seats after a brief practice experience into Grand Central Terminal.

Two seasons in the past, although, the hiring of Pitino modified all that. He injected a dormant program with life, with verve, with expectations and — most significantly — with the identical stage of profitable he’s skilled throughout greater than 5 a long time of teaching. There have been 20 wins in his first season and 31 in his second, a marketing campaign punctuated by Huge East common season and event titles. Out of the blue, gobs of New Yorkers started hawking tickets that was once bought by opposing followers. That’s why this surroundings roared and reverberated, rocked and rollicked as No. 22 St. John’s accomplished an upset of No. 3 UConn, 81-72, to snap the Huskies’ 18-game profitable streak and reopen the Huge East race.

"I assumed The Backyard was nearly as good as I’ve seen it," Pitino mentioned.

Listed here are my takeaways:

1. This was a historic victory for St. John’s

Dillon Mitchell #1 of the St. John's Purple Storm dunks within the first half in opposition to the Connecticut Huskies. (Picture by Evan Bernstein/Getty Pictures)

As reporters congregated within the media room following the ultimate buzzer on Friday night time, ready for the postgame information conferences to start, a member of the St. John’s athletic communications division started contextualizing the crew's victory for all to listen to.

Not for the reason that 2020-21 season had St. John’s crushed a crew ranked third or increased within the AP Ballot. Not for the reason that 2010-11 season had the Purple Storm crushed a crew ranked third or increased in a sport that was performed at Madison Sq. Backyard. And never for the reason that 1999-2000 season had the Johnnies gained three consecutive video games over UConn, a streak Pitino’s crew matched on Friday night time after sweeping each matchups final 12 months. What St. John’s completed right here earlier than a sold-out crowd embodied every part this system has change into underneath Pitino.

"All people from prime to backside was actually engaged," St. John's middle Zuby Ejiofor mentioned. "The second when the buzzer sounded and it was over and also you understand that you just simply beat a extremely well-coached crew, all of the feelings actually simply flew out of me. I can’t actually bear in mind what was carried out or what was mentioned. However I simply let all of it out. Only a improbable environment to be in."

Historic significance apart — this was additionally Pitino’s 903rd profession win, tied with Roy Williams for third-most all time — the Purple Storm’s victory ought to show extremely essential within the race for this 12 months’s common season convention title. UConn entered Friday’s sport with an unblemished 12-0 mark in league play, which was this system’s finest begin to a Huge East slate since 1995-96, and it was ok to provide them a 1.5-game benefit over St. John’s.

Now, the 2 groups are tied within the loss column with solely 4 weeks remaining earlier than the Huge East Match. It’s fully potential that the rematch at PeoplesBank Enviornment in Hartford will successfully crown the league’s common season champion.

2. Zuby Ejiofor stakes his declare because the Huge East’s finest middle

Zuby Ejiofor #24 of the St. John's Purple Storm reacts following their 81-72 win in opposition to the Connecticut Huskies. (Picture by Evan Bernstein/Getty Pictures)

There's a drill that UConn’s frontcourt gamers and coaches work via prior to every sport, lengthy earlier than followers have entered the world. A few of the assistants encompass the 3-point line, whipping the ball back and forth in simulation of a traditional possession. Others defend the paint as one Husky middle at a time fights for place on the block. Every rep ends with some type of entry go and a end across the rim.

On this explicit setting, fouls are nonexistent. The staffers hack, claw, scratch and almost sort out the shooter on each try. UConn assistant coach Luke Murray, who works immediately with the large males, is probably the most violent along with his tried pilfers, speaking trash all of the whereas. The extent of physicality gamers push via in warmups is designed to be even larger than what Huge East officers will ultimately enable as soon as the ball is tipped.

And whereas there are pugilistic matchups throughout the league — Seton Corridor may play with extra uncooked drive than anybody underneath head coach Shaheen Holloway — the drill was all the time going to be most relevant when the Huskies confronted St. John’s, a crew with arguably the most effective and brawniest middle within the league: Zuby Ejiofor, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound chiseled statue who was picked because the Preseason Participant of the Yr within the Huge East and entered the night time averaging 15.7 factors and seven.5 rebounds per sport. How effectively UConn facilities Tarris Reed Jr. and Eric Reibe may, or couldn't, cope with Ejiofor appeared more likely to play a big function in figuring out the end result.

What adopted was a 35-minute masterclass from Ejiofor during which he cemented himself as not solely the league’s finest publish participant, however certainly one of its finest gamers, interval. Ejiofor poured in 21 factors, grabbed 10 rebounds and tied a profession excessive with seven assists, stuffing the stat sheet even additional with three blocks and two steals. He singlehandedly outproduced UConn’s pairing of Reed and Reibe, who mixed for simply 14 factors and 7 rebounds.

"You recognize you’re gonna make me retire," Pitino mentioned in his postgame information convention, turning to face Ejiofor, who sat beside him on the dais, as he spoke. "As a result of I’m not residing life with out you."

