HARTFORD, Conn. — Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and No. 6 UConn held 15th-ranked St. John’s to 20% shooting in a 72-40 blowout Wednesday night that snapped the Red Storm’s 13-game winning streak.
Alex Karaban added 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who moved back into first place in the Big East by avenging an 81-72 loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6.
St. John’s missed 12 consecutive shots in the first half and then its final 24 field goal attempts of the game as the Huskies (26-3, 16-2) romped to their most lopsided victory in series history.
Solo Ball had 11 points and four assists for UConn, and Silas Demary Jr. provided seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Joson Sanon scored all 10 of his points in the first half for St. John’s (22-6, 15-2), which finished 11-of-56 from the field and fell a half-game behind UConn in the conference standings. The team’s 13-game winning streak was its longest in 41 years.
Zuby Ejiofor had two quick baskets for the Red Storm early in the second half, but the Huskies scored the next 16 points. A driving layup by Karaban put them up by 23 with 13:42 left, and St. John’s went the last 17:27 without a field goal.
«I don’t know what it is. All I know is we didn’t play good offense,» Pitino said. «We did things that we’ve never done. And again, it’s something that I’ve gotta question about myself, and I will question it because the team did not do the things we’ve done in the last 13 games.»
Braylon Mullins had six points and Karaban scored five during UConn’s 18-0 run in the first half. A driving layup by Ball gave the Huskies a 33-12 lead.
Sanon had 10 of the next 12 points for St. John’s as the Red Storm began to cut into the deficit. Reed grabbed his own miss and kicked the ball out to Ball for a 3-pointer, and the Huskies went into halftime leading 41-26.
UConn’s starters outscored the Red Storm’s starting five 61-28, and the Huskies had a 42-12 advantage in the paint.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
