UConn win streak comes to halt as Huskies upended by St. John’s in MSG classic

Silas Demary, Jr. tries to fight off St. John’s pressure defense as Red Storm forced UConn guard into nine turnovers as Huskies fell to Johnnies Friday. (Photo by John Munson/Associated Press)

NEW YORK — UConn came into Friday’s much-hyped showdown with St. John’s off its two most efficient offensive performances of Big East play, a pair of victories over Creighton and Xavier that prompted Dan Hurley to say his Huskies had started to play the bulletproof style of basketball that yielded back-to-back national championships before last season.

As it turned out, the metal-resistant armor was no match for an old-school Big East fistfight.

UConn, the third-ranked team in the nation, went at St. John’s throughout the night before a sellout Madison Square Garden audience, surviving foul trouble to go into halftime tied with the No. 22 Red Storm. But a litany of turnovers and missed free throws, coupled with relentless ball pressure, allowed the Johnnies to get the upper hand in the second half and escape their home floor with an 81-72 victory in the first of at least two battles between the class of the conference.

“It was the exact type of game we thought it was going to be,” Hurley said as the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 Big East) suffered their first loss since a November 19 setback to now-No. 1 Arizona. “Just as hard a game as we’ve had to play this year.”

UConn stayed afloat despite an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers, nine of which were committed by point guard Silas Demary, Jr., who was lured into ten giveaways by St. John’s last season when he played them as a Georgia Bulldog. The visitors were also befallen by a woeful 5-for-12 showing at the free throw line, missing all but one of their six attempts from the stripe over the final 20 minutes.

“When you go minus-17 point-wise at the foul line (St. John’s was 22-for-31 on free throws), turn the ball over 15 times and get outrebounded (32-26), you’re not gonna win on the road. So credit St. John’s. They’ve got a physicality that plays real well in these conference games.”

The Huskies started strong, using the shot making of Braylon Mullins to withstand Dillon Mitchell’s early explosiveness to build a 16-10 lead. But after a Rick Pitino timeout, St. John’s scored the next seven points to retake the lead. The two teams would trade baskets for the majority of the opening stanza thereafter, with UConn fighting back to take a 39-all deadlock into halftime despite six players racking up two fouls before the intermission.

The second half started in a similar vein before St. John’s ripped off 10 straight points to open up a 55-45 lead with 13 minutes remaining in regulation, getting in transition behind five UConn misses and three forced turnovers, all against Demary.

“I don’t think that we turned it over because of their pressure,” Hurley opined. “I think we turned it over because we lost our fucking mind a little bit. And they have great defense. That’s a Top 20 defense, easy. They’re hard to beat.”

Still, the Huskies fought back, even after St. John’s took its largest lead of the night on a Zuby Ejiofor hook shot with 10:24 to play, giving the Johnnies a 60-49 lead. Demary, Tarris Reed, Jr. and Alex Karaban went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to whittle the deficit to one, at 64-63. After two Dylan Darling free throws were answered by a Demary layup, UConn again drew within one point, at 66-65, but would get no closer after St. John’s scored eight of the next ten points to put the game away.

“The main message in the huddle was to defend and rebound,” Karaban said. “We felt like we didn’t do that in this game. We had great looks pretty much the entire game, but it came down to defense and rebounding, and we just didn’t do that.”

UConn shot just under 55 percent from the floor and 9-for-19 from three-point range, but St. John’s turned the Huskies’ 15 turnovers into 20 points and enjoyed a 16-9 advantage on second-chance points.

“We prepared the right way,” Karaban said. “We knew the pressure was happening and (St. John’s) had tall, athletic guys. We knew what was expected. We’ve just gotta execute better. It’s a hard feeling.”

Still atop the Big East standings despite the loss, UConn hits the road Wednesday for its next matchup against Butler, the first of a three-game stretch in seven days that will also see Georgetown and Creighton come to Gampel Pavilion. While Karaban lamented the missed opportunity, his coach reiterated the need to stay in the moment before the much-anticipated rematch with the Red Storm on February 25 in Hartford.

“You really don’t look ahead,” Hurley said. “We’ve had an unbelievable run, we haven’t lost in months. As much as we turned the ball over, we put them on the free throw line, the second-half collapse, we still had our chances to steal it. We’ll move on to whoever we play next.”

