Big East beatdown

Good morning! Take a moment today and be glad you’re not at St. John’s practice. Because you’d probably be running.

Let's get to Wednesday’s news.

1. UConn, Tarris Reed make statement vs. St. John’s

It’s crazy to think about, but if No. 6 UConn didn’t score a SINGLE point in the second half of its 72-40 rout of No. 15 St. John’s, the Huskies still would’ve won the game. And that might not even be the wildest stat nugget.

For the last 17:28 of game clock, St. John’s failed to make a field goal and missed 24-straight shots. The 40 points were the lowest point total by a Rick Pitino coached team in his 38-year career.

"It's all on me, very disappointed in our performance, offensively especially,” Pitino said.

Dan Hurley put it best in his postgame presser: everything went right for UConn (26-3, 16-2 Big East), and everything went wrong for St. John's (22-6, 15-2). But the Huskies made a lot of that happen. They switched more defensively. They out-toughed St. John’s in every facet.

The story of the game, though, was Tarris Reed Jr.’s 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. He dominated from the opening tip, and Hurley noted that would be the key factor to success in March.

“This season’s going to go the way Tarris goes,” Hurley said. “If he repeats that, we're not going to lose many more games… I hate to put it all on one player, but it’s like, when we get that Tarris, and again that's a repeatable thing — he just played with an identity tonight that was dominant.”

As for the Johnnies, they’re still playing for a league championship and have to rebound fast with third-place Villanova coming to town on Saturday before closing with Georgetown and Seton Hall next week. UConn only has two games remaining.

If both St. John’s and UConn win out, St. John’s would be the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament due to UConn’s loss to Creighton.

2. A horrendous night for bubble teams

Fans of teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble probably didn’t like Wednesday night. Outside of a few head-to-head matchups where someone had to win, it was a terrible night across the board for teams vying for a tournament bid.

Winners

California: The Bears beat SMU at home, 73-69, behind six clutch points from Justin Pippen in the final minute, giving California (20-8, 8-7 ACC) its first 20-win season since 2016-17. The Bears were in our first four out on Monday, but several of the teams in front or in the same tier as them (Santa Clara, Indiana, USC, Ohio State) have lost to start the week.

San Diego State: The Aztecs (19-8, 13-4 MWC) dominated Utah State, 89-72, at home, snapping a two-game skid and moving into a tie with the Aggies atop the conference. San Diego State wasn't in our field or the first four out on Monday, but this result could change that.

Losers

Georgia: There's no shame in losing 88-80 at No. 25 Vanderbilt (22-6, 9-6 SEC), but Georgia (19-9, 7-8) has lost six of its last nine games. They were a 10 seed in our latest bracket and need to finish strong to avoid falling out of the field. A win over Vanderbilt probably would’ve made Georgia a lock.

Texas: Similar to Georgia, Texas (17-11, 8-7 SEC) losing 84-71 at home to No. 7 Florida (22-6, 13-2) isn't a bad result by any stretch, but a win would’ve done wonders for the Longhorns’ resume. Texas was also a No. 10 seed on Monday.

Texas A&M: Bucky McMillan’s group once stood alone atop the SEC standings, but after falling to No. 20 Arkansas, 99-84, A&M is officially spiraling. The Aggies (19-9, 9-6) have lost five of seven and have Texas, Kentucky and LSU to close the season. They were a No. 9 seed on Monday and probably need to win two of their last three.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) have had so many chances this year, but fell to 1-10 in Quad 1 games after losing at Iowa, 74-67. The one Quad 1 Ohio State has is Northwestern, who barely met the cut after beating Indiana — and might not end the season as a Q1 win .

Utah State: The Aggies (23-5, 13-4) were a No. 8 seed in our latest bracket projection and will probably stay in the field, but likely will drop a seed line. Utah State is still top-25 on KenPom and the NET despite the second-straight loss to the Aztecs.

SMU: Andy Enfield’s group should still be safe after the loss to California. SMU was a No. 8 seed this past Monday, but the result still wasn’t ideal.

Santa Clara: A win against Saint Mary's, and the Broncos (23-7, 14-3 WCC) would’ve been hard to keep out of the tournament. However, Wednesday’s 86-67 loss could move them out of the last four in spot they held on Monday, especially with California’s win.

Be sure to tune into Fielding of 68 on Friday at 5 pm ET for how this week’s results shaped the bracket projection.

3. A conference title clinched… and spoiled

One program wrapped up a regular-season crown on Wednesday, and then another missed its opportunity.

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