Turnovers plague UConn as St. John’s spoils McNeeley’s return

Liam McNeeley made long-awaited return Friday and logged double-double, but it wasn’t enough as UConn fell to St. John’s. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

STORRS, Conn. — If you could only watch one Big East game all season, there’s a pretty good chance the contest in Storrs on Friday night would at least be amongst the finalists for games you consider.

The script just had it all. Dan Hurley against Rick Pitino. A Top 20 matchup. The return of Liam McNeeley. Primetime on Fox. I could probably list a dozen more reasons why this game between UConn and St. John’s is the biggest game in the Big East not just up to this point, but all season long.

Well, the game certainly delivered. 

The 12th-ranked Red Storm marched into Gampel Pavilion and defeated the 19th-ranked Huskies, 68-62, in front of a sold-out Gampel Pavilion to advance to 21-3 on the season, dropping UConn to 16-7. RJ Luis, Jr. scored 21 points and hit the dagger with 10.1 seconds remaining in regulation, a baseline jumper with the shot clock winding down to push the lead to four and give St. John’s all it would need to hold on from there.

“The game was everything we expected it to be,” Hurley said. “Credit St. John’s, the defense is real, the pressure they put on you and the physicality they bring.”

UConn started out red hot, scoring 26 points in the first eight minutes. Solo Ball knocked down a pair of threes before the first media timeout as the Red Storm looked lost on both ends. Ball scored 13 points, but all of them came in the first half.

“We’re a team that's reliant on getting shots for our players based on what we run,” Hurley said. “Switching affects that a lot.”

The Husky lead grew to as many as 14 early in the first half, but as quickly as it got that high, it went away. Plagued by turnovers all night, finishing with 22, the ball protection for Hurley’s team was very subpar compared to how it had been all season long, minus last Saturday at Marquette.

“You’re not gonna win games against St. John’s playing like that,” Hurley said. “Just some undisciplined stuff that we’re doing that makes you feel like you’re not coaching your team well.”

A late 12-0 run from the Red Storm that featured turnover after turnover from the Huskies was the difference. The only two Huskies who scored multiple field goals in the second half came from the bench, as McNeeley and Tarris Reed, Jr. were the only two really providing any jolts on the offensive end. They both recorded double-doubles, as McNeeley had a team-high 18 points and added 11 rebounds, while Reed tallied 12 points and a season-high 15 boards.

“This was a tough game to return to for Liam,” Hurley said. “It’s gonna take him a game or two to get rolling, but that second half in a game like that was impressive.”

“It’s a blessing to be back,” McNeeley added. “I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it until I went out, but I’m not happy anymore.”

McNeeley came off the bench for the first time this season and took a while to get the rust off, starting 0-for-5 from deep. He figured it out down the stretch and was impactful even in defeat, a sign for greater things to come for UConn over the next few weeks.

“I think he’s a lottery pick,” Pitino said. “I love him as a basketball player, I think he’s great.”

Two notable absences in the score column for the Huskies were Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra. They each scored three points and struggled to contribute in their own fashion. Karaban went 0-for-5 from distance and Diarra, who’s battling a nagging injury, looked physically a step behind and had six turnovers.

“Alex is such a smart player and such a perfectionist,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to be willing in games like this to go 3-for-14 and just say ‘f’ it. Alex needs to take 12 or 13 shots in that game right there.”

Diarra still played 34 minutes in the loss, something that Hurley would prefer not be the case.

“We don’t really have a backup point guard we’re comfortable with right now,” Hurley said. “A hobbled Hass playing 34 minutes is the best we’ve got.”

At the end of the day, if you turn the ball over 47 times in two games like UConn did, there aren’t many worlds where you end up going 2-0. It could be argued you could be lucky to squeeze just one win out during a stretch like that. While there are certainly positives to take from any loss, such as McNeeley’s big return, it’s hard to overlook the negatives.

The Huskies will have a few days to try and erase those negatives as they travel to Omaha on Tuesday to take on a Creighton team that came to Storrs last month and handed UConn a rare home loss. Tip is set for 9 p.m. EST at the CHI Health Center.

