Before the season started, St. John’s and UConn were clearly viewed as the best men’s basketball programs in the Big East. They did nothing to counter that prediction, finishing first and second in the league by a wide margin, splitting regular season matchups, and entering the playoffs as the league’s only nationally ranked team.
They will meet again on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, where they will compete for the Big East Tournament title and a chance to improve on the NCAA Tournament standings.
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The team easily advanced to the championship game in Friday night’s semifinals. No. 1 seed St. John’s defeated fourth-seeded Seton Hall 78-68 in the opener, while second-seeded UConn defeated 11-seeded Georgetown 67-51 in the nightcap, setting the stage for what seemed inevitable for months.
“I think both teams have been pushing each other all year long,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “This is going to be a do-or-die battle for the Big East championship. We’ve both made real contributions to the league throughout the year, and the league needs a game like tomorrow night that every basketball fan will be a part of.”
Indeed, this is an unusual year for the Big East, a conference usually known for its depth. Over the past 11 seasons, the league has had at least five teams participate in the NCAA tournament seven times. But this year, Villanova may be the only Big East team to enter the NCAA besides St. John’s University and the University of Connecticut. Those three bids would tie for the fewest in league history dating back to the 1979-80 season.
While coach Kevin Willard had a strong first season at Villanova, which missed the NCAAs in all three seasons under former coach Kyle Neptune, the Wildcats were still well behind the league’s top two teams. Villanova (24-8) went 15-5 against Big East teams in the regular season, but the Wildcats lost both times against St. John’s and UConn.
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Meanwhile, St. John’s (27-6) went 18-2 in league play to win its second straight regular-season title, while UConn (29-4) won 17 of 20 regular-season Big East games. The Associated Press poll ranked UConn at No. 6 and St. John’s University at No. 13. They rank No. 9 and No. 21, respectively, in the NCAA’s NET metrics and analyst Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. Villanova is ranked No. 36 by NET and No. 33 by KenPom. No other Big East team ranks in the top 49 in either metric, so it’s hard to imagine the NCAA selection committee selecting a fourth Big East team.
Still, the league can pin its hopes on St. John’s and UConn. After St. John’s defeated MSG 81-72 in their first meeting on Feb. 6, ending UConn’s 18-game winning streak, Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino described it as one of the best atmospheres he had ever seen. Later this month, the Huskies responded with a 72-40 victory over the Red Storm, the lowest-scoring team under Pitino since he began coaching college basketball 51 years ago. St. John’s missed its final 24 shots in that game, ending a 13-game winning streak.
The Red Storm will look to get revenge at home on Saturday, although there will also likely be a large number of UConn fans in attendance. The two teams will meet in the championship game for the first time since they met in 1999 and 2000, with UConn winning the former and St. John’s winning the latter.
Saturday will be St. John’s eighth game against UConn in the Big East Tournament. St. John’s had won four previous games, but UConn prevailed in the last meeting in 2024, when the Huskies defeated the Red Storm 95-90 in the semifinals before winning the league and national championships.
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After UConn’s win Friday night, Hurley talked about the mutual respect between himself and Pitino. Pitino won national championships with Kentucky and Louisville and rebuilt a Red Storm program that had struggled for more than two decades since his arrival in 2023. Pitino last year led St. John’s to its first Big East regular-season title since 1985 and its first tournament title since 2000.
Hurley and Pitino will face off for the eighth time Saturday, with Hurley leading 4-3. But the stakes will be higher than any of their previous games, as UConn will seek a record-tying ninth Big East title (one more than Georgetown) while St. John’s will target its fifth league title.
“It’s an honor to be able to play tomorrow night,” Hurley said. “Listen, there’s people walking out of the tunnel naked, there’s confetti falling on people’s heads.”