No fear, no problem as Johnnies reaffirm themselves over UConn

Zuby Ejiofor dominated UConn Friday as St. John’s shook off challenge and prevailed over No. 3 Huskies. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — St. John’s finally shook its arch-nemesis several minutes into the second half, with a 10-0 run that broke a 45-all tie.

Or so it thought.

The ten-point lead soon became five. Then two, then one. Still, the Red Storm refused to break. A capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden only served to amplify the steel will of its resident team.

When the dust settled on an 81-72 victory over third-ranked UConn, a catharsis not seen since St. John’s Big East championship triumph in this building eleven months prior ensued. The exact machinations behind the outpouring were obscure in the heat of the moment, but the emotion was tangible.

“I can’t really remember what was done or what was said,” Zuby Ejiofor remarked after another legacy-defining game in a Broadway career full of them. “I just let it all out. The moment the buzzer sounded and it was over, all the emotions really just flew out.”

Ejiofor tallied 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists Friday, seemingly sealing the game with five straight points to extend the Johnnies’ lead to 11 points late in the second half before a 14-4 Husky run. The senior made up for it down the stretch, when after a Dylan Darling three restored the lead to a two-possession margin, he muscled his way through the paint for a hook shot to balloon the Red Storm advantage to seven points, at 74-67, thereby icing the outcome.

“You know, you’re gonna make me retire,” Pitino quipped to his senior captain, “because I’m not living life without you.”

Many had circled Friday’s clash of Big East titans the moment the conference schedule was released, with St. John’s and UConn both harboring championship aspirations and the personnel to make them a reality. For the Johnnies, a lackluster non-conference showing and deflating loss to Providence a month ago forged a diamond. On the UConn side, the Huskies carried an 18-game win streak into an atmosphere that has become almost like a third home venue to the program.

On most nights, but not this one.

“I looked around during the (national) anthem and I saw a lot of red,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley shared. “It felt like a real road game.”

St. John’s fed off the lathered-up surroundings, and a poignant, yet intelligent message from its veteran leader.

“My message before the game was, ‘you just gotta have no fear of failure,’” Pitino recounted. “We’re definitely gonna win this. If (UConn) cut it to two, no fear of failure. And these guys just responded in a great way.”

“A lot of emotions go through the night, just playing hard and hearing the fans, and trying to give it everything we’ve got,” senior forward Dillon Mitchell said. “But we kept saying (in) every huddle, ‘stay solid.’ Don’t let the emotions take over.”

As UConn pulled closer behind the valiant exploits of Silas Demary, Jr. and Alex Karaban, it was Ejiofor guiding his team through the terrain, undaunted, unfazed.

“Zuby, in every single timeout, said, ‘we got three minutes, we got four minutes,’” a proud Pitino said. “Whether we go up 12, they cut it to two, we have no fear. We’re gonna win this game.”

“I showed them both Providence games (against UConn) of losing a lead and how good they can be with that three-point shot. So we were honed in, every single play was honed in.”

St. John’s (18-5, 11-1 Big East) harkened back to last season en route to its ninth straight victory, bullying UConn into 15 turnovers and using its impressive physicality to boast a commanding 31-12 disparity in free throw attempts that left a defeated Hurley no other recourse to tip his hat to the three-pronged front line of Ejiofor, Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins.

“They’re grown-ass men,” he said of the forwards. “They’re built for Big East games. You’ve gotta be in great shape to do what they do. It disrupts your ability to get into what you want to do offensively.”

“I could see our focus going into this game,” Mitchell said. “Just our focus the past couple days in the film room, on the court, the focus we’ve had the past couple days, I could tell that all the guys were locked in.”

The laser-like focus revealed itself again when Ejiofor and Mitchell were asked about Friday’s conditions giving way to heightened stakes in the return match with UConn later this month in Hartford. Their coach would have none of it.

“We’re worried about Xavier,” Pitino interjected.

St. John’s has a chance to move into a share of the conference lead if it can get past Xavier Monday night, and will assuredly have the same groundswell of crowd support that spurred it on Friday. The Red Storm has embraced its relentlessness, but is once again falling in love with the adoration of a fan base that has its back regardless of the result.