3. Dylan Darling is an unsung hero for St. John’s

Silas Demary Jr. of the Connecticut Huskies drives to the basket as Dylan Darling of the St. John's Purple Storm defends within the second half. (Picture by Evan Bernstein/Getty Pictures)

When Pitino assembled the nation's top-ranked switch class final spring, few individuals within the school basketball world centered their consideration on Dylan Darling, an unheralded addition from Idaho State and Washington State earlier than that. Darling was rated the No. 419 total participant and No. 69 level guard within the portal, per 247Sports.com — hardly a needle-mover inside a gaggle of newcomers that included 4 different gamers ranked among the many prime 60.

And but, except for Ejiofor, whose affect in opposition to the Huskies was irreplicable, an argument may be made that Darling was the second-most influential participant for St. John’s in just below 21 minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Darling utilized gnat-like defensive stress in his matchup with UConn level guard Silas Demary Jr., who scored a team-high 18 factors but in addition turned the ball over 9 occasions — a quantity that prompted Hurley to explain the general efficiency from his major ball handler as "the f------ nice journey" and "a curler coaster experience."

One of many crowd’s greatest roars of the night time got here when Darling picked Demary’s pocket close to midcourt after which dove to the ground to safe the unfastened ball. He additionally made a clutch floater to provide St. John’s a 64-60 lead with 6:06 remaining after which buried a dagger 3-pointer three minutes later.

"He’s an excellent level guard, you understand?" Hurley mentioned. "That man is a heck of a participant. And to have the ability to do what he does, [with] no matter his minute scenario is sport to sport — after they want that man to step up, I imply, he made an enormous distinction in that sport."

A lot in order that Pitino expanded on his colourful description of Darling from final month, when the backup guard scored 11 factors, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists in a slim street victory over Xavier. On that night time, Pitino mentioned Darling has "balls as massive as church bells" due to how unflappable he's throughout crucial moments. And on Friday night time, after Darling made one profitable play after one other, Pitino mentioned these church bells "simply continue to grow and rising."

"His stage of eager to take over a sport is superb to me," Pitino mentioned. "He comes off a play, breaks the play and goes to the rim. Makes an excellent steal, will get to the ground [for the loose ball]. Makes a giant 3. It’s actually superb what he’s doing proper now."

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4. UConn’s high-level protection has an Achilles’ heel

Zuby Ejiofor #24 of the St. John's Purple Storm handles the ball as Tarris Reed Jr. #5 of the Connecticut Huskies defends. (Picture by Evan Bernstein/Getty Pictures)

Even after permitting 81 factors to St. John’s on Friday night time and 81 to Windfall fewer than two weeks in the past, UConn ended the night with a protection nonetheless ranked fifth nationally in effectivity behind solely Michigan, Arizona, Duke and Michigan State. The Huskies stay extremely proficient at defending the 3-point line (sixth), forcing opponents into troublesome 2-point pictures (14th) and blocking pictures (twelfth). They're, unquestionably, among the best defensive groups within the nation.

However UConn additionally has one plain, unavoidable flaw on that finish of the ground — an Achilles’ heel that proved too troublesome to beat when dealing with a St. John’s crew prepared and keen to assault the rim with aggression: The Huskies can't appear to defend with out fouling. They dedicated 23 fouls on Friday night time, which led to 22 factors on the free-throw line for the Purple Storm, a plus-17 benefit over UConn. And when this sport was factored into the formulation utilized by KenPom, the Huskies careened all the way in which to 314th nationally in opponent free-throw charge.

"Will you pay the positive?" Hurley mentioned when requested in regards to the officiating. "What number of reprimands am I on proper now? There’s simply a few [plays], like when Silas [Demary] is driving down the lane and he will get fouled by two totally different individuals. And I assumed Alex [Karaban] bought fouled on not less than a kind of two drives within the paint [during crunch time]. After which after we fouled, they referred to as it. We’re undisciplined as a fouling crew.

"Plenty of it has to do with St. John’s. I imply, they’re grown-ass males. [Dillon] Mitchell, [Bryce] Hopkins and Ejiofor, when it's a must to play them in Huge East video games, the way in which that the sport goes to be officiated in convention play, I imply, they’re constructed for Huge East video games."

These three gamers mixed to attract 17 fouls by themselves on Friday night time — two greater than UConn’s total crew.

4½. What’s subsequent?

The Huskies will return to motion Wednesday night time at Butler for the primary of three consecutive video games in opposition to groups with a mixed convention file of 16-21 — a reprieve of kinds earlier than embarking on a troublesome ending kick. UConn’s closing stretch consists of difficult rematches with Villanova, St. John’s and Seton Corridor, all of whom are within the prime 4 of the league standings, throughout a seven-day stretch in late February earlier than the common season finale at Marquette.

St. John’s, in the meantime, has a decent turnaround earlier than internet hosting Xavier on Monday night time within the second father-versus-son teaching battle of the season, with the Musketeers coached by Richard Pitino. The primary such matchup ended as an 88-83 victory for the Purple Storm final month. The rematch with Xavier marks the start of a significantly extra favorable closing stretch for St. John’s during which six of the ultimate eight video games will come in opposition to groups with league data of .500 or worse getting into this weekend.