New York, NY (My Sportsbook) - The fourth-ranked Connecticut Huskies will try to cap off a perfect three-game road trip tonight, as they invade Madison Square Garden to take on the St. John's Red Storm in Big East play.
The Huskies have not only won their first two games on this current trip, but they have won all seven of their outings away from home this season. Most recently, the team prevailed over Cincinnati, 81-72, on Saturday to improve to a healthy 14-1 overall. It was also UConn's third straight win, all against league foes, since falling in its Big East opener at Georgetown in late December.
As for SJU, it is facing its third straight ranked foe, but that isn't much of a surprise considering a portion of the Big East teams are in the Top 25. After upsetting Notre Dame on its home floor, the Red Storm was no match for top-ranked Pittsburgh in 90-67 setback on Sunday. SJU has now dropped four of its last five outings following a 9-1 start to the season.
The Red Storm owns a 32-25 lead in the head-to-head series with UConn, but the Huskies have won the last seven meetings in the rivalry.
The Huskies are dominating their opponents in the low post and they are outrebounding foes by 9.3 rpg thanks to the duo of Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet. Adrien pulls down a solid 9.1 rpg, to go with a team-high 14.5 ppg, while the 7-3 Thabeet averages a double-double with 13.5 ppg and a club-best 10.2 rpg. At the perimeter, Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price run the show and they are turning in 14.1 and 10.1 ppg, respectively. The duo has also combined for 117 assists, as they have certainly been busy feeding the big men in the paint. On Saturday, Price tallied 22 points and doled out five assists to lead UConn in a win at Cincinnati. Adrien notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Dyson had 12 points and five helpers. The Huskies shot a sizzling 58.0 percent from the floor and controlled the boards, 31-26, in the win.
With a starting lineup featuring four sophomores and one freshman, the Red Storm has struggled with consistency of late, but that is somewhat expected. All four sophomore starters are currently averaging in double-figures, including D.J. Kennedy, who tops the roster with 13.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Paris Horne checks in with 12.4 ppg and 2.2 apg, while Sean Evans adds 10.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg to the lineup. Justin Burrell rounds out the group, with 10.1 ppg. On Sunday, the Red Storm turned the ball over 24 times and was outscored from three-point range, 24-3, in a lopsided loss at Pitt. Kennedy paced the team in defeat with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Evans logged 13 points and nine boards.