“They’re into it every second of the game,” Mitchell said of the St. John’s fans. “You hear them. They’re loud, they’re supporting. We pick off a lot on that. We play hard, not only for the fans, but for us. It’s exciting to hear it, it’s definitely different. It’s something that I’m blessed to be a part of.”

LIU vs. New Haven Photo Gallery

Photos from LIU’s 60-55 win over New Haven on February 5, 2026:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Inside the Numbers: Jacksonville at Queens

 

Queens guard Isaiah Henry (3) throws down a dunk in the Royals' win over Jacksonville Thursday night.  (Photo:  Queens Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – No ASUN game is ever easy.  For Queens, trying to bounce back from a three-game losing streak was daunting enough. Seeing Jordan Mincy’s physical and talented Jacksonville Dolphins on the visiting bench didn’t make the challenge any easier.

After a 40-minute battle that Queens led for the final 34 minutes or so, the Royals finally fended off the Dolphins, 93-84, at Curry Arena Thursday night. Queens led by as many as 20 points in the game, only for Jacksonville to fight back late. Five Royals finished in double figures, all notching between 13 and 17 points on the night.

You know what happened – now, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

• After Jacksonville took its final lead of the game at 13-12, Queens tore off an 18-7 burst to take a 30-20 lead. The Royals maintained a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game. Jacksonville coach Jordan Mincy spoke after the game about the early Royals charge.

“I thought in the first half – just giving a lot of props to Queens – they came out and they punched us right in the mouth,” Mincy said. “They showed a level of physicality on both ends. I was highly impressed with how offensively they just took it to us. I thought our guys really shied away from contact early.”

• Queens flirted with a record for the Division I era of its program, finishing with just five turnovers – one away from its record of four. Jacksonville converted those turnovers into just four points. At the 5:27 mark of the game, the Royals had committed just two miscues that resulted in zero Dolphin points.

“That’s a huge deal (against) them,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “Anytime you give them free baskets, it really hurts. I thought we did a good job of minimizing their easy ones. They hit a lot of tough twos, and that’s what we wanted them to do. Twos hurt, but threes kill. I thought we did a great job. They only got off 16 threes, and we really protected the paint.”

• Jacksonville got 28 points off its bench, including 18 from sophomore guard Chris Arias. Mincy cited the impact Arias made in keeping his team in the game.

“I was really happy with Chris,” Mincy said. “He’s a guy who’s been battling through some injuries. He started off league play really well. He loves shooting the ball. He was our leading scorer in (non-conference play). He’s the guy who came into league play with a lot of expectations.”

“At the same time, dealing with the injuries – just to see him get out there and kind of get back in a rhythm, I think that will bode well for us in the future.”

• Queens emphasized getting its identity back entering Thursday’s game. Leonard explained after the game what that meant and how the Royals did so.

“Taking care of the ball is a huge thing for us. Winning the offensive rebound battle, which we won. Winning the turnover battle, which we won,” Leonard said. “We got off more threes than they did, even though I thought they did a good job of limiting us. We almost won (at) the free throw line. Those are the four areas we’re trying to win every game.”

• Freshman guard Isaiah Henry played key minutes Thursday, throwing down a thunderous dunk and drawing praise from Leonard.

“I’d say (the dunk) was (a) top-five (play),” Henry said after the game. “Definitely in high school, I had a few better dunks. That’s definitely up there in the top five. I’d say (it was the best at Queens). That or the Arkansas one.”

“I’m proud of Zay,” Leonard added. “Think about this – he hadn’t played a lot lately, and I thought that was a misstep by me. We shortened the rotation to maybe get more efficient, but I thought it caused (guard) Chris (Ashby) and (guard) Carson (Schwieger) to be tired down the stretch in the last few games. I just thought (Henry) did an unbelievable job. We wouldn’t have won that game without Zay.”

• Schwieger and guard/forward Maban Jabriel shifted into the paint to help stem Jacksonville’s physical tide. Leonard was pleased with their play.

“Maban got a bunch of steals, and to force them into 12 turnovers, I thought Maban got his hands on a bunch of different balls today. Then, there’s the possibility that our baseline out of bounds defense caused more turnovers than it has all year. That was (forward) Avantae (Parker) and Maban’s activity on the ball. That’s a huge deal for us – the switchability.”