Lack of experience holding Hofstra back as Pride falls to Northeastern

Speedy Claxton gathers his Hofstra team together during a timeout. At 12-12, Pride has felt effects of younger roster in closing games this season as it struggles to replace its top three veteran scorers from last season. (Photo by Matteo Bracco/Hofstra Athletics)

By Vincent Simone (@VTSimone)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Thursday night’s 77-68 loss to Northeastern was just the latest letdown in a frustrating season for Speedy Claxton’s Hofstra Pride.

The defeat dropped Hofstra to 12-12 on the season and 4-7 in CAA play, a far cry from the first three years of the Claxton era, during which the Pride compiled a stellar 66-34 record and won 20 or more games each season.

Sophomore guard Jean Aranguren led the Pride with a career-high 35 points Thursday, the most points scored by a Pride player this season. Fellow sophomore Cruz Davis followed up with 18 points and seven assists, but Hofstra’s supporting cast offered little else. Starting forward Michael Graham finished third on the team with just six points, but did add 10 rebounds.

The lack of a reliable supporting cast around Aranguren and Davis has been a constant theme this season, but the inexperience of the leading guards themselves has been a contributing factor to Hofstra’s lack of success.

“We’re putting players in situations that they’ve never been in before in their career,” Claxton said after Thursday’s loss. “Cruz Davis, he really hasn’t played much in college. Jean Aranguren was a freshman last year and saw limited minutes. Those are kind of our go-to guys, so it’s a tough situation to put them in. They’re learning to be go-to guys, and that’s going to come with some inconsistency.”

Jean Aranguren set career high Thursday with 35 points, but Hofstra sophomore is still learning to take next step as team leader. (Photo by Matteo Bracco/Hofstra Athletics)

Davis, a MAAC all-rookie team selection under Rick Pitino at Iona in 2022-23, appeared in just four games last season after following Pitino to St. John’s. As co-pilot to Aranguren this season, Davis averages 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. Aranguren also came to the Pride via Iona, but played his freshman season under Tobin Anderson last year. He transferred out of New Rochelle after averaging 8.1 points per game and has boosted that production to 15.0 per contest while averaging 5.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists a night for Hofstra this season.

Though Davis and Aranguren have each been stellar in their premiere year with the Pride, the duo has been forced into leading roles ahead of schedule due to the loss of Hofstra’s three leading scorers from a season ago. Tyler Thomas (22.5 ppg) exhausted his college eligibility, but Darlinstone Dubar (17.8 ppg) and Jaquan Carlos (10.4 ppg) each transferred out for their senior seasons after spending the previous three years with the Pride. Dubar now averages 3.7 points per game off the bench for Tennessee while Carlos is putting up 6.2 per night at Syracuse.

The Pride will continue to rely on Davis and Aranguren to lead the way down the stretch with hopes the supplemental cast can finally step up. That stretch run continues this Saturday with a much-anticipated home matchup against Long Island rival Stony Brook.

Three takeaways from CCSU’s sixth straight win as Blue Devils rout FDU

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — If you haven’t been paying much attention to Northeast Conference basketball this season, then you probably aren’t aware of the best team in the conference to this point in Central Connecticut State.

CCSU is now 17-6 on the season and 8-2 in league play after defeating second-place FDU on Thursday, handling the Knights by the final of 87-66.

In a game that featured many ups and downs for the Blue Devils, here are three takeaways from the team’s sixth straight victory:

Devin Haid’s emergence continues

Coming into the season, everyone expected Jordan Jones to be the guy for Patrick Sellers and Central, and while he has had a solid season, it doesn’t compare to what Devin Haid has done. The transfer from Division II Notre Dame (OH) had a career-high 25 points in the win over the Knights and has been the most consistent Blue Devil all season long.

“If we stay together, then it’s hard to stop us,” Haid said. “We’re just playing unselfish, playing hard, and playing defense.”

Haid only missed one field goal inside the arc, was perfect at the stripe, and added eight rebounds. It was his fifth game of the season scoring 20 or more points and the third time in NEC play he’s reached that mark. With how the Blue Devils’ offensive scheme runs, it will be crucial for Haid to continue to be the focal point as the season progresses.

Defense turned it on late

CCSU led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but saw the lead dwindle down to four at halftime, and shortly after the intermission, FDU took its first lead of the game. After a Sellers timeout when the score was tied at 48, the Blue Devils closed the game on a 39-18 run to secure the big win.

“We changed it at halftime,” Sellers said of his team’s defensive game plan. “We did a good job limiting (Terrence) Brown in the second half and that took them off their game a bit.”

