When the ball was tipped and Saturday night’s Big East showdown between No. 5 UConn and St. John’s got underway, the XL Center was deafening as a crowd of close to 16,000 made their presence felt for the reigning national champions. With 4:15 left on the clock and St. John’s holding onto a 63-61 lead, there was a very different vibe surrounding the Connecticut Huskies.
After a 10-1 start, could this team actually begin Big East play with an 0-2 mark? In closing time, as head coach Dan Hurley described it, UConn showed “championship resilience.”
The Huskies outscored the Red Storm 8-2 in the final four minutes of the contest en route to a 69-65 victory in a game that was a true Big East defensive grinder.
“It wasn’t pretty for us, but we just had to grind it out, UConn guard Cam Spencer said. “We had to win with will.”
The Huskies, playing without star big man Donovan Clingan, who is out for the next 3–4 weeks with an injured foot, found a way behind Samson Johnson (16 points), Tristen Newton and Spencer (15 points a piece).
Here are three takeaways from UConn’s win.
1. Samson Johnson did his part in filling in for Donovan Clingan.
The Huskies junior big man set the tone by keeping Joel Soriano scoreless in the opening six minutes. Soriano eventually got going with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but on a night where Clingan was expected to negate the Red Storm big man, Johnson had to step up, and he did with his 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.
“I’m so proud of him,” Hurley said of Johnson. “He played against one of the best big guys in the country, and he fought the whole way.” The Huskies will need the 6-foot-10 Johnson to step up on the interior with Clingan out. He passed his first test with flying colors.
Samson Johnson cuts to the rim and converts on a tough jam to help UConn tie the game vs. St. John’s
2. Five-star freshman Stephon Castle came up big in crunch time.
The UConn five-star recruit rose to the occasion down the stretch in a tight matchup. Castle scored all eight of his points in the final 6:30 of the game, coming up with three important layups down the stretch, two of which were tough and contested. On a night where Castle started 0-for-7 from the floor, he recovered extremely well and delivered when the game was on the line.
“He has a template now,” Hurley said of Castle. “He can’t put too much pressure on himself. We don’t need him to be Damian Lillard. We just need him to defend and focus on what he’s best at, the little things. He found something late there.”
On a night where UConn only scored six bench points and shot 5-for-18 from 3, someone had to step up outside of Spencer, Karaban and Johnson, and Castle did.
3. Tristen Newton continues his Big East Player of the Year candidacy.
Hurley credited Newton’s “tremendous” leadership following the win, as the UConn fifth-year senior posted 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the victory. Newton didn’t have a great shooting night, going 4-for-14 from the floor, but he only had one turnover and ran the offense well.
“The games in the Big East are cage fights,” Hurley said of a matchup that featured 42 fouls.
On the season, Newton is averaging 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, which puts him firmly in the mix for Big East Player of the Year.
Newton outplayed his counterpart, St. John’s standout Daniss Jenkins, who struggled to find his shot as well.
St. John’s Red Storm vs. No. 5 UConn Huskies Highlights
Quote of the night from Hurley:
“We saved Christmas for ourselves, and the state of Connecticut. A loss here tonight would have been a lot of doom and gloom for a lot of people.”
Up next: The Huskies have a break before returning to action against DePaul on Jan. 2 on FS1. St. John’s plays its non-conference finale on Dec. 30 against Hofstra on FS1.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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