At Mecca, there was an epic battle to kick off one of the biggest days of the college basketball calendar.
No.1 UConn would travel to MSG to take on a Rick Pitino-led St John's team. Here is how the action shook out on Saturday afternoon.
1st Half
It did not take long to get going. St John's would hit the game's first shot to go up (3-0). UConn would respond by shooting 6-for-8 in the opening five minutes. Running out to a (14-7) lead for the Huskies at the first media timeout of the day.
Jenkins would get it started scoring for the Red Storm with five of their first seven points.
Coming out of the media timeout, St. John's and especially Jenkins made their impact felt. Two more shots from deep and some quick stops had St. John's in front (17-16) just over two minutes later.
That would be the score heading into the next media break: St. John's 17 - UConn 16 with 11:41 remaining in the half.
The game felt stagnant