HARTFORD — In the first meeting, Zuby Ejiofor was the best player on the floor, leading St. John’s past Connecticut.
Nineteen days later, Tarris Reed Jr. owned that honor.
The UConn forward was dominant, notching game highs of 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the No. 6 Huskies’ 72-40 destruction of No. 15 St. John’s.
Ejiofor managed just a single point in the first half, and finished with six on just five shots.
He also suffered a bloody lip and needed medical attention after the lopsided loss. It was a night to forget for the front-runner for Big East Player of the Year.
“One hundred percent it was on us [the players] and it starts with me,” Ejiofor said. “To start the game, especially in the first half, it was as bad as I could’ve played on both sides of the ball. I tried to use my voice early on, but my play did not match anything I’m capable of doing.”
Back on Feb. 6, Ejiofor outplayed Reed, a major factor in the Red Storm’s victory. But Reed was a two-way force in the rematch.
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“He’s one of the best bigs in the nation,” Ejiofor said. “Our trap-downs weren’t there tonight at all. Our schemes of what we were supposed to do coming in, we did not execute on those. He put on a great performance tonight.”
After missing Saturday’s win over Creighton, Ian Jackson returned and scored three points in 14 minutes off the bench. … Freshman guard Kelvin Odih (right leg soreness) remained out.
Connecticut was without junior wing Jaylin Stewart (knee). … St. John’s 40 points were its fewest since it managed only 40 in a loss to Notre Dame on March 5, 2013. … This was the Red Storm’s largest loss as a ranked team since 1960.
