MBB: Huskies earn sweep of St. John’s on Super Sunday
NEW YORK-A victorious thriller at Madison Square Garden? The Connecticut Huskies’ men’s basketball team certainly hope it’s a sign of things to come in the near future.
Hopeful foreshadowing came through the tune of 13 blocks and a late 11-0 run that gave UConn a 63-60 victory over St. John’s in Manhattan. Tyrese Martin led the way with 17 points while Andre Jackson pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds.
No. 24 Connecticut (17-7, 8-5 Big East) salvaged this latest polling cycle after falling to No. 25 Xavier on Friday night with its first sweep of the Red Storm since the 2002-03 season. It was hard to top the dramatics of Jan. 12’s 86-78 overtime victory in Storrs, but both teams did their utmost in a battle whose victor would inch toward more favorable seeding at MSG’s upcoming conference tournament.
An increasingly desperate Red Storm team missing second-leading scorer Posh Alexander did all it could it avoid a dubious fate, its quest bemoaned by an MSG crowd packed with UConn supporters. Despite Connecticut’s defensive crackdown (led by five blocks and three steals from Isaiah Whaley), the Red Storm (13-11, 5-8 Big East) never let UConn’s lead get higher than five. The middle stages of the second half saw them stage an 11-0 run that built a 55-48 lead. Montez Mathis, providing a St. John’s-best 14 points off the bench, had a direct contribution on all but two points of the stretch, putting in six and assisting on Stef Smith’s triple that capped things off.
But, perhaps paying tribute to New York legend Yogi Berra, the Huskies went on to create deja vu all over again.
Over the next five minutes of game time, Connecticut posted an 11-0 run of its own. The path to a permanent lead was paved by Whaley and Martin, with the former’s and-one opportunity on a missed triple sending the visitors in the stand into hysterics. Adama Sanogo later capped off the stretch with a banked score that made it 59-55.
St. John’s nonetheless had an opportunity to win the game, as Aaron Wheeler’s triple with 16 seconds remaining ensured that things would remain a one-possession game no matter what R.J. Cole did at the foul line after a Mathis intentional foul with a dozen ticks remaining. But Connecticut double teams forced the Red Storm to rely on a desperate, off-balnce finale from Wheeler. The off-target heave bounced off the basket and landed harmlessly into the hands of Jackson, creating his career-best board total and UConn’s important win.
With Cole (14) and Whaley (11) also breaking double-figures, the Huskies were able to break a tie for third-place with idle Creighton. St. John’s, on the other hand, is now 2.5 games removed
from No. 18 Marquette, whose current standing of fifth puts them in position for the conference tournament’s final first-round bye. The 2022 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held on March 9-12 at MSG.
Back in the win column, the Huskies will now embark on a three-game homestand in the Nutmeg State that begins on Wednesday night in Storrs against Seton Hall (8:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN). A sweep of the Huskies would do wonders for the Pirates (15-8, 6-7 Big East), who previously earned a 90-87 extra period victory over UConn on Jan. 8 in Newark. Seton Hall, which saw a three-game winning streak end at Villanova on Saturday afternoon, hasn’t swept UConn in a two-game set since 1993.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