“(Forward Yoav) Berman’s done an unbelievable job. He guards point guards. He guards five men. He walls up. Sometimes he’s our most physical defender – even more than Tae. That flexibility and versatility is a huge deal for us.”

• Queens has a tough stretch of games ahead, despite their next three being at home. Leonard was in no mood to look ahead after this game, however.

“It was just today that mattered,” Leonard said. “For our guys to get their confidence back – they know they’re a good team. To get back in the win column was a big deal. We’ll move on to Saturday’s (Homecoming game against North Florida) after midnight. I don’t even want to talk about next week, because that doesn’t matter. What matters is North Florida now. What mattered today was JU, and JU is a formidable opponent. I’m just glad we handled it.”

• Mincy felt Jacksonville played better in the second half, even if the scoreboard did not always indicate that.

“I think our guys really focused in (during the second half),” Mincy said. “In the first half, we felt like we didn’t really stick to the scouting report. They have deadly shooters, and we allowed those guys to have six threes (in the first half). Anytime you let Queens get more than 10 threes (the Royals finished with eight), it’s going to be a hard night for you.”

• Mincy’s message for his team was one of perseverance.

“I told them to keep their heads up,” Mincy said. “We understand that it’s a long season. When you look at the box scores, man, everybody in the league is neck-and-neck. Historically, everybody knows this program. We’re really good when it comes to the conference tournament. For me, it’s just game-by-game. I told them the same thing – it’s game-by-game.”

“I understand we lost to Queens here. You might see them in the tournament. You’ve just got to be ready to go. We’re going to take this as a learning lesson and just keep moving forward.”

Queens shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) on the night, adding 47.1 percent (8-for-17) of its tries from distance to the total. The Royals shot 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) from the stripe. Berman led Queens with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 4-for-6 from the line. Nas Mann contributed 15 on 5-for-11 shooting and 4-for-4 on free throws. Jabriel tallied 14 in reserve duty, while Parker and freshman guard Jordan Watford added 13 apiece.

Jacksonville hit 51 percent (26-for-51) from the deck, with 43.8 percent (7-for-16) falling from beyond the arc. The Dolphins hit 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) from the line. Arias led all scorers with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting and 3-for-3 from the line. Power forward Donovan Rivers booked 17, bolstered by an 11-of-14 effort from the line. Guards Jaylen Jones and Hayden Wood each added 12 on 8-for-17 combined shooting, with Jason Thirdkill adding 10.

Next up:  Queens remains at home for a Saturday tilt with North Florida. Tip time from Curry Arena is set for 4:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ streaming the contest. Jacksonville travels to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., for a Saturday outing against West Georgia. The 2:00 start will stream over ESPN+.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  Queens 15, Jacksonville 4

Points in the paint:  Queens 46, Jacksonville 32

Second-chance points:  Jacksonville 9, Queens 8

Fast-break points:  Jacksonville 15, Queens 10

Bench points:  Queens 32, Jacksonville 28

QUEENS 93, JACKSONVILLE 84

JACKSONVILLE (9-15, 4-7 ASUN)

Jones 5-8 1-2 12, Wood 3-9 4-4 12, Thirdkill 3-4 2-2 10, Rivers 3-5 11-14 17, Sterck 2-4 0-0 5, Jordon 0-0 0-0 0, Arias 7-10 3-3 18, Lockett 2-8 4-4 8, Udemadu 1-2 0-0 0, Caporaso 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 25-29 84.

QUEENS (13-11, 8-3)

Mann 5-11 4-4 15, Parker 6-10 1-4, Ashby 2-6 2-2 8, Schwieger 3-6 0-0 8, Berman 6-8 4-6 17, Watford 4-6 5-6 13, Henry 2-5 0-0 4, Larson 0-0 1-2 1, Jabriel 5-9 2-2 14. Totals 33-61 19-26.

Halftime:  Queens 44-31. 3-Point goals:  Queens 8-17 (Mann 1-2, Ashby 2-5, Schwieger 2-5, Berman 1-2, Jabriel 2-3), Jacksonville 7-16 (Jones 1-1, Wood 2-5, Thirdkill 2-3, Sterck 1-2, Arias 1-3, Lockett 0-2). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Jacksonville 30 (Arias 7), Queens 27 (Parker 6). Total fouls:  Queens 24, Jacksonville 23. Technicals:  NA.