Brown, who came into the game seventh in the country averaging 20.9 points per game, had 19 in the first half alone. He only scored 10 in the second half to finish with a career-high 29, but he got fewer looks thanks to tight defense from guys like Joe Ostrowsky and Jordan Jones. With Brown covered up, the Knights looked out of sorts on the offense end, which allowed Central to balloon the lead.

Depth steps up

Sellers has only used 11 players all season and two of them—Davonte Sweatman and Max Frazier—were unavailable on Thursday. The bench unit of Darin Smith, Jr., James Jones and Jaelen McGlone provided a much needed spark to the second half, and all three were out there when Central was making its run.

The one-time Rider Bronc McGlone had one of his best performances amongst his limited chances this season. Missing the first 17 games due to injury, he has slowly been inserted into the rotation. After FDU head coach Jack Castleberry called a timeout when the Central lead grew to eight points, McGlone responded with five straight points to push it to 13 and force another Castleberry talk.

“It’s hard when you sit out multiple games (and) then we’re just throwing you into a Division I game,” Sellers said. “Once he gets a little rhythm, he can really shoot the basketball for us and he almost had a steal at halfcourt.”

What's next?

The Blue Devils have a bye on Saturday before returning to action next Thursday against Mercyhurst at Detrick Gymnasium. With a win, Central would match its seven-game winning streak in 2011 as the longest streak for the program in the past 15 seasons.

Miles away, here’s how Quinnipiac reacted to Fairfield’s buzzer-beating win over Marist

Amarri Monroe was scoreboard watching after posting career-high 28 points for Quinnipiac Thursday, immediately checking on Marist and Fairfield. Red Foxes’ loss moved Bobcats back into MAAC lead. (Photo by Ethan Hurwitz/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — Quinnipiac junior forward Amarri Monroe—fresh off an 89-71 win over the Canisius Golden Griffins Thursday night—finished his postgame availability, walked out of the media room and instantly shoved his face into his phone. He wanted to watch the ending of the Fairfield-Marist game on ESPNU.

He wasn’t alone, we soon found out.

Just seconds after Fairfield’s Deon Perry drilled a full-court, buzzer-beating three to upset the MAAC-leading Marist Red Foxes, it was clear the Bobcats were just as invested in their rivals’ game as their own.

The entire Quinnipiac locker room erupted in cheers. Monroe sprinted into the locker room. The 10-2 Bobcats had just taken sole possession of first place in the MAAC.

“I know there’s a lot of one-point games going on,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora said just moments before. “We’ll see what the wacky MAAC looks like tonight.”

Earlier in his press conference, Pecora broke down his team’s seventh conference win in eight games and how its depth played a role. He praised Monroe—who scored a career-high in points for the fourth time in five games—and previewed the Bobcats’ upcoming game in two days. He still let it slip that the rest of the conference was on his mind.

“That’s not what we’re looking for,” Pecora laughed after learning that Marist’s lead was three with under a minute to play. “Not that I’m checking.”

Others weren’t so subtle with their scoreboard watching. When Monroe (who got his eighth double-double of the year) and senior forward Alexis Reyes (12 points) walked in for their postgame interviews, Monroe told his teammate to go first. He was enthralled with the game. While Reyes praised his teammate, Monroe’s eyes stayed locked in.

“Mari’s different,” Reyes said. “He don’t take plays off. He plays hard every play, and that’s why I have to respect him. Every day, he comes and works hard.”

When Monroe took his turn at the podium, Reyes scurried away, eager to get back into the locker room. Monroe took his phone and hid below the microphone, trying to watch the game mid-interview before realizing it wasn’t going to work. He moved it to the side table. In between questions, he took some quick glances at the phone. 

When he wasn’t trying to catch a peak, he was fielding questions on his career night and the Bobcats’ winning effort, one that came after another team-wide illness struck during the week. 

“(I’m) pretty locked in, shot selection is way better,” Monroe said. “I’m not trying to force anything, you know? (The) game’s kind of just coming to me, and I just get the easy buckets.”

For now, the Bobcats will remain in first place. They have played more games than Marist, but based on how the team reacted in the locker room, it’s a safe guess that they don’t care.

Northeastern 77, Hofstra 68: Rapid Reaction

By Jason Dimaio (@Jaydimaio)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Following his Hofstra team’s second straight loss Thursday, an animated Speedy Claxton did not hold back.

