February 25, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; St. John’s Red Storm forward Jubi Ejiofor (24) looks to open the game against UConn Huskies forward Taris Reed Jr. (5) in the second half at People’s Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images NEW YORK – All season long, Big East heavyweight St. Louis has been playing hard to beat. It seemed inevitable that St. John’s and UConn would meet to decide the conference tournament championship.
Saturday night, a highly anticipated meeting will take place at Madison Square Garden as top seed St. John’s (27-6) and second-seeded UConn (29-4) meet for the third time this season.
St. John’s forced 15 turnovers in an 81-72 home win over the Huskies on Feb. 6 and saw Jubi Ezio total 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Huskies won 72-40 in Hartford on Feb. 25. At the time, the Red Storm missed their last 24 shots and didn’t get a goal on goal in the final 17 1/2 minutes.
“I think both programs have pushed each other all year,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said Friday. “We’re a 29-win team and they’re a 27-win team, the two best teams in the country.
UConn is ranked 6th in the nation and is ranked 6th in the nation by St. Louis. St. John’s ranks 13th.
“Obviously it’s going to be a death match for the Big East championship, but also, you know, we’ve both done so much for this league in a year when this league needs a game like this tomorrow night that’s going to get every basketball fan involved,” Hurley said. “Well, that’s really interesting. You knew there was going to be a third round, and here we are.”
St. John’s, which is on a five-game winning streak, is attempting to win back-to-back titles for the first time in school history. The Red Storm advanced to the championship game in back-to-back seasons in 1985 and 1986 and reached split title games against UConn in 1999 and 2000.
St. John’s is seeking its fifth win in seven attempts and second since 2000 after an 82-66 win over Creighton last year.
The only starting pitcher in the 2025 title game is Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year. He totaled 41 points in tournament wins for the Red Storm over Providence and Seton Hall. On Friday, in a 78-68 semifinal win over pesky Seton Hall, Ejiofor defeated St. Louis. St. John’s never trailed, scoring 20 points in a game that led by as many as 19 points.
“We’re playing for a championship,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said. “We played the regular season like our lives depended on it. We’re going to play tomorrow like our lives depended on it. Then we’ll worry about the (NCAA) tournament.”
The Red Storm advanced with key contributions from Joson Sanon, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins. Sanon scored 15 points off the bench, while Mitchell and Hopkins each had 13 points and combined for 13 rebounds.
“We want to do the same with our rookies who weren’t on the team last year and have that same type of chip on their shoulder to defend like we won with them last year,” Mitchell said. “So it’s just about coming together and being one and going out there and competing for 40 minutes.”
UConn is challenging the title game for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies were 8-3 in their previous championship game and tied Georgetown for the most conference titles in Big East history.
The Huskies ended their regular season with a 68-62 loss at Marquette last Saturday, but responded admirably with double-digit wins over Xavier and Georgetown and never trailed in either game.
UConn held off Georgetown with a 67-51 win Friday night and followed up with a 93-68 victory over the Musketeers.
The Huskies scored their most points this season in Thursday’s regulation conference win and saw big plays from Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. On Friday, UConn got a big performance from Braylon Mullins to offset quiet showings from Ball and Reed.
Mullins scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half. For the game, he was 8-of-17 shooting and took all four of UConn’s free throws. Mullins finished four shy of his career high and made 12 of 26 shots from the floor in his first two tournament games after going 4-of-15 at Marquette.
“I’m so grateful to be there and I think we’re all grateful to be in the Big East championship game,” Mullins said. “As a freshman, there’s no other place I’d rather be.”
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