 

              

 

Seawolves’ win streak snapped at home by Rivera-Torres and Monmouth

By Zachary Wilson (@zwilsonpxp)

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Coming home with a five-game win streak has made Stony Brook feel confident as the race in the CAA has started to become critical with where the Seawolves stand. 

Monmouth, however, would show them up as they had some surprises up their sleeve tonight, leaving Long Island with a hard-fought, 76-75 road win.

Before the first media timeout of the game, the Seawolves and Hawks had only one made shot apiece, starting with Dok Muordar’s turnaround jumper, followed by Erik Pratt’s layup minutes later.

Kavion McClain, who made his Monmouth debut after transferring from Texas Southern, put down his first points as a Hawk with a three. The Hawks would eventually go on a 7-0 run by making four shots in a row and forcing six turnovers on the Seawolves within the first eight minutes of the game, leading to a Stony Brook timeout with 12:27 to go in the first half.

Monmouth created another run out of the second media timeout, this time putting up 10 unanswered points with the last 4 by Cornelius Robinson. Following Pratt’s layup, Jack Collins’ triple would give Monmouth its largest lead of the game at 17 before the Seawolves would go on a 15-5 run to close the gap, led by Pratt’s seven points during that stretch.

Stony Brook cut the Hawk advantage to 34-27 deficit with 4:41 remaining in the half, but a foul by Richard Goods to send Jason Rivera-Torres to the free throw line would spark another Monmouth run with eight unanswered, with five from Rivera-Torres.

After the final media timeout of the half, both sides would once again get only one made field goal over the course of a few minutes that would send Stony Brook to the locker room trailing 46-31, featuring 12 points off of Stony Brook’s nine first-half turnovers.

To start the second half, Andrej Shoshkikj’s inbound immediately landed into Rivera-Torres’ hands, but his missed layup would lead to Shoshkikj getting the scoring started for the home team with a three, creating an 11-2 run over the first five minutes out of halftime and cutting the deficit to 48-42.

Rivera-Torres, however, would keep things in control for the Hawks by drawing a foul while driving into the paint for a layup, putting the Monmouth lead back in double digits.

Approaching the midway point of the second half, McClain would contend with the likes of Jonah Butler and Shoshkikj on hook shots and three-point jumpers to maintain Monmouth’s lead, until Stony Brook would find another 8-0 run, started by back-to-back treys from Butler and Rob Brown III, who would put up five points during that run.

Trailing 67-60, one of the most electric plays of the night for the Seawolves would occur, as Butler lobbed a pass to Goods for a dunk while drawing contact on Robinson to complete the three-point play and make it a four-point game with over five minutes to go.

However, Rivera-Torres would get a dunk of his own after an extended possession for Stony Brook would go empty on multiple missed three-point attempts.

Down the stretch, more shots would be traded between both teams until Shoshkikj would put up a three to pull the Seawolves within 71-68 with 2:07 to go, leading to Stony Brook calling a timeout to plan its next move. The lead for the Hawks would average around three until the most critical point of the game came with under 30 seconds to go.

After the Seawolves trailed 73-72 with 26 seconds to go, McClain split his trip at the free throw line, putting the ball in the hands of Pratt with the shot clock turned off and a chance to tie or win the game. However, Pratt’s pass to Goods along the baseline would go off Goods’ hands and out of bounds, leading to Rivera-Torres sinking two more free throws to seal the win, despite Shoshkikj beating the game clock to make it a one-point loss for Stony Brook.

Pratt finished the night with a team-high 22 points, but would eventually foul out following his fifth turnover of the game that ended the Seawolves’ comeback attempt, while Shoshkikj had 18 points, his sixth straight game in double figures.

On the Monmouth side, Rivera-Torres had a game-high 25 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. In his Hawks debut, McClain finished with 14 points and five assists.

Following the loss, Stony Brook (14-10, 6-5 CAA) stays at home to host Northeastern on Saturday afternoon, while Monmouth (12-12, 6-5 CAA) stays on the road next Thursday and heads to Philadelphia to play Drexel.