“We just gotta have some f****** toughness and have to have some pride,” the coach remarked after a 77-68 loss to Northeastern. “You can’t just show up and expect to win.”

Now 12-12 on the season and 4-7 in CAA play, the Pride saw 53 of its 68 points come from Jean Aranguren, who scored a career-high 35, and Cruz Davis, who had 18 of his own. However, it was not enough as Hofstra fell to .500 on the year.

“Guys just have to make shots,” Claxton said. “They have to be confident shooters, and when you have

an opportunity to shoot the basketball, shoot it with confidence.”

The Pride shot only 36 percent from the field for the game and 29 percent from three-point range. Even with Aranguren’s explosion and Davis’ solid night, Hofstra was unable to develop a consistent third scoring option, with the next-highest point total coming from Michael Graham, who only scored six points.

Both teams had offensive lapses Thursday, with easy buckets missed on both ends. Hofstra never was able to get into an offensive rhythm, but its

defense held serve to keep the Pride in contention throughout the night.

Northeastern took a 36-29 lead into halftime, but once the intermission was over, the game turned into a slog. There was no flow to be found to the second stanza, as both teams found themselves in

the double bonus by the 9-minute mark. Still, Hofstra would not let its deficit expand larger than seven points, as the Pride uncorked a 10-3 run over the next five minutes, with Aranguren sparking the rally that would tie the score at 56 apiece. Unfortunately for the home side, buckets from that point on came few too often, as Northeastern would seize control with an 11-3 run down the stretch, effectively icing a road win.

Both Graham and German Plotnikov both exited the game due to injuries. Plotnikov needed to be helped off the court in the second half.

A get-right opportunity awaits Hofstra on Saturday as the Pride welcomes Long Island rival Stony Brook to Nassau County. The Seawolves fell to 1-10 in CAA play Thursday after a loss to Towson, and sit 5-19 overall.

Seton Hall loses eighth straight against Butler

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — When it rains, it pours. So the saying goes, anyway.

And like the wicked in the book of Genesis, Seton Hall currently finds itself stuck in Noah’s Flood, as the Butler Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders Wednesday night in Newark, beating the Pirates, 84-54, to deal the home team its eighth straight loss, dropping The Hall to 6-17 overall and 1-11 in the Big East. 

Once again, Seton Hall was shorthanded, and this time missing two of its better defenders in Dylan Addae-Wusu and Scotty Middleton, the latter of whom was injured against DePaul on Sunday. Chaunce Jenkins also missed his fifth straight game, so all of that made things even more difficult for the Pirates going in. It would take their best effort to make it a ballgame.

What ended up happening was the exact opposite. Right from the get-go, Butler, who came in under .500 on the season and 2-9 in the Big East, was getting whatever it wanted offensively. Finley Bizjack and Patrick McCaffery led a veritable parade of three-pointers for the Bulldogs, who hit a whopping seven in the first 14 minutes of the ballgame. The vast majority of the shots were wide open, with Seton Hall getting caught late in rotation.

And it never got better in the first 20 minutes, either. No matter where Shaheen Holloway went, no matter who was in the ballgame, the results were the same. The Bulldogs looked like they were at shootaround, and the Pirates couldn’t get any shots to fall to match them, nor get themselves ratcheted up on defense.

At the half, Seton Hall was down by a count of 48-20, having allowed nearly 60 percent shooting, having gotten doubled up on the glass, and decimated 22-8 inside the paint. In a season full of poor starts, this ranked at or near the bottom.

“They scored a lot of points,” a frustrated Holloway said when asked about the first half. 

Not even Seton Hall’s full-court press could save it this time, either, as it had a few other times in second halves this season. It did allow for a second half that was competitive, with the Bulldogs’ lead being sliced to 15 points about midway through, but the Pirates couldn’t make a bigger dent in Butler’s enormous advantage.

I asked Holloway about the Pirates’ defense, which he described as “awful” during the course of the question.

“To tell you the truth, I came out tonight trying to play a zone, because I didn’t think the lineup I had could match up with (Butler),” he said. “And the zone was awful, so that’s a bad call by me. Then we got out of the zone, but they were still scoring. There’s a lot of guys that probably wouldn't be playing together if we had a full roster, if we were fully healthy, so there’s guys just not guarding (their) men right now, and that's what it comes down to, guarding your yard.”

