@#19 Connecticut, Fri., Feb. 7, 8p, FOX

I attended a play last night, “happy wife, happy life” approach and recorded game. Very late after getting home, I watched it, but confess when Ball was on fire and we were down 14, I was tempted to get some Zs. My conscience kicked in & I hung in there thankfully. Lesson learned 🫣
 
jims said:
In one of the biggest upsets of the season, St. John’s marched into a hostile Gampel Pavilion and took down top-ranked UConn, delivering a statement win that could reshape their season. From start to finish, the Red Storm played with urgency, matching UConn’s physicality and executing when it mattered most.

Rick Pitino, never one to hold back, summed up the rollercoaster nature of his team’s season in his postgame press conference, referencing an earlier disappointing loss by saying, “How the f* did we lose that one?”* There was no such confusion last night—St. John’s played with the grit and confidence that Pitino has been demanding all year.

UConn, backed by a raucous home crowd, made their runs, but St. John’s never backed down. They defended with intensity, controlled the boards, and hit clutch shots down the stretch. Every time UConn seemed poised to take control, the Red Storm responded, showing a level of poise that has often eluded them in close games.

This win could be the turning point Pitino has been waiting for. St. John’s has shown flashes of brilliance, but consistency has been their Achilles’ heel. If they can harness this energy moving forward, they will be a dangerous team in March. Heck they can even win the whole dang thing!
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This wasn’t one of the biggest upsets of the season. And how is this win a turning point for Pitino? We have now won 10 in a row. It’s not the start of anything. It’s the continuing of what has been a great 1-2 months.
 
A few thoughts on the last half-dozen pages:

1. Zuby's game was no surprise, and I don't think he will be lights out at the Garden either. Reed is just too big for him. I expect the same issue to recur with Kalk. He plays his heart out and is productive, but you can't teach size. The added problem with Kalk is he also shuts down the rest of our rim game which Reed doesn't. But that's next week's problem.

2. I completely agree with Mug. Earlier in the season I compared this team to the old Howland/Dixon Pitt teams. When the D went to another level I said OK, the last few years of Houston teams. All of those teams were good and made tournament runs but historically the challenge for them was they would wind up in a game where they need to score and can't. A possible difference with our team is that we might actually be able to do it if the cards fall right for Wilcher or Scott or Smith.

3. U Conn, Creighton and Marquette have all borne out my preseason predictions of "won't be that good," "will be better than people think," and "may be good despite being a donut.". But WRT to U Conn, Hurley has to come in for some criticism. His decision to play Johnson over Reed is indefensible. If he has no PG it's because he somehow thought Diarra was more than a JAG, which is never was, and he buried Mahaney on the bench to the point that now he can't get anything out of him. If he didn't know that Karaban can't carry a team, thats on him. He has managed to stay afloat this season on desire, McNeely, and Ball coming alive when McNeely went down. That's a fine team, but not a scary one. Reputation doesn't win games.

4. Important to keep it rolling. On paper we win at Nova and home for Creighton but games aren't won on paper. I'm confident the staff will have the team ready for those games, though. If we beat Creighton that may very well sew up the regular season conference title. My son has been saying for years that he just doesn't wanna play on Wednesday in the BET; the new target is to be playing on Saturday!

Not a pretty ride this year, but a fun one!
 
paultzman said:
I attended a play last night, “happy wife, happy life” approach and recorded game. Very late after getting home, I watched it, but confess when Ball was on fire and we were down 14, I was tempted to get some Zs. My conscience kicked in & I hung in there thankfully. Lesson learned 🫣
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The honesty is all well and good but your legitimacy as a hardcore fan must now come into serious question.
 
paultzman said:
I attended a play last night, “happy wife, happy life” approach and recorded game. Very late after getting home, I watched it, but confess when Ball was on fire and we were down 14, I was tempted to get some Zs. My conscience kicked in & I hung in there thankfully. Lesson learned 🫣
Click to expand...
We missed you on the game thread; you're a better man than I am. Having said that I will miss the Creighton game myself next weekend as we will be in Denver attending our granddaughter's second birthday party (although I'm sure I'll be following the score on my phone).
 
paultzman said:
I attended a play last night, “happy wife, happy life” approach and recorded game. Very late after getting home, I watched it, but confess when Ball was on fire and we were down 14, I was tempted to get some Zs. My conscience kicked in & I hung in there thankfully. Lesson learned 🫣
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My phone would have been on my lap watching stat broadcast!!
 