CCSU gets back on right time with NEC homestretch coming up, rights ship over Chicago State

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — In most years, and in most mid-major leagues, dropping four out of five at the end of January usually means a significant upward battle for seeding in the conference tournament.

Not for Central Connecticut this year, though.

After starting 4-1 in NEC play, the Blue Devils followed that up with a 1-4 stretch that was capped off by a 21-point blowout loss at home last Saturday to LIU, putting the team at 5-5 with just eight games left in the regular season.

“I keep on saying that February is a new month with a new schedule and new attitude,” head coach Patrick Sellers said. “We have to take it one game at a time.”

Fortunately for CCSU, being 5-5 doesn’t crush its hopes of hosting a game in the NEC tournament in March, perhaps even hosting a couple. The Blue Devils entered Thursday sixth in the standings, but just one game behind a collection of teams all tied for second at 6-4.

To sweeten the pot, CCSU knocked off Chicago State in New Britain on Thursday, 78-67, to move to 6-5 in league play behind four double-figure scorers and a much-needed 24 points from Darin Smith, Jr.

“We’ve talked the last month or so about finishing the half the right way because we haven’t been,” Sellers said. “We made a conscious effort as a staff to manage minutes to have our guys fresher near the end of the game, and I think that worked for us tonight.”

The game was neck-and-neck for the first 14 minutes of the first half before the Blue Devils closed the period on a 12-2 run over the final six minutes to take a seven point lead, 35-28. Smith and Melo Sanchez combined for 24 at the break, getting open looks as a result of extra passes against the Cougars’ hybrid defense. Sanchez had 11 of his 14 points in the first 20 minutes.

“My teammates believe in me, and when I score the ball, it helps everybody else get involved,” Smith said. “Because I’m the main focus on the defensive end for other teams, it opens up more for my teammates.”

Smith had been in a bit of a rut scoring that coincided with CCSU’s skid. In the first five NEC games, he averaged 23.6 points per game and the Blue Devils went 4-1. The next five? Smith averaged 12.6 points per contest and the team went 1-4. Not once during that second stretch did he even reach the 20-point plateau, something he did Thursday.

In the second half, it was all about the bench production for the Blue Devils. Roddy Jones tied his Division I opponent career-high with 11 points, connecting on three triples without hesitation. Daniel James provided some nice size off the bench with some tough buckets inside as well.

“There’s so many eyes on Smitty, so it lets guys like Roddy get open looks,” Sellers said. “Roddy had a couple lift on the ball screen, we threw it back to him, and he’s wide open.”

After trading blows for most of the second half, Smith knocked down a side-step three right in front of his bench to push the lead to eight at 63-55 with seven minutes to play, but five straight Cougar points afterwards cut it back to three and forced a Sellers timeout.

Out of the timeout, Jay Rodgers found Max Frazier with one of the duo’s signature alley-oops, and Smith buried another trey to get things right back to eight at 68-60 and the lead never got to one possession again. Frazier used some late scoring to finish with 15 points, while Rodgers had 13 assists despite missing his lone field goal attempt.

The biggest difference that allowed CCSU to end up on top was rebounding, where the Blue Devils dominated the glass, 38-20. That was a point of emphasis for the scouting report to limit second-chance opportunities.

“Before the game, we always talk about rebounding, so we just came into the day today and had it,” Frazier said. “Our last couple of games, we haven’t rebounded well, but it's a new day, new month, new chapter.”

Looking ahead to the next three weeks of play, CCSU has four of its final seven games at home and the three road games are all against teams who are below them in the standings. There will be ample opportunities for the Blue Devils to turn things around and compete for a top four spot in the league, ideally with LIU all but certainly headed towards the No. 1 spot, either the two or three seed.

“I think every single game is big,” Smith said. “Just win one game at a time and try to get all the ones you can. And those three games in March are the most important.”

Central Connecticut is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Wagner in New Britain. Tip is set for 1 p.m. from Detrick Gymnasium. 

UConn will need its two-headed monster to contend with St. John’s interior trio

Eric Reibe could be critical to UConn’s chances against St. John’s Friday, especially if Tarris Reed, Jr. is in foul trouble. Reed and Reibe combined for 28 points and 15 rebounds Tuesday in Huskies’ win over Xavier. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

NEW YORK — Aside from the relentless defense, and in his two national championship seasons, dynamic offensive sets and execution, Dan Hurley is responsible for one more noticeable calling card during his reign at the University of Connecticut.