“And it’s everybody...getting beat, and then we rotate and we’re scrambling, and they shot the ball great early, which put us in another hole."

In the positive column, Prince Aligbe had yet another solid game, hitting double figures for the seventh time in the last nine games with 17 points. He continues to be a very bright spot recently in a dark season for the Pirates. But the rest of the team struggled, with lead guard Isaiah Coleman again unable to find the bottom of the net in particular, scoring just two points on 1-for-10 shooting.

“(He) and I watched film last night of the last six games,” Holloway said of Coleman. “And I told him a lot of the shots that (he’s) kind of rushing, you're going to get those shots anyway. Today, I saw him pressing a little bit. I saw him rushing some shots, then putting his head down and pressing a little bit, and that kind of dictated his defense. And that’s why I got upset with him. Don’t let it dictate your defense. If you have good shots, shoot them.”

That was the least of the Pirates’ concerns on the night, however. Every team has bad days at the office. This was certainly another one for Seton Hall. But the larger issue for the Pirates is their remaining schedule. Only three of their remaining eight games are against teams at or under .500 in the Big East, at Georgetown (5-7) for their next game on Saturday, and at home against Xavier (6-6) and Villanova (5-6) at the end of the month. 

They have to face UConn twice in that span, and play heavyweights Marquette and St. John’s on the road, plus Ryan Kalkbrenner and Creighton at home. If they cannot get their injured players back in the lineup soon, it’s honestly a bit difficult to see a victory in that group. 

The answer that coaches always turn to when their team is caught in a near-impossible situation on paper is that they have to battle, and there's some truth to that. Holloway has said that in past press conferences. But for Seton Hall, the Pirates have to come out ready to be gladiators right away, no matter who’s healthy or not. If they have another first half like they did tonight, especially on defense, they won't be able to unsink the ship against the top-flight competition they have coming up in February.

Sha Sounds Off: Butler

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

On Seton Hall’s first half:

“(Butler) scored a lot of points. They scored a lot of points, Jerry. They scored a lot of points on a bad defensive team right now.”

On constructing Seton Hall’s roster again if he could:

“Adam, come on, man. Fellas, if this is gonna be one of those things, then we’re not gonna have a press conference. I really don’t feel like talking to you guys, it ain’t personal, I’m just not in a great space. I came in here because I know you guys got a job to do, I get it. But people talk about the roster, it is what it is right now. I can’t do anything about it, Adam. We got the team I got, we brought them here so I’m responsible for this. I’m a big boy and I gotta take it. It sucks right now, especially that we keep losing at home. It’s the worst, Adam. Obviously, we don’t have three guys that could help us, but it’s hard to win when you’re fully healthy, imagine not being healthy with three guys who could score the basketball and play a lot of minutes for you. You gotta have other guys play. So to answer your question, I don’t want you guys thinking that I’m coming here trying to be a jerkoff or anything like that, but I can’t do nothing about the roster right now, alright? So to ask that question is kind of not fair to my guys. If I could do something different with the roster? If I say something like that, how does that look on me? You know what I’m saying? I get you have a job to do, I get it, when things are terrible, this is the kind of stuff that comes with it, so I get it.”

On Chaunce Jenkins, Scotty Middleton and Dylan Addae-Wusu:

“Yeah, I don’t know. I just told the radio guys I don’t know. None of them did anything the last couple days practice-wise, so I don’t think they’re gonna play on Saturday either. It’s a quick turnaround. What’s today, Wednesday? Obviously you can’t do too much tomorrow, then you gotta try to have a practice on Friday and then play early Saturday, so I can’t see any of them playing.”

On Isaiah Coleman:

“I know him and I watched film last night of the last six games and his shot selection. And I told him, a lot of shots that you’re kind of rushing, you’re gonna get those shots anyway, so you ain’t gotta rush. I don’t know. I think today, I saw him pressing a little bit. I saw him miss a couple shots, put his head down, press a little bit, and that kind of dictated his defense and that’s why I got upset with him. I was like, don’t let that dictate your defense. You got a good shot? Shoot it. But I saw him miss a couple early and he got really, really down, he got a little tentative and he wouldn’t shoot anymore. Good players don’t do that, good players just keep playing and find a way. He’s a good player, he’s gonna figure it out.”

