5 Takeaways: St. John’s gets first signature win of 2021 at UConn

By Anthony E. Parelli (@reportedbytheAP)

 

No, you didn’t dream that.

 

Yes, St. John’s really went on the road, beat a ranked team and executed down the stretch. 

No, none of those are typos. 

The Red Storm was finally able to finish a game, coming back from a 14-point deficit to knock off No. 23 UConn, 74-70, in a Monday matinee at Gampel Pavilion. 

 

A typical slow start for St. John’s (8-7, 3-6 Big East) — particularly on defense, where UConn’s RJ Cole drilled four largely uncontested first half 3-pointers — forced coach Mike Anderson to burn a timeout in the midst of a 15-2 Huskies run.

 

Led by freshmen Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu, who were high school teammates at Our Savior Lutheran in the Bronx, the Red Storm punched back with a 15-5 run of its own, cutting the deficit to 35-32 at the half.

 

It would take until the 6:35 mark in the second period for St. John’s to tie the game, and another 2:30 for the Red Storm to grab the lead. Finally able to shake off their crunch time woes, the Johnnies finished with stingy defense and timely free throws, especially from Julian Champagnie, who was otherwise uncharacteristically quiet with just 12 points on 2-of-9 shooting.

 

Here are my takeaways from the win:

 

Posh’s night

Alexander didn’t practice Sunday night after taking a physical beating in Saturday’s loss to Marquette. He seemed to wince every time he hit the floor on Monday. It didn’t matter, as the point guard was the best player on the floor, tying his career high with 18 points and adding four rebounds, six assists and three steals in 36 minutes of action.

 

UConn coach Dan Hurley summed up Alexander’s night perfectly: “Posh Alexander absolutely destroyed us off the dribble.”

 

Alexander has shown what he can do around the rim, his only criticism in his first collegiate season is his lack of a consistent jump shot, something he seems to be consciously trying to refine as the year wears on. Monday yielded the best returns of that endeavor, as Alexander went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

 

Stepping up

With Champagnie battling an off day and Greg Williams Jr. held scoreless in just six minutes of action before exiting with a back injury, it was up to some of St. John’s ancillary players to answer the bell. The duo of Marcellus Earlington and Addae-Wusu, who at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds and 6-4, 230 look more like Division I defensive ends than basketball players, did just that. 

 

Earlington had 15 points and five rebounds, drilling all three of his 3-point attempts and Addae-Wusu had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes of action. He’s been a pleasant surprise as a true freshman and is starting to learn how to throw his weight around in the physical Big East.

 

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back

Not only did St. John’s reestablish its conference rivalry with UConn with a win, the Red Storm did it at Gampel Pavilion for the first time since the general public was just getting over its fear of computers taking over the world in the year 2000. That losing streak was old enough to drink before Monday’s contest.

 

Things you love to see

After getting destroyed in the paint and on the glass on Saturday, St. John’s had a much more inspiring effort against UConn, winning the battle inside, 32-28, and staying even in the rebound battle at 34.

 

One-off, or the new normal?

St. John’s has showed it can win against the bottom-feeders in the Big East (Butler, Georgetown), but also that it can’t yet compete with the top of the conference (Creighton, Seton Hall), so to see the Red Storm down UConn, albeit without leading scorer James Bouknight, who is recovering from elbow surgery, is a promising development. Whether the Johnnies use Monday’s win as a jumping-off point to a late run remains to be seen.

 

Next up

St. John’s will head to a de facto bye week with nine days until it visits DePaul on January 27. While that layoff may kill some of the momentum the Red Storm has been trying to build, it will be a welcome break for Williams to get healthy. It also may provide enough time for transfer big man Esahia Nyiwe to complete his paperwork and join the Johnnies.