Whether with Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan, Clingan and Samson Johnson, or Johnson and Tarris Reed, Jr., the Huskies have become easily identifiable by their two-man tandem at the center spot. It is a change of pace and a unique usage at that position that has enabled UConn to have a Batman and a Robin, a Johnny Carson and an Ed McMahon, a Pat Summerall and a John Madden, if you will.

Hurley’s latest big man pairing, featuring a senior in Reed and freshman Eric Reibe, has gained steam along with the rest of UConn’s roster entering February, and enters Friday’s matchup against St. John’s poised for an even greater breakout.

“Just a positive development is my confidence in Eric just to make sure that he’s getting an opportunity to make an impact, the way we allowed Donovan and Samson to do when they were coming off the bench at center,” Hurley said prior to UConn’s trip to Creighton last Saturday. “It’s tough to compare players, but with Donovan, he saw the big picture as a freshman. He knew he had a senior veteran center that he was splitting the position with, and there were going to be games where Adama played 30 minutes and he played 10.”

Reibe only scored four points in the Huskies’ 85-58 rout in Omaha, but rallied with 14 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Xavier, one where he matched Reed’s point total and fell one rebound short of matching his de facto mentor.

“You want Eric to be able to just understand that he plays in a dominant tandem that should look like this a lot for us,” Hurley continued. “I just hope he has the perspective that Donovan had when he was in the same position, because it worked out pretty well for Donovan.”

“They’ve always had a good combo inside,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott conceded after having to battle UConn’s front line. “The championship teams, obviously, they could run two bigs at you, and I think with Reed and Eric, they still have that. We got Reed in a little foul trouble, but Eric’s a heck of a player.”

Reibe has had an unusual learning curve to his rookie season, thrown into the fire and high-leverage situations quicker than most at his position due to Reed’s early-season injuries. The freshman started both of UConn’s non-conference games against Arizona and Kansas, holding his own against Motiejus Krivas and Flory Bidunga, respectively. That experience will serve him well on Friday against St. John’s and its troika of bigs in Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell, as will another attribute of his game that has not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“He has so much poise as a freshman,” Reed said of Reibe. “I feel like it’s so huge for us, especially for him. Looking back to my career, I did not have that type of poise my freshman year, so him just being a huge lift off the bench is giving the bench guys a huge boost, and even us a boost. So I feel like having him play like this the rest of the way is gonna be huge for us.”

While Reibe becomes a much more valuable piece for UConn regardless of whether or not Reed has to battle foul trouble on Friday, the third-ranked Huskies will need all hands on deck to overcome a St. John’s team that has won eight straight and is showing the makeup of a vintage Rick Pitino team. UConn has looked more formidable in its two recent efforts, winning by a combined 59 points, something that was in the works while using toughness and championship DNA to eke out close wins before the outbursts.

“You’re not thinking about who’s next a game out or two games out,” Hurley cautioned. “You’re really just locked in on who you’re playing. We obviously look like we’re doing a better job rebounding, a better job at the offensive end of the court, and the depth is showing up again for us. To have (Jayden) Ross, to have Eric as good as they are off the bench, Jaylin (Stewart), that’s what makes us tough to beat.”

Drexel’s trust in process, defense has breathed fire into Dragons heading into CAA stretch run

Shane Blakeney (4) has emerged as Drexel’s best defender as Dragons have won six of eight to offset 0-3 start in CAA play. (Photo by Drexel University Athletics)

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PHILADELPHIA — Nobody in the Drexel program panicked when they got off to an 0-3 start in Coastal Athletic Association play.

In the grind of a conference schedule, there’s no time for panic. For Zach Spiker’s crew, there was only time for their process. 

Since the turn of the new year, Drexel is 6-2, with their two losses coming by a combined four points. The Dragons were picked 10th of 13 teams in the CAA preseason poll, and currently sit in a tie for third place. It’s not only their process that got them here, but their ability to defend at a level that very few, if any, teams are playing higher than.