On the feeling of losing:

“It’s a feeling that I never thought I’d be experiencing. I can’t tell you how I feel because I don’t feel great, and I feel bad—not for me—I feel bad for those young men in my locker room. I’m a big boy, this comes with the territory. Sometimes you have tough seasons, but I feel bad for them because they’re working hard and they’re trying. It’s just not a good feeling. It’s not, Jerry. It’s not a good feeling and it’s hard to explain how I feel. I just don’t feel good at all.”

On getting Seton Hall back to full health:

“I’m hoping. I’m hoping. I’m not sure where Chaunce’s at. Dylan, it’s his ankle, Scotty just had another day. I know Scotty and Dylan, they want to be out there. I’m not saying Chaunce don’t want to be out there, his is a little bit more serious than theirs just because it’s a knee. It’s not an ankle, right? But if those guys could have played, I know they would have played. Yes, I’m hoping to get them back after the bye week, but it all depends on where those guys are at. I’m not making guys play if they can’t compete at a level that they can’t compete at. I’d rather just play with the guys I got than mess a kid’s career up. I’m not about that.”

On Jenkins being out for the season:

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Those talks never happened yet. It’s all on him right now, right? The diagnosis is what it is, he knows what it is, the doctors talked, the parents talked. It’s all on him trying to feel comfortable playing with it. It’s up to him right now and the doctors.”

On Seton Hall’s defense not being up to par:

“It’s awful. I came out tonight, to tell you the truth, I came out tonight trying to play a zone because I didn’t think the lineup I had could match up with them, and the zone was awful, so that’s a bad call by me. Then we got out of the zone and they were still scoring. I don’t know. It’s a lot of them that probably wouldn’t be playing together if we had a full roster and everybody healthy, so there’s guys that are not just guarding men right now. That’s what it comes down to, guarding your yard. We can beat everybody, it’s not just one person. Everybody’s getting beat and then we’re rotating, we’re scrambling, and they shot the ball great early and got us in another hole.”

Outstanding talent reigns supreme in highest and biggest character win to date for Red Storm

Zuby Ejiofor (24) finishes second-half dunk as St. John’s picks up biggest win of season Tuesday against Marquette. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — Even in the face of the program’s best start in 40 years, criticism has greeted St. John’s as it turned corners one game at a time.

The Red Storm could not win in March, the doubters said, for a number of reasons. Whether it was a lack of 3-point shooting, inconsistent free throws, or the patented slow starts, the Johnnies—although on a higher plane than usual this year—were still being taken somewhat lightly in some circles.

Then, there was the lack of a marquee win on its schedule. That, however, was no fault of the Red Storm, whose three defeats have come by a grand total of just five points while simply doing its job over the course of the year.

Tuesday night changed that narrative, continuing a theme that has reigned supreme in the Big Apple as Rick Pitino authors yet another second-season improvement on an already illustrious resume.

With 11th-ranked Marquette, one spot above St. John’s in the polls, entering Madison Square Garden Tuesday, St. John’s turned in its most character-defining performance to date, never straying from its identity in a 70-64 victory over the Golden Eagles. On a night where Kadary Richmond, RJ Luis and Zuby Ejiofor each racked up a double-double, the Red Storm crushed the glass en route to 50 rebounds—21 offensive—and made it all but impossible for Marquette to get putback attempts against a suffocating defense, establishing a firm grip of the Big East standings in the process by expanding its conference lead to a game and a half on idle Creighton.

“The statistical data does not mean anything with these guys,” Pitino declared, almost in disbelief at how his team simply outworks the other on most nights to emerge victorious. “Zero. This is a very unique team, they just defy all statistical data almost every single game. Their effort level, though, is so incredibly high. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this, effort level-wise. They’re a hell of a basketball team that just plays so hard. As a coach, I can’t appreciate anymore than this. I’m so full with gratitude to see players play this hard. It’s exciting.”

“This is a relentless defensive team, and you see it all the time with the shot clock winding down. This a relentless group that’s totally bought into stopping every play. I’m so proud of this damn team. They just are so refreshing with the way they play, how hard they play. They deserve all the credit in the world, they beat a really good team, a well-coached team.”

