The battle for the Big East just got much more interesting.
No. 22 St. John’s unleashed a second-half surge to deal No. 3 UConn its first loss of Big East play, 81-72, on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, closing the gap in the conference standings.
The Red Storm (18-5; 11-1 vs. Big East) pulled ahead with a 10-0 run after halftime and held on from there, extending their season-long winning streak to nine games.
The loss snapped an 18-game winning streak for the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 vs. Big East), whose lead over St. John’s is now down to a half-game.
Friday’s game was tied, 45-45, with a little under 17 minutes to go when St. John’s rattled off 10 straight points.
Capping that run was a Bryce Hopkins 3-pointer that put St. John’s up, 55-45, with 13:03 remaining. When Huskies head coach Dan Hurley called a timeout, a sellout crowd of 19,812 erupted with deafening glee.
But UConn answered with a 14-4 run, which included a highlight reel dunk by Silas Demary Jr. and 3-pointers from Alex Karban and Demary. Demary’s 3-pointer cut the UConn deficit to 64-63.
It was a two-point game when Dylan Darling sank a 3-pointer with just over three minutes remaining, putting St. John’s up 72-67. On the next St. John’s possession, Zuby Ejiofor made a hook shot, putting the Red Storm up by seven. Ejiofor finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
St. John’s also got 15 points from Dillon Mitchell and 14 from Hopkins. St. John’s forced 15 turnovers, leading to 20 points. That helped the Red Storm survive Demary’s 18 points and Karaban’s 17.
The late-game drama followed a first half that featured four ties and six lead changes. Fittingly, it was tied at halftime, 39-39. With a rematch set for Feb. 25 in Hartford, St. John’s now controls its own destiny in the race for the Big East regular season championship and the top seed in the conference tournament.
Friday’s win was the Red Storm’s highest-ranked victory since they defeated No. 3 Villanova in February 2021.
It was the 903rd career on-court victory for St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, tying him with Roy Williams for the third most all time. After winning back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, UConn endured a down season last year.
St. John’s took advantage, sweeping the season series against the Huskies en route to its first outright Big East regular season championship since 1985 and its first conference tournament title since 2000.
Friday’s game marked the first meeting this season between St. John’s and UConn, which began the year as the teams to beat in the Big East.
The conference’s coaches picked St. John’s to win the Big East, while UConn finished a not-so-distant second in that vote. Nationally, UConn opened the year at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll — one spot ahead of St John’s. But while UConn largely dominated a loaded non-conference slate, St. John’s failed to beat any of its top opponents.
St. John’s went 0-3 against ranked teams during non-conference play and also lost a neutral-site meeting with Kentucky.
It’s been a different story in Big East play. Since a Jan. 3 loss to Providence, the Johnnies are undefeated.
And now they have a signature win under their belts.