According to Bart Torvik, Drexel owns the best effective field goal percentage defense in the country in 2026, allowing opponents to shoot just 40.5 percent in that regard. On KenPom, Drexel owns the best defense in the CAA through ten conference games. Opponents are shooting just 25.4 percent from three, and 44.6 inside the arc, not only both CAA bests, but far below what the nation’s average is in those respective categories. 

The numbers are nice to have, but that’s not what motivates these Dragons. They’re keen on sticking with their day-to-day process. If they attack that the right way, then the results will follow. They’re much more worried about that than what the metrics say.

“We’re not so much worried about becoming the best defensive team in the nation, but we’re more focused on sticking to our process,” said junior guard Kevon Vanderhorst. “We’re not overly focused on the numbers, but if we stick to our process, we know that we’ll meet those numbers.”

Legendary Philadelphia 76ers play-by-play voice Marc Zumoff had a deep bag of phrases he would say on the game broadcast, where he spent four years next to Malik Rose, his color commentator, a recent Drexel Hall of Famer who was a 2,000-point scorer for the Dragons in the late 1990s. One of Zumoff’s most iconic lines was, “locking all windows and doors,” whenever the Sixers put together a nice defensive possession. 

Even in the blistering cold of January, there are no drafts coming through this Drexel defense as it locks up whoever steps in front of them. 

Since January 1, the Dragons have held three teams to a season-low in points, including giving up just 37 points at home to Stony Brook. It was the least amount of points that Drexel has given up in three years. In its last seven games, in which Drexel has won six, they’ve given up more than 60 points just once.

“It’s a testament to the guys in the locker room, for them to come together and accomplish a common goal,” said assistant coach Will Chavis. “When people come into the gym, we want to shut them down.”

It’s a group that’s still learning each other, but starting to figure things out defensively as it continues to get game reps under its belt.  Experience has been the Dragons’ best teacher, and they’re making progress, but nowhere near a finished product.

“We’ve been getting used to playing with each other defensively,” said Vanderhorst, who had the game-winning layup as time expired in Saturday’s win over North Carolina A&T. “We’re developing that trust to know, this guy has my baseline, this guy has my gap. That’s definitely showing on the court. I’m proud of our guys for the growth that we’ve had, but there’s still a lot of things that we have to hone in on.”

Drexel is sub-300th in the country in Division I experience, according to KenPom. This is a team that had nine guys return from a year ago, some of whom did not play significant minutes. Add in a few transfers that didn’t come from the Division I level in center Martin de LaPorterie, who came to Drexel via the junior ccollege route, and one from a Division III school in Eli Beard, and by the numbers, the Dragons appear to be lacking in that department. However, don’t let those figures fool you. Spiker knows his team has more experience and seasoning than what the metrics say.

“We have more veteran voices than what may appear on paper,” he said. “Garfield Turner has seen a few things. Shane Blakeney has been around for a little bit. Victor Panov is a veteran player. The guys embrace the process. We had a hard start to conference play. Let’s stick with it, keep going and stay focused.”

Blakeney draws the opponent’s toughest assignment routinely. Spiker lauds his defensive prowess, and thinks he has all-CAA potential on that end. However, Blakeney will be the first to tell you that he can’t do it alone.

“It’s on our first five guys as much as it is with me,” he said. “If one of us falls short, the other team could get going. As far as defense in general, we’re taking more pride in guarding, knowing the scouting report, and focusing on that each and every possession, but we’re not finishing possessions the way we want to.”

Finishing possessions, and games for that matter, is a point of emphasis for this Drexel team. Drexel has three losses this year, and two in CAA play by three points or less. A possession here, a possession there, and this could be a team with a better record than it has right now. 

“You take the American game, Hofstra game, and Towson game, we’re 15-8 right now,” Chavis said. “Three possessions, and we could be 15-8. That’s how fragile it is. But this group is still hungry to learn and get better. They haven’t packed it in and said we know everything, we’re the best that we can be. That’s where you want to be in February."

Drexel will get two more opportunities this week at Campbell and Elon to keep improving, keep finishing, and keep going by their process as the season’s most critical juncture approaches.

“The learning curve is still there, and we have a lot to improve on,” said Chavis. “But it’s a really rewarding thing when you have a group that cares more about the outcome of the game more than their individual accolades.”