A Pitino trademark has always been getting his teams to peak timely, something both Luis and Richmond hinted at Tuesday in the midst of a stretch not seen in decades. Richmond, in particular, has blossomed into the player St. John’s expected when it plucked him out of the transfer portal in May, silently taking over games the same way he did on the other side of the Hudson at Seton Hall, where Pitino lauded Shaheen Holloway for the job he did with the senior point guard before praising Richmond’s marked progression from a conditioning perspective.

“I envisioned special things for all of us as a group,” the reticent Richmond revealed. “When we all got here, we were all competitive, going at each other, working hard in individual workouts. I feel like what we did in the summer, what we did in the preseason, it’s showing up now. I would say it’s a nice feeling. It’s good to enjoy it, but we’re nowhere near done. We’ve got more games to play, more games coming up, and each step of the way gets better, as a group and individually.”

“You guys could see it now,” Luis added. “We’re a very hungry group and we’re very determined to win. I think we’re having a great season. We have a lot to accomplish yet and the guys are hungry. We’re gonna go after it, and we obviously don’t like to lose because we don’t like how Coach Pitino gets.”

Getting after it, per se, has been the embodiment of the Marquette team St. John’s faced Tuesday, as head coach Shaka Smart consistently highlights the value and concept of getting lost in the fight. The veteran coach credited the Red Storm for playing with the violence he demands from his own unit, but recognized the game was won more by St. John’s imposing its will and asserting it frequently than any missed shots—both sides combined to miss free throws—would have allowed.

“There are so many different factors that go into winning, and there are so many different factors that go into losing,” Smart shared. “Shooting is the one that people pay a lot of attention to, because it’s so obvious, but if there’s 50 of those factors and shooting is one of them, (St. John’s is) really good at the other 49. They do a terrific job of playing to their strengths and understanding that in the paint and on the glass are where they’re gonna have a huge advantage. They did a great job of pressing that advantage.”

“The best teams—whether it’s St. John’s (Tuesday), UConn over the course of the run that they’ve been on, whether it’s Villanova (with) their great teams—they do the best job of striking the balance of playing with violence without a foul being called. That’s what the best teams do, and we’ve gotta get better at that. We had 17 fouls in the second half. That’s not a recipe for winning.”

Marquette, who has dropped two straight to UConn and St. John’s, continues its three-game gauntlet this weekend against Creighton in search of a win to right the ship and remain in the mix for a regular season championship. As for the rejuvenated Red Storm, the biggest week for the program since at least 2011 is furthered Friday with a trip to Gampel Pavilion to face an aforementioned Huskies team that will likely be welcoming back uber-talented freshman Liam McNeeley as it seeks to maintain its own upward momentum. Regardless, the Johnnies are not taking anything for granted, appreciative of what has come to this point but setting the table for more in the next five weeks of a campaign that is already in contention to be one of its better efforts of all time.

“This has just been so much fun,” Pitino proclaimed. “Coaching this group is so much fun. Seeing the Garden the way it is, seeing St. John’s come back is so much fun. I’m having a blast coaching these guys, I’m having a blast seeing the Garden explode like this. The great thing about coaching this team is we still have a lot of improvement to make, we’re gonna get better and better.”

“You look for improvement. I think here, the whole is better than the sum of the parts most of the time because of their defense, but we’ve got outstanding talent. It’s different talent, it’s just outstanding.” 

Hawaii demolishes Cal State Fullerton behind inspiration and complete team effort

By Mark Remsa (@RUHoopsHQ)

Special to Daly Dose Of Hoops

HONOLULU — After dropping its third game in a row this past Thursday to UC San Diego and falling to seventh place in the Big West Conference standings, Hawaii looked no further than Saturday’s home game against Cal State Fullerton to stop the bleeding and to get its season back on track.

With a one-day turnaround, Hawaii (13-9, 5-6 Big West) showed no signs of fatigue as the Rainbow Warriors dominated Cal State Fullerton (6-17, 1-10 Big West) in every facet of the game, cruising to an important 82-57 conference win. The 25-point victory is Hawaii’s second largest in the history of the series, eclipsing the Rainbow Warriors’ 23-point demolition of the Titans four years ago.

After a few stoppages and a delay that lasted nearly 15 minutes due to shot clock malfunction issues at the start of the game, the Rainbow Warriors came together collectively to put on a spectacle for its fans to enjoy. Cal State Fullerton scored the first bucket of the game, but it only took Hawaii 125 seconds to regain the lead and to set the tone of the game on its terms.

