St. John's rout of UConn puts Red Storm on brink of Big East regular-season title

Four banners hang between the Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street sides of Madison Square Garden.

The first two commemorate the 1952 and 1985 Final Four teams. The third celebrates the five NIT championship squads: 1943, 1944, 1959, 1965 and 1989. The last honors legendary coach Lou Carnesecca and his 526 wins.

A fifth — and maybe more — soon could accompany them.

“We want this Big East crown badly,” Rick Pitino said after No. 10 St. John’s drew closer to the program’s first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985 by outclassing UConn, 89-75, on Sunday afternoon at the Garden.

The Red Storm, who improved to 24-4 overall, 15-2 in Big East play and 17-0 at home, can clinch a share of the Big East regular-season title with a win at Butler on Wednesday night.

“I think we can win every game,” said Deivon Smith, who had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Sunday. “We’re taking advantage of each and every moment. It’s a super-special team [that is] making history in almost every game.”

In front of a sellout crowd of 19,812 who filled the Garden for the matinee, St. John’s had what Pitino called its “best offensive, defensive game we played all season.”

St. John’s held Connecticut (18-9, 10-6) to 39.0% shooting from the field and 26.1% from beyond the arc and converted 18 turnovers into 24 points.

“We had too many flaws,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

All five starters for the Red Storm scored in double figures. Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor had 18 points apiece. Four days after Pitino said RJ Luis Jr. was “probably going to miss Connecticut,” he started and added 14. Aaron Scott had 13 points off the bench.

“We shoot 47% [from the field], 42% from three and 78% from the line. That’s a hell of a game,” Pitino said.

Indeed, what those who filled the Garden saw was decidedly not an exact reprise of the classic, possession-by-possession brawl the teams authored 16 days earlier in Storrs, Connecticut, which St. John’s won, 68-62.

Instead, the Red Storm sent an unmistakable message to the rest of the conference and any opponent they may encounter in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

“I hate losing,” Smith said. “Everybody hates losing.”

St. John’s took control in the first half, underscored by an eight-point possession. The sequence began with Luis drilling a three-pointer with 4:23 left. Inside the paint on the play, Connecticut’s Samson Johnson was assessed a flagrant 1 foul on Ejiofor, who made both free throws. St. John’s retained possession and Scott made a three-pointer to extend the lead to 43-26.

The Red Storm had a 50-32 advantage at halftime, but UConn opened the second half with a 21-12 run in the first 7:35 to cut the deficit to 62-53. Alex Karaban scored 11 of his 17 points in the stretch, making three three-pointers and a layup.

“We had a shot,” Hurley said. “There was an opportunity there.”

After Karaban’s third three-pointer, St. John’s called timeout. In the huddle, according to Pitino and Scott, Ejiofor made it clear that the Red Storm were not going to collapse.

“That’s our captain,” Scott said. “He [was] correct. We’ve been here before. We didn’t wilt. We didn’t get down. We just kept going.”

St. John’s responded with a 12-5 spurt in the next 3:20 to extend its lead to 74-58.

“We put together two halves,” Scott said. “Everybody buys in.”