Stunning Storm Slaughter

It was a disastrous opening tipoff to the Big East tournament for the Connecticut Huskies. UConn was routed by the Red Storm 73-51 during a first round game at Madison Square Garden. Tuesday’s loss marked the fifth straight year the Huskies exited the conference tournament without winning a game. Connecticut has not won a tournament game since 2005. St. John’s beat a traditional powerhouse for the second consecutive Big East tournament. The Johnnies defeated Georgetown last season before falling to the Golden Eagles in the next round. Marquette is the second round opponent for St. John’s again this year. The 13th seeded Red Storm advanced thanks to exuberant play from Sean Evans. Evans smacked down 19 points as the Johnnies sunk a stunned Connecticut team on the bubble of the NCAA tournament.
St. John’s halted a nine game losing streak to Jim Calhoun’s Huskies Tuesday in New York. The Red Storm lost three of four games to end the regular season, so it was a bit surprising when they toppled a physical UConn squad. St. John’s shot 50% from the field against the number one defensive field goal team in Big East. Paris Horne and Justin Brownlee aided Evans, anchoring the Red Storm with 13 points each. The Storm paved a 22-12 lead with ten minutes remaining in the second quarter. They extended the advantage to 38-18 after a 13-2 spurt. Evans and Brownlee scored all the points during the Red Storm’s run before the break as the Huskies trailed by 13 at halftime. Kemba Walker managed 12 points for the losing Huskies. Walker was 2-of-8 from downtown for a Connecticut team that finished 30% from long range. Connecticut shot just 37.5% from the field and committed 20 turnovers. UConn hit 6-of-18 from the charity stripe in an embarrassing showing Tuesday. Connecticut scored its fewest points in a Big East tournament game.
The Huskies, a Final Four team a year ago, never got closer than eight points the rest of the game. The Johnnies grabbed rebounds, picked up loose balls and notched 54% of their 3-pointers. St. John’s leading scorer, DJ Kennedy, was limited to 25 minutes because of early foul trouble. Second leading man, Dwight Hardy, was sidelined with a sprained knee for St. Johns. It mattered little for the inspired Red Storm. The defense held 12th seeded UConn’s top scorer, Jerome Dyson, to four points. Dyson dismally turned the ball over nine times during the contest. The Huskies can only hope for an invite to the NIT. Tuesday’s blowout loss was a low moment for the prestigious Big East program. The Huskies went 7-11 in conference play. A below .500 Big East record is never sufficient enough to make a dent in the big dance. UConn’s only shot this season would have been to win the conference tournament. Meanwhile, St. John’s lives to play another day in perhaps the best conference tournaments in men’s college hoops. The Johnnies registered its most wins in a season under Coach Norm Roberts with the victory. Roberts’ players face a tough task Wednesday. Buzz Williams’ Eagles are a team under the radar. Fifth-ranked Marquette endured a rough start but has settled in to make the NCAA tournament. It should be an exhilarating four days on the hardwood. As of this post, St. John trails Marquette by ten at the half. The Red Storm are shooting just 30%.

Parting Points: Other Big East first round winners- USF, Seton Hall, and Cincinnati.

Tough break for the Minnesota Twins- Closer, Joe Nathan could be out for the season.