University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
St. John's
Huskies Host St. John's In Primetime Showdown at XL
12/22/2023 12:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (10-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) is back at home for the first time in two weeks on Saturday night when it welcomes St. John's (8-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) to the XL Center. The FOX Primetime Hoops showdown is set for 8 p.m. with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call.
The Huskies are looking to bounce back after dropping their conference opener on Wednesday night, turning in their lowest offensive output of the season in a 75-60 setback at Seton Hall. The Red Storm visit Hartford coming off a win in their league lid-lifter, taking down Xavier by a score of 81-66. UConn is 31-37 all-time against St. John's, including a season split last year. Both teams managed wins on the opponent's home court a year ago.
UConn boasts four scorers this season averaging 13.9 points per game or more, led by do-it-all guard Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) who leads the squad with 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) and Alex Karaban (Southborough, Mass.) follow him closely in the scoring column with 14.8 and 14.7 points per game apiece, respectively. Spencer is the most efficient 3-point shooter in the BIG EAST, hitting at a 44.3 percent clip and leading the league with 2.9 makes per game.
Donovan Clingan (Bristol, Conn.) adds 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, helping the Huskies to a top-15 national mark in rebounding margin at +11.1. Karaban is also over six rebounds per game with 6.2 per contest.
The Huskies will need to exercise their rebounding prowess against a Red Storm team that is lead by big man Joel Soriano, who averages 18.0 points and a league-leading 10.8 rebounds per game. In support of Soriano, Daniss Jenkins and Jordan Dingle both average 11.2 points per game and Chris Ledlum adds 11.1 and 7.7 rebounds. The Red Storm are second in the country in offensive rebounding with 17.1 offensive boards per game.
UConn is 3-0 at the XL Center this season and are looking to avenge their lone loss in the building over the last two seasons, falling to St. John's in Hartford on Jan. 15, 2023. Overall, head coach Dan Hurley is 27-9 at the XL Center as the UConn head coach.
The contest Saturday night will be the final one of 2023 for the Huskies, with UConn returning to action on Jan. 2 against DePaul at Gampel Pavilion.
