UConn men's basketball looks to keep building momentum against St. Jonn's

Madison Square Garden may be the UConn men's basketball team's "home away from home." Some even refer to it as "Storrs South." However, one thing seems certain when the Huskies "host" St. John's on Saturday at the Garden (noon, CBS): the beers will cost much more than $2. The 18th-ranked Huskies are fresh off a dominating win over Providence on Wednesday that Friar coach Ed Cooley believed was at least partially due to the lubed-up, Gampel Pavilion crowd on $2 beer night. "I think maybe Miller (beers) got a little too much credit for our performance," Hurley quipped on Friday, as UConn prepared for its bus trip to the Big Apple. "They didn't help us go plus-20 on the backboard." The Huskies will look to continue their upswing on Saturday. UConn has won five of its last six games, including home wins over No. 10 Marquette and the 20th-ranked Friars. The Huskies are starting to look like a team that began the season 14-0, winning all but one by double-digits, and raced all the way up to No. 2 in the country. "Our February has looked like our November and December," Hurley noted. "We just want to get as far away from January (as we can), and create that momentum going into the Big East tournament." Indeed, that terrific start was thwarted by an ugly stretch in which the Huskies lost six of eight between New Year's Eve and Jan. 25 and nearly fell out of the national rankings. Hurley is quick to point out that there were reasons for that tough stretch: road losses to three of the top four teams in the league in hostile environments (Xavier, Providence, Marquette), even Hurley's absence (due to health reasons) from a heartbreaking loss at Seton Hall. The coach still hasn't been able to explain an 85-74 loss to St. John's on Jan. 15 in Hartford. Out of nowhere, the Red Storm shot 52-percent from the floor, turned UConn over 21 times and rode a double-double from double-double king Joel Soriano to victory. There was plenty of blame to go around. Tristen Newton had probably his worst game as a Husky, going scoreless while bricking his lone shot of the game (a 3-pointer) and missing both of his free throws (one an airball). Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 31 points but was responsible for seven of those 21 turnovers. The Huskies shot 42 percent from the field and were 8-for-26 from 3. "We didn't win really any matchup — coaches, guards, frontcourt players," Hurley noted. "Our expectation (Saturday) is that we show up with a chip on our shoulder. And we'd better." It's February now, nearly March. The Huskies didn't make the cut of the top 16 teams in the NCAA selection committee's preliminary bracket reveal last weekend, presumably making them a five-seed right now. That clearly irks Hurley, but the Huskies have time to play themselves up to a four-seed, or maybe even better. "It's important," Hurley said. "You hope that we have someone in the league in that (committee) room, and you hope the league is doing everything they can to push their teams that are under consideration." He added that the top five teams are as good as any other league in the country. "Look at what we did in non-conference," Hurley noted. "We might have had the best non-conference season of any team in the country, and we're battling for fourth or fifth in the Big East this year. That's how great the Big East is." "You hope that the committee sees it the same way." St. John's (17-12, 7-11 Big East) has won three of its last four, including a home win over Providence at the Garden. But there seems to be a red storm brewing around the program, with talented Illinois transfer and New York native Andre Curbelo relegated to the bench and seemingly in the doghouse, while some are calling for head coach Mike Anderson to be fired as the Johnnies appear headed to a fourth straight season with no NCAA tournament bid. Still, Anderson and the Red Storm have been a nuisance to UConn since Hurley took over as head coach, splitting their four meetings. UConn's two wins came last season, in overtime at Gampel and by just three points at the Garden. But the Huskies are currently in the midst of what Hawkins tabbed a "revenge tour," with wins over two teams (Seton Hall, Providence) that they had lost to earlier in the season on the road. On Saturday, UConn can finish off the final leg of the tour with a win over a team that beat the Huskies at home — even if this one is at their "home away from home," where UConn Nation often turns out in big numbers. "We got two Quad 1 home games in league play, we won them both," Hurley pointed out. "Now, we have a chance to go and improve our resume. We've played well away from home, on neutral (courts). To beat St. John's at the Garden would be a great resume-builder." He added: "There'll be a buzz in the building." Even if the beers are a little more expensive than $2. david.borges@hearstmediact.com @DaveBorges

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