UConn Dominates St. John's in 72-40 Rout

Huskies avenge earlier loss with suffocating defensive performance

Feb. 26, 2026 at 7:34am

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The 6th-ranked UConn Huskies avenged an earlier loss to 15th-ranked St. John's with a decisive 72-40 victory on Wednesday night. UConn's stifling defense held the Red Storm to just 19.6% shooting, including a stretch where St. John's missed 24 consecutive field goals in the second half.

Why it matters

This game was a matchup of two of the top teams in the Big East conference, and UConn's dominant performance sends a message that they remain one of the powers in the league. The win also gives the Huskies a measure of revenge after losing to St. John's earlier this month.

The details

UConn held St. John's to just 2 made field goals in the second half, as the Red Storm missed their final 24 shots. The Huskies outscored St. John's 42-12 in the paint and limited turnovers to just 5 for the game. Tarris Reed Jr. led UConn with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Karaban added 14 points.

  • UConn defeated St. John's 72-40 on Wednesday, February 26, 2026.

The players

Tarris Reed Jr.

The UConn forward led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Alex Karaban

The UConn senior forward scored 14 points and extended his home win streak at PeoplesBank Arena to 27 games.

Zuby Ejiofor

The St. John's forward was limited to just 6 points and 4 rebounds after dominating UConn in the teams' previous matchup.

Bryce Hopkins

The St. John's forward struggled, scoring 8 points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Rick Pitino

The Hall of Fame St. John's head coach took full accountability for his team's poor offensive performance.

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What they’re saying

“Give them all the credit. It's all on me. I'm very disappointed in our performance offensively, especially sharing the ball (and) moving the ball. All I know is we didn't play good offense. We did things we've never done, and again, that's something I gotta question about myself. The team did not do the things we've done in the last 13 games.”

— Rick Pitino, Head Coach, St. John's

“I think it's (about) taking pride in the defensive end, just individual matchups, just really guarding our yard. And then just having trust in one another, trust that we're gonna help each other out. I think we lost that trust for some moments, and we didn't take as much pride during the moments when we didn't play great defense. Now we're getting back to that level that we've gotta sustain for the rest of the year.”

— Alex Karaban, Forward, UConn

What’s next

UConn will look to continue their strong play and extend their home win streak when they host their next game at PeoplesBank Arena.

The takeaway

UConn's dominant defensive performance against a highly-ranked St. John's team shows that the Huskies remain one of the elite programs in the Big East, and they will be a force to be reckoned with as the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament approach.