UConn needs its big bear against big St. John’s frontline to save Big East title hopes

Tarris Reed, Jr. (5) will need to replicate his performance against Villanova Wednesday if UConn is to defeat St. John’s and keep Big East championship hopes alive. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Tarris Reed, Jr. might not be the most critical component of UConn’s arsenal every night, but on Wednesday, the 6-foot-11 center is arguably its most important.

The Huskies will need their “big bear,” as head coach Dan Hurley has dubbed Reed, against 15th-ranked St. John’s, who enters PeoplesBank Arena Wednesday having won 13 straight games and seeking further separation in the Big East Conference standings as its championship defense enters its final stages.

The Red Storm also possesses perhaps the most physically imposing frontcourt in the Big East, with Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell complementing the league’s likely player of the year in Zuby Ejiofor. Therefore, Reed, and by extension, Eric Reibe and Alex Karaban, will be leaned on more heavily to try to match the muscle presented by the Johnnies.

“I think for us, it’s about playing really, really hard,” Hurley said Tuesday. “It’s about when a shot goes up, you’re hitting first rather than getting hit. When you play guys like Hopkins and Ejiofor, they’re some of the most physical players at their position. (St. John’s) guards are physical. Just from the point of trying to inbound the ball, it’s physical all the way up until the shots go up. They make it hard on you to get the ball inbounds. You’ve gotta be able to fight through contact, you’ve gotta be able to fight through being held, and you’ve gotta be able to fight when the ball goes up on the backboard because everything is a fight with them.”

In UConn’s 81-72 loss to St. John’s in the first meeting between the two this season, on February 6 at Madison Square Garden, the Huskies were outrebounded by a 32-26 margin, with Reed being defeated on the boards in a 10-6 count against Ejiofor. The Michigan transfer has been challenged several times this season to channel his aggression more frequently, and his performance Saturday against Villanova is something Hurley hopes can be a building block down the stretch.

“I think Tarris played his best game as a UConn player versus Villanova because of the embarrassing loss that we had at home (against Creighton),” Hurley said. “Going into that first St. John’s game, you couldn’t build Ejiofor up more than we had in the leadup to that game. Hopefully something clicked for Tarris after the Creighton game, because his ball screen defense, his rim protection, his screening, his post-ups were all the best that they’ve been since he’s been here.”

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino anticipates UConn attacking the Johnnies differently Wednesday, believing his team will see a bigger lineup at times compared to the first encounter nearly three weeks ago. While there is no way to effectively simulate just how physical the Red Storm will be on the floor, Hurley did acknowledge the pressure will be constant wherever the ball lands.

“They put a lot of pressure on the paint,” he conceded. “They drive it, they get on the glass, they put you under constant pressure. They play an incredibly aggressive style of basketball. There’s a ton of physicality going on, and they’re disciplined. (Pitino’s) one of the best coaches, he’s able to get his guys to play aggressively like that, but still have a discipline.”

With three games remaining in the regular season, UConn sits a half-game behind St. John’s at the moment, with Seton Hall and Marquette remaining on the schedule before the Big East tournament. Hurley is not getting caught up in the postseason chatter, or where the Huskies may lie on the NCAA Tournament bracket, where most projections have the Huskies as no worse than a No. 2 seed. Winning the regular season conference crown for a second time in three seasons is of higher importance, and Reed’s battle with Ejiofor, while important, is just part of the process.

“I don’t think I’m gonna go in and mostly be concerned with who wins the matchup as much as just us winning the game,” Hurley said. “If he outplays Ejiofor, that obviously helps our chances.”