If No. 13 St. John’s wanted revenge for a 72-40 drubbing at the hands of No. 6 UConn last month, the Red Storm got it Saturday night in New York.

Top-seeded St. John’s defeated No. 2 seed UConn 72-52 to win their second consecutive Big East tournament championship, using tenacious defense throughout the game to stifle the Huskies. The Red Storm never let the Huskies play their way, denying shooters Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins from the 3-point line, handcuffing Tarris Reed Jr. inside for much of the game and forcing UConn (29-5) into an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers.

From the opening tip at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s (28-6) took charge in front of a raucous crowd. In the first three minutes, St. John’s ran off 10 quick points – six from Oziyah Sellers – and by the 8:20 mark of the first half, the St. John’s lead had grown to 32-16. UConn pared the deficit to 13 at 40-27 at halftime.

It was the largest halftime deficit for UConn of the season.

In a brief in-game interview during the first half, UConn coach Dan Hurley simply told Fox Sports that his team was a “mess.”

"Huge credit to St. John's. They jumped us to start the game," UConn coach Dan Hurley said postgame. "... The turnovers and just a brutal night shooting."

He paid a compliment to St. John's coach Rick Pitino and his team.

"The ultimate credit to St. John's. They deserved it and we didn't."

Hurley and his staff managed to come up with some solutions to clean up the Huskies’ game, and that involved getting Reed some better looks in the second half.

Going against Big East Defensive Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, Reed was 2-of-6 for four points in the first half. Ejiofor scored 10 points and was responsible for two fouls on Reed and three on his backup, Eric Reibe.

But in the second half, UConn cut the deficit to seven points at 49-42 after Reed and Mullins managed to find some room to work. In one 5 1/2-minute stretch, Reed scored eight points and Mullins five as the Huskies climbed back into the game with 12:34 left.

St. John’s extended the lead back to 12, then basically traded baskets with Reed, who scored 11 points in a row for UConn.

Down 59-49 with about seven minutes to play, UConn had four chances in one possession but missed two 3-pointers before Mullins drove to the basket and couldn’t convert.

On the ensuing play, St. John’s increased its lead to 12 after a basket by Dylan Darling, and at the other end, Ejiofor stripped Reed of the ball in the paint, effectively robbing the Huskies of their momentum and any chance to win the game.

Reed led the Huskies with 17 points and seven rebounds; he was the only UConn player to score in double figures.

Ball was held to three points on 1-of-3 shooting, Mullins to five on 2-of-9 chances, and Silas Demary Jr. to six points, making one basket in six attempts. Alex Karaban scored seven points and contributed five assists and five rebounds but never was able to get into the rhythm of the game because St. John’s never allowed the Huskies to set their offense.

The Huskies shot a season-low 33.9%. The made only 3-of-19 attempts from 3-point territory.

For St. John’s, Bryce Hopkins and Ejiofor each scored 18 points and Sellers had 14. Ejiofor had nine rebounds and a Big East tournament-record seven blocked shots.

Hopkins was elated when speaking with Fox Sports after the game.

“It was a matter of us buying into the scouting report and remembering what they did to us last time we played them at their place,” St. John’s Bryce Hopkins said of the February loss in Hartford, Conn. “I'm glad we came in with a chip on our shoulder when we came out and jumped on them quick.”

He continued: “It was just us buying in and taking our preparation to another level. I thought we were all locked in and we remember what they did to us last time we played them. That was the biggest thing -- the memory.”

Big East All-Tournament Team honors, announced after the game, went to Karaban and Reed of UConn, Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell of St. John's, and Budd Clark of Seton Hall.

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