Uconn Postgame Links

AP story and highlights

Dwight Hardy scored a career-high 33 points and St. John's took command in the second half in an 89-72 victory over Connecticut (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) on Thursday night, the Red Storm's fourth win over a top-13 team this season at Madison Square Garden.

Hardy was coming off a 32-point effort in a loss to UCLA on Saturday.

D.J. Kennedy matched his season high with 20 points and had 11 rebounds for St. John's (14-9, 6-5 Big East), which added Connecticut to a list that includes then-No. 13 Georgetown, then-No. 9 Notre Dame and then-No. 3 Duke, all of whom are currently in the top 10. The Red Storm are 6-1 at the Garden, their second home court.

Read more:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=310412599

WHAT IT MEANS: St. John's improves to 14-9 overall, and 6-5 in Big East play. This is the Red Storm's fourth win of the season against teams ranked in the top 15 in the country at the time -- making for a very fine résumé come Selection Sunday. It's the most wins St. John's has had against ranked opponents since 1999-2000.

If St. John's can just take care of business against the three teams it should be favored against the rest of the way -- DePaul, Seton Hall and South Florida -- the Johnnies will finish .500 in the Big East, which should be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. Even an 8-10 conference record might get them in, with all these high-profile wins.

UConn falls to 18-5 overall, and 6-5 in the Big East.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-yorkcolleges/post/_/id/1580/rapid-reaction-st-johns-89-uconn-72

St. John's has dealt with tougher stretches this season - including a run of eight straight games against nationally-ranked opponents - but none is more important than the run of four games that began Thursday night when it hosted No. 10 Connecticut at the Garden.

There's a good chance these games will determine whether the Red Storm makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2011/02/10/2011-02-10_dwight_hardys_careerhigh_32_points_leads_st_johns_basketball_to_an_upset_of_no_1.html#ixzz1DcUYJaHC

http://www.redstormsports.com/view.gal?id=86720

http://www.redstormsports.com/view.gal?id=86736

#14/15 would be a nice wallposter for DJ

New York City is referred to by many as the “concrete jungle.”  The St. John’s University student section is commonly dubbed the “Johnny jungle,” which of course provided the reason behind the name of this website.  Combine those two elements and you get a stifling atmosphere for any visiting team on any given night.  Just ask UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

http://johnnyjungle.com/game/garden-catches-jungle-fever/

The question has tormented Steve Lavin like a morning mosquito buzzing in his ear: Is he a coach with substance who can pull together a team, or he is all style and smile, riding elite recruits?

Lavin slapped that bloodsucker dead cold last night, just as St. John's backhanded a Connecticut team that has bugged it for years.

The Red Storm, paced by Dwight Hardy's career-high 33 points, beat No. 10 UConn at its own game, 89-72, in the World's Most Famous Arena, which buzzed like old times.

The Johnnies out-rebounded the taller Huskies, 43-33. They dominated them in the paint, 40-18. They whizzed past them on fast breaks, 27-2.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/garden_of_good_qLikDLZyd7nlh0msIIf9DN#ixzz1DehqsRD2

No. 10 UConn was steamrolled by St. John's at the Garden Thursday night, 89-72. Dwight Hardy scored a career-high 33 points for the Red Storm, which had a 27-2 scoring edge on the fastbreak and 40-18 in the paint. St. John's shot 70.8 percent in the second half and stymied UConn with a matchup zone and pressure in the back court.

Roscoe Smith had a career-high 16 points for UConn (18-5, 6-5 Big East), which has lost three of four. Kemba Walker had 15 points and seven assists, but made just four of 15 shots. All of his baskets were three-pointers.

A sample of what was being said afterward ...

Jim Calhoun on what aspect bothered him the most: "Every aspect that you can possibly name, from foul shooting, to no defense, to rebounding, to not running, to getting run on, to facing now 160 straight minutes of matchup zone  -- we probably should have an idea."

http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_mens_basketball/2011/02/some-thoughts-on-uconnst-johns.html

It played out in ridiculous fashion, this bloodletting just off Broadway. UConn took the big stage Thursday night — Madison Square Garden, national television — and was overwhelmed, probably embarrassed.

The 10th-ranked Huskies were flat from the start and smeared into the court as unranked St. John's, without any resistance, picked different ways to color in the details of an 89-72 victory before 13,652.

Asked what bothered him most, coach Jim Calhoun said, "Every aspect that you can possibly name, from foul shooting, to no defense, to rebounding, to not running, to getting run on, to facing now 160 straight minutes of matchup zone — we probably should have an idea."

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-men/hc-uconn-men-st-johns-0211-20110210,0,3507785.story

Dick Weiss on the bandwagon again...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2011/02/11/2011-02-11_lavins_johnnies_are_on_the_march.html?r=sports

Red Storm Strike Again

http://espn.go.com/espnw/blog/_/post/6111846/red-storm-strike-again