University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
20-2,10-1Big East
St. John's
13-9,5-6Big East
No. 1 Huskies Win 10th Straight, Top SJU at The Garden
2/3/2024 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – The No. 1 UConn men's basketball team (20-2, 10-1 BIG EAST) used a huge second half to win its 10th-straight game, taking down St. John's (13-9, 5-6 BIG EAST) by a score of 77-64 on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. With the win, UConn is on its first double-digit winning streak in conference play since the 2008-09 season.
Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) scored 23 points and Stephon Castle (Covington, Ga.) dropped a career-high 21 in the win. The Huskies also got an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double from Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas), with the graduate guard dishing out seven assists. The win for UConn came despite missing starter and third-leading scorer Alex Karaban, who missed the contest with an ankle injury.
Connecticut trailed by a point at halftime, but ramped up its defensive intensity and made clutch shots in the second half to roar back for a double-digit win. It was UConn's fourth win in four tries at Madison Square Garden this season. For the Red Storm, Daniss Jenkins recorded team-highs of 19 points and six assists.
How it Happened
The Red Storm opened the game with a 3-pointer, but the Huskies answered emphatically by ripping off a 14-2 run capped by a pair of Donovan Clingan (Bristol, Conn.) buckets to take a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes. St. John's came up with a quick response of its own, using a 12-2 run to take a 17-16 lead to the U-12 timeout.
The Huskies went cold over the next few minutes, allowing the Red Storm to build its lead to 27-22 and force a Connecticut timeout with 5:51 to play in the opening stanza. UConn responded after the timeout, and a Spencer 3-pointer leveled the score at 29-29 before the final media stoppage of the half. The Huskies would go into the half down by a point at 37-36.
The two sides traded buckets early in the second half, with the Huskies retaking a slim lead early in the frame. A Spencer 3-pointer and Newton three-point play sparked an 8-0 Connecticut run, allowing the Huskies to build their largest lead since the early minutes at 53-46 right around the 12-minute mark.
The Huskies would push their lead to double-digits a few minutes later, going up 62-51 via a pair of Castle free throws at the 8:53 mark. Thanks to some clutch shooting from Spencer and a sterling performance from the free throw line, Connecticut managed to hold that double-digit the rest of the way. Overall the Huskies out-scored the Red Storm 41-27 in the second half.
Inside The Numbers
- The Huskies out-shot the Red Storm, 49.0 percent to 44.2 percent, from the floor and from 3-point range – 46.7 percent to 28.6 percent
- Connecticut was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding St. John's 38-23
- Newton led the Huskies with 10 caroms, and three other Huskies recorded five
- UConn recorded 10 steals, led by three from Spencer – most in a conference game this year
- Connecticut was 20-of-22 from the free throw line (90.9 percent)
News and Notes
- The Huskies are now 46-9 all-time when playing as the No. 1 team
- UConn improves to 33-37 all-time against St. John's after a regular seasons series sweep. It is the first time since 2002-03 that UConn has swept a two-game regular season series against St. John's
- Castle's career-high 21 comes a game after he scored his career-high of 20
- Newton has recorded back-to-back double-doubles and now has six this season
- Clingan has blocked a shot in all 17 games he has appeared in this season and has 11 games with multiple swats
- Castle's 20-point effort was his second in as many games – the first two such contests of the freshman's career
- UConn had a pair of 20-point scorers in Castle and Spencer for the second time this season, previously occurring on Jan. 14 vs. Georgetown (Spencer and Karaban)
- The Huskies move to 4-0 this season at Madison Square Garden and 10-6 under Dan Hurley at the World's Most Famous Arena
- The win was UConn's nation-best 8th Quad 1 victory.
Up Next
The Huskies are back in action at home on Tuesday, Feb. 6 when they welcome Butler to Hartford. Tip-off from the XL Center is set for 8:30 p.m. on FS1.
