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Jeff Borzello
multiple authors
NEW YORK — After more than five decades of coaching, it’s hard for anything to really impress Rick Pitino. But after recording their biggest regular season win since taking over at St. John’s, the Hall of Fame coach had a strong announcement about red storm Team.
“This is the best group of guys, character-wise, that I’ve coached,” Pitino said. “In my 52 years. There is no man who doesn’t give me everything.”
No. 22 St. John’s earned its first big win of the season Friday night and upset No. 3 St. John’s. Yukon 81-72 to break the Huskies’ 18-game winning streak in front of an electric crowd at Madison Square Garden. According to ESPN Research, it was Pitino’s first win over a top-five team since February 1, 2016, and means he has now guided five different programs to top-10 wins, becoming only the second coach to reach this figure.
The win moved Pitino into a tie with Roy Williams for third in Division I history with 903 career wins.
“As tough a game as we’ve had to play this year,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.
St John’s strategy was clear from the opening few minutes. The big man after UConn taris reed jr Coming off the bench with a six-point lead six minutes into the game, the Red Storm were finally able to find offensive rhythm through the reigning Big East Preseason Player of the Year. zubi ejiofor. Ejiofor promptly scored his first basket, went to the free throw line on the next possession, then assisted josan sanon It took less than a minute for the Red Storm to take a 7-0 lead from the 3rd.
UConn would lead only three times the rest of the game and never by more than two points.
As the season has progressed, the Red Storm have leaned more and more toward toughness and physicality, and Friday night was no different. They consistently tried to dominate UConn in the paint, outscoring the Huskies in that area 42–34. He grabbed nine offensive rebounds and converted them into 16 second-chance points. And they got to the foul line 31 times compared to the Huskies’ 12 free throw attempts.
Ejiofor (21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists), dylan mitchell (15 points, six rebounds) and Bryce Hopkins (14 points, six rebounds) proved too much for UConn’s front line on the offensive end.
“He’s a big man,” Hurley said. “Mitchell, Hopkins and Ejiofor, when you have to play them in Big East games, the way the game will be operated in conference play, they are built for Big East games.”
On the other end of the floor, St. John’s full-court pressure consistently caused problems for UConn. The Huskies turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 20 Red Storm points. UConn had problems throwing the ball inbounds throughout the game, getting too close to several five-second calls. Whereas Silas Demery Jr. UConn’s best player that night, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, turned the ball over nine times.
“They probably had 15 opportunities where there could have been a five-second count and we didn’t get the call,” Pitino said. “But it tires you out. A lot of times, the press advantages are physical, they’re trying to get open for five seconds, it tires you out. And it affects your rebounding, it affects your passing.”
Despite great frontcourt play, the unsung hero of the night was the former idaho state transfer dylan darling. Darling’s role has fluctuated throughout the season, and after a scoreless first half in which he only played five minutes, it didn’t look like a breakout performance was going to happen on Friday. But the 6-foot-1 backup point guard was the catalyst in the second half, posting nine points, two assists and a steal after halftime.
Darling created momentum early in the second half when she stole the ball from Demary and made two big baskets later in the half – including a 3-pointer with 3:13 left that cut the Red Storm’s lead to five points.
“This is the best group of guys, character-wise, that I’ve coached. In my 52 years. There’s not a guy that doesn’t give me everything.”
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino
“It’s been a tough adjustment to get from where he was to this level. It takes time,” Pitino said. “His level of desire to take over the game is amazing to me. … What he’s doing right now is really amazing.”
St. John’s has now won nine consecutive games after a 9-5 start, and the Red Storm are tied in the loss column with UConn at the top of the Big East. The rematch is scheduled for Feb. 25 in Hartford, and they are likely to clash for the third game in the championship game of the Big East Tournament.
But on Friday, St. John’s defended its home court — a court sometimes called “Storers South,” similar to the way UConn fans take over Madison Square Garden when the Huskies are in town. This time, there was no mistaking which fanbase benefited.
Pitino said, “The Garden was as nice as I had seen.” “I thought it was incredible, how good the Garden was. I said 70/30, 60/40 – it was 90/10. Amazing crowd.”
