Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team is one of the delightful surprises of college basketball, hitting Friday’s action at 20-3 and 11-1 in the Big East. They just pulled a statement win over Marquette and now have the nation’s third-rated defense. Up next: a road test against Dan Hurley’s volatile but talented UConn squad, which also beat Marquette in its last outing. This is stacked with Big East “game of the year” potential.
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How to watch No. 12 St. John’s at No. 19 Connecticut
The Johnnies’ best season in three decades is powered by strident defense, high-effort, consistent rebounding and a dominant turnover differential. They are decidedly old-school — fourth in 2-point tries per game and 342nd in 3-pointers. Fifth-year guard Kadary Richardson is scorching hot right now, two dimes shy of a triple-double at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Junior Zuby Ejiofor lived at the foul line in the Marquette win, finishing with 13 points on just five shots. Fellow junior R.J. Luis Jr. is a likable grinder with stand-up in-game dunk skills:
The Red Storm entered this week without any games against the current top 25. After Friday, they will have played two in four days. They lost a double-OT thriller to then-No. 13 Baylor back in November, but the Bears have since fallen out of the rankings.
UConn presents a challenge comparable to that of Marquette. The Huskies have won back-to-back national championships. Even amid an inconsistent campaign with some funky losses (Creighton, Villanova, Xavier, everything at Maui), this top-line UConn core demands respect and has multiple top-10 wins.
Solomon Ball is having a fantastic sophomore season, up to 15 points per game on conference-best 3-point shooting. He dropped 25 at Marquette and 23 against Butler. Two-time champ Alex Karaban has played all but 15 minutes of Connecticut’s last five games. Freshman Liam McNeely is expectedo to make his return from a high ankle sprain.
The Huskies put up points in droves and move the ball with confidence. They’re not spectacular on defense and are certainly prone to bewildering mistakes, but they can be a real tough out when properly locked in. It’s a massive Saturday showcase for both sides. The Johnnies are seeking their first Big East title since 1992.
NBA starting lineups with alumni
St. John’s
- G — Mark Jackson
- G — Dick McGuire
- F — Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
- F — Chris Mullin
- C — Billy Paultz
- Sixth Man — Kevin Loughery
Connecticut
- G — Kemba Walker
- G — Ray Allen
- F — Richard Hamilton
- F — Clifford Robinson
- C — Andre Drummond
- Sixth Man — Rudy Gay
Big East odds
(Photo of Alex Karaban and Solomon Ball: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
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