STORRS – The No. 19 UConn men's basketball team (16-6, 8-3 BIG EAST) is back in action for a huge home tilt on Friday night in the Basketball Capital of the World when it hosts league-leading No. 12 St. John's (20-3, 11-1 BIG EAST) at Gampel Pavilion. The Friday night spotlight will air on FOX at 8 p.m. with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call.
At halftime UConn will honor program great Ben Gordon with induction into the Huskies of Honor. Friday's contest also will include UConn joining with the BIG EAST to honor the Black Fives and it is a $2 Miller Lite Night, while supplies last. Please drink responsibly.
UConn and St. John's will rekindle a rivalry that dates back to 1951 – one the Red Storm hold a narrow 37-34 all-time lead in. Since UConn returned to the BIG EAST ahead of the 2020-21 season they have gone 6-2 against the Red Storm, including all three meetings last season. Friday night will be the first ranked match-up in the series since 2000 and the first at Gampel Pavilion since 1992.
The Huskies have gone 3-0 against ranked opponents this season including a top-10 win in their last outing at Marquette on Saturday. Solo Ball had a career day against the Golden Eagles, knocking down seven 3-pointers in a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double. Ball is tied for the team-high this season with 15.0 points per game and has shot 45.6 percent from 3-point range – good for sixth best in the nation. Alex Karaban joins him atop the scoresheet with 15.0 points per game and adds 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 blocked shots. Karaban was named to the Midseason Wooden Award Watch List last month and to the Karl Malone Award Top 10 List this week.
Hassan Diarra is second in the BIG EAST and 11th nationally in assists per game, dishing out 6.4 per contest to trigger UConn's top-10 offense. The Huskies are among the national leaders in field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, assists per game, assist/turnover ratio and free throw percentage. UConn has been without freshman star Liam McNeeley for the last eight games, but he is expected to return on Friday. McNeeley averages 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
St. John's is off to its best start in over 20 years with a 20-3 record and an 11-1 mark in BIG EAST play. RJ Luis Jr. leads the Red Storm with 17.4 points per game while Zuby Ejiofor (14.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Kadary Richmond (12.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.9 apg) also score in double-figures. The Red Storm are among the league leaders in field goal percentage defense, blocked shots, turnover margin and rebounding margin and have the No. 4 defense in the nation per Kenpom defensive efficiency.
Following Friday night's primetime showdown the Huskies head to Omaha to face Creighton on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Players Mentioned
- G
- 6' 2"
- Senior
- F
- 6' 8"
- Redshirt Sophomore
- G
- 6' 3"
- Freshman
- F
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
Players Mentioned
- 6' 2"
- Senior
- G
- 6' 8"
- Redshirt Sophomore
- F
- 6' 3"
- Freshman
- G
- 6' 7"
- Freshman
- F
Latest Men's Basketball
- Tarris Reed Jr. Wins BIG EAST Sixth Man AwardNEW YORK – UConn men's basketball standout Tarris Reed Jr. has been named the winner of the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award, as announced by the conference on Monday (March 10) morning. It is the first year-end conference honor of the junior big man's career.
- Ball, Karaban, McNeeley Earn All-BIG EAST HonorsNEW YORK – A trio of UConn men's basketball standouts have earned BIG EAST All-Conference honors, as the league announced the first set of year-end awards on Sunday (March 9). Solo Ball and Alex Karaban both nabbed a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team, while Liam McNeeley was an All-BIG EAST Third Team pick and a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team.
- Seniors Shine, UConn Routs The Hall On Senior DaySTORRS – The UConn men's basketball team (22-9, 14-6 BIG EAST) closed the regular season emphatically, drilling Seton Hall (7-24, 2-18) by a score of 81-50 on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. The match-up was the regular season finale for both squads. Prior to the contest UConn honored its graduating class of Hassan Diarra, Samson Johnson and Alex Karaban for Senior Day.
- Huskies Host Seton Hall For Senior Day SaturdaySTORRS – The UConn men's basketball team (21-9, 13-6 BIG EAST) concludes the regular season on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Seton Hall (7-22, 2-17) at 2:30 p.m. The contest will air on FOX nationally with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall on the call.
- Karaban Leads UConn To Win Over #20 MarquetteSTORRS – Alex Karaban scored seven-straight UConn points, including a game-sealing 3-pointer, in the final minutes of a 72-66 win for the men's basketball team (21-9, 13-6 BIG EAST) over No. 20 Marquette on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. Karaban finished with a team-high 21 points in the win including 16 coming in the second half as the Huskies rallied from a halftime deficit in a win for the seventh time this season.
- Huskies Host No. 20 Marquette Wednesday At GampelSTORRS - The UConn men's basketball team (20-9, 12-6 BIG EAST) returns to action on Wednesday for a late-night showdown with No. 20 Marquette (22-7, 13-5 BIG EAST) at Gampel Pavilion. The crucial contest for BIG EAST Tournament seeding will air on FS1 with Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery on the call.