Eric said:
Thiswasn’t one of the biggest upsets of the season. And how is this win a turning point for Pitino? We have now won 10 in a row. It’s not the start of anything. It’s the continuing of what has been a great 1-2 months
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I see what you're saying, and I agree that it’s not necessarily one of the biggest upsets of the season, but it does feel like a significant win in terms of momentum. The fact that we’ve now won 10 in a row shows that the team is clearly clicking.


As for Pitino, it’s not so much about it being a “turning point” in the sense of starting something new, but more about solidifying the culture and confidence he’s built. The way the team has been playing recently, particularly with how they've handled tough environments like Gampel Pavilion, shows that they’re gaining confidence and consistency.


It’s definitely more of a continuation of the solid work they’ve put in over the past couple of months, and I think it’s exciting to see how far this momentum can take them as we head into March.
 
jims said:
I see what you're saying, and I agree that it’s not necessarily one of the biggest upsets of the season, but it does feel like a significant win in terms of momentum. The fact that we’ve now won 10 in a row shows that the team is clearly clicking.


As for Pitino, it’s not so much about it being a “turning point” in the sense of starting something new, but more about solidifying the culture and confidence he’s built. The way the team has been playing recently, particularly with how they've handled tough environments like Gampel Pavilion, shows that they’re gaining confidence and consistency.


It’s definitely more of a continuation of the solid work they’ve put in over the past couple of months, and I think it’s exciting to see how far this momentum can take them as we head into March.
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I Agree with that. And truly believe very far it will take us.
 
jims said:
In one of the biggest upsets of the season, St. John’s marched into a hostile Gampel Pavilion and took down top-ranked UConn, delivering a statement win that could reshape their season. From start to finish, the Red Storm played with urgency, matching UConn’s physicality and executing when it mattered most.

Rick Pitino, never one to hold back, summed up the rollercoaster nature of his team’s season in his postgame press conference, referencing an earlier disappointing loss by saying, “How the f* did we lose that one?”* There was no such confusion last night—St. John’s played with the grit and confidence that Pitino has been demanding all year.

UConn, backed by a raucous home crowd, made their runs, but St. John’s never backed down. They defended with intensity, controlled the boards, and hit clutch shots down the stretch. Every time UConn seemed poised to take control, the Red Storm responded, showing a level of poise that has often eluded them in close games.

This win could be the turning point Pitino has been waiting for. St. John’s has shown flashes of brilliance, but consistency has been their Achilles’ heel. If they can harness this energy moving forward, they will be a dangerous team in March. Heck they can even win the whole dang thing!
Click to expand...
Great post
 
Eric said:
This wasn’t one of the biggest upsets of the season. And how is this win a turning point for Pitino? We have now won 10 in a row. It’s not the start of anything. It’s the continuing of what has been a great 1-2 months.
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Line was Conn - 4 by game time. Biggest upset if the year by that metric. No other game had us down by 4 by Vegas. Line opened at -1.5. Big money on Conn drive up spread to 4.
 
espken said:
I despise UConn as much as the next person, but McNeeley is legit.
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Despise them too, but yes he is legit (lottery pick) and they still are very LEGIT.

Excellent HC and staff. Ball shoots the hell out of it. McNeeley can do everything and is their best player. Karaban at worst is a great glue guy and honestly I think once he gets his shot back their 2-4 can play with anyone in the country. Have nice depth with Stewart and Ross too.

Problem has been the drop off at the 1 and 5.

If Reed competes how he did last night, the they will be fine with the two-headed combo. No one was coming close to fully replacing Klingan.

Diarra is a tough kid and good player, but he’s hurting and even then he is more suited for a super/sub, 6th man, elite third guard type role. Missing on the St Mary’s kid and the freshman not being ready is the main issue.

Again I despise UConn fans but I can respect the program and talent level. Otherwise I would be a Seton Hall fan lol.
 
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