“Setting the tone is great,” head coach Eran Ganot said. “I think setting the tone was an incredible byproduct of effort and incredible team play.”

In response to Cal State Fullerton’s first and only lead of the game, Rainbow Warrior guard Tom Beattie took control and fired a pass across the floor to forward Akira Jacobs, who knocked down a corner three that sent a crowd of 5,518 at the Stan Sheriff Center into a frenzy and gave Hawaii a 3-2 lead. 

“We wanted to play with intensity and aggression at the start of the game,” Hawaii forward Harry Rouhliadeff said on the importance of starting strong. “We wanted to come out with a lot of fire and energy to get this place moving.”

Little did Jacobs know that his shot was the one to fuel an astounding 27-6 run over the course of nine minutes in the first half.

Hawaii fed off the crowd’s energy for much of the game as the Rainbow Warriors drained 10 three-pointers, registered 13 second chance points, and got an incredible 42 points of production from their bench.

“When you walk into the gym and see a group of kids that are ready to attack their crafts, and then you see a support system from the fan base showing love for guys that are going through a tough time, personally I can’t thank them enough,” Ganot said. “For the fans to come into the gym tonight through the struggles we’re going through, we fought through those struggles, and it meant a lot to them.”

Hawaii saw ten of its players register points in the game, including four scoring in double figures. Beattie, who had struggled scoring in his four previous games, gave the Rainbow Warriors a breakthrough performance, finishing with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and a team-high five assists.

“Part of his leadership was setting the tone tonight,” Ganot said. “He was strong with the ball. He was strong at the rim. He was really good defensively as well and has been. Remember, he’s a sophomore captain, and he wants it so bad. I’m just so happy for him to have a breakthrough. You could feel his leadership on the bench. It’s not easy being a sophomore captain, but this performance will help him going forward. He’s such a great kid and a great young man.”

The Rainbow Warriors not only played well on the offensive end, but also played stout defense, forcing the Titans into making numerous mistakes and countless off-balance shots. Hawaii held Cal State Fullerton to 19-of-52 shooting from the field and 4-of-17 from three-point range. Unlike Thursday night when Hawaii lost the battle of the boards to UC San Diego, the Rainbow Warriors crashed the boards, controlled the glass, and won the rebounding battle decisively, 47-32. Rouhliadeff proved to be one of the key difference makers on the defensive end for Hawaii as the native Australian pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, disrupted shots in the post and had a key block towards the end of the first half that led to transition points for the Rainbow Warriors to extend their lead.

“We don’t have any three-year guys, and (Rouhliadeff) is a leader in our program,” Ganot said. “He’s kind of gone from being the example of where you earn credibility to where your words mean more. You could hear him. You feel his presence. He’s really been coming on.”

Last night’s win was not just an important victory to help Hawaii potentially turn its season around, but it was an emotional game for veteran leader Marcus Greene and one that was inspirational to his teammates. In anticipation of Coaches vs. Cancer week, Hawaii shared a video on the large screen in the arena prior to the game of Greene’s personal account of his battle with cancer as a child and how he overcame it. Greene went on to have a spectacular game, as he scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and two steals.

“It’s very inspiring,” Ganot said. “Marcus is an inspiration to himself, to his teammates, to this staff, to everybody. When I went to see him for the first time on the road, we built a great relationship, and he briefly mentioned to me he overcame a struggle. I had to ask him, ‘Wait, what? Did you just tell me you overcame cancer?’ Just listening to his story and getting to know him, he’s an incredible inspiration.”

Beattie added, “The video Marcus did was special. When he told us in the locker room, it nearly brought him to tears and nearly brought us to tears. Hearing his story and the way he told it just makes us grateful to be here and to be able to play this sport. I love Marcus. He’s the guy in the locker room that lights up everyone whenever you see him.”

Hawaii will hit the road this week as the Rainbow Warriors will battle Cal Poly (8-15, 2-9 Big West) on Thursday (ESPN+, 10 PM ET), and then round out their road trip with a high-stakes game against UC Santa Barbara (14-8, 6-5 Big West) on Saturday (ESPN+, 10 PM ET). Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Thursday, as the Titans travel to face a surging Cal State Northridge (15-7, 7-4 Big West) program (ESPN+, 10 PM ET).