UConn basketball won in their home away from home, taking down St. John’s, 77-64.
In a loaded college basketball Saturday slate, this Big East clash delivered the goods. St. John’s entered the game losing four of their last five and the top ranked Huskies came in looking for their 10th straight conference win since dropping their conference opener to Seton Hall. UConn was without starter Alex Karaban, but was able to show their depth with another strong performance.
The UConn Huskies started the game out strong, making six of their first eight field goals. St John’s locked in on the defensive end and went on a run of their own in what ended up being a back and forth half which featured 12 lead changes and eight ties. UConn ended the half making only 8 of their last 20 attempts while having multiple extended scoreless stretches. The Johnnies ended up taking a 37 to 36 lead into halftime, in a half in which Joel Soriano only had two points.
The second half was back and forth with both teams exchanging blows early. The game swung over a brief one minute stretch around the 13 minute mark. Cam Spencer drilled a 3-pointer and followed that up immediately on the defensive end with a quick steal that turned into a Tristen Newton old fashion 3-point play. Freshman phenom Steph Castle added another steal and got fouled, hitting both free throws to turn what was a 1-point St. John’s lead into a 7-point lead for UConn. The Huskies were never threatened again and ended up comfortably leading for the remainder of the half. Husky Nation was in full effect as the fans made their presence known in Storrs South. Rick Pitino will certainly be trying his best to get next year’s matchup in Carnesseca Arena.
Takeaway #1: Stephon Castle Has Officially Arrived
Projected lottery pick Stephon Castle followed up his season high 20 points against Providence with an even better performance. In the World’s Most Famous Arena, the superstar shot 7-of-12 from the field and hit both 3-pointers for a new career high 21 points. His shooting has been much improved as he has settled into Big East play and he looked comfortable from the stripe, going 5-5 from the line.
Steph recording career-highs in back-to-back games 🔥😤 pic.twitter.com/ObV5YaQCo1
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 3, 2024
If Castle can keep up this kind of shooting performance it opens things up even more for the offense as teams will not be able to back off of him and sag into the paint. By forcing teams to guard him full court, he’ll be able to continue to flash his athleticism and have more open looks at the rim as he did this Saturday afternoon.
Takeaway #2: Will a Storm Brew in March?
Don’t get it twisted, St. John’s is a deserving NCAA Tournament team. However, they have yet to earn a signature Big East win and have squandered multiple chances to bolster their seeding in March. After losing by a single point to both Creighton and Marquette earlier this season and narrowly losing to UConn by five at the XL Center, the Johnnies were hungry to take down the top dogs of the conference.
They had their chances and the game was there for the taking midway through the second half, but they once again had mental lapses that ended up costing them. Late game, sloppy turnovers and long scoring droughts have plagued this team and was well apparent once again.
And what happened to Joel Soriano? As a Big East Player of the Year caliber player, six points is unacceptable, especially in a game where both bigs for the Huskies had foul trouble and the team was minus Alex Karaban. There’s a reason Soriano was the only returning player for the new look Rick Pitino team, and he needs to play better for this team to reach their aspirations. However, if they can put together a full 40 minutes and Soriano can play like the best player on the court, this is a team that no one would want to play in March.
Takeaway #3: Can Clingan Stay on the Floor?
The biggest turnaround of the season was the return of “Cling Kong” from injury. While he was out, the Huskies struggled to protect the rim and their defensive metrics plummeted. Since he returned they have had the best defense in the Big East, as evidence by holding a Creighton team that just scored 98 points to only 48 points in UConn basketball’s first game being ranked #1.
But as good as the team has been with one of the most impactful players in the country on the court, there is one major concern. Will he be able to even stay on the court while healthy? He picked up two first half fouls and had to sit for large portions of that half. He picked up another quick one at the start of the second half and ended up with his fourth foul with 11 minutes remaining. Fortunately for UConn, the small ball lineup was effective in containing Soriano and the Huskies pulled out the win.
Even though UConn basketball has been on a ten game winning streak, this has to be a concern. This is now two games in a row where Clingan has picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and was forced to take a seat next to Hurley. UConn would much prefer to see their big man on the court as well as the entire fandom. Clingan has to be smarter and not pick up cheap fouls if this team is going to repeat as champions.
Next game for UConn: Butler (Tues., Feb. 6 – 8:30 p.m.)
Next game for Providence: DePaul (Tues., Feb. 6 – 6:30 p.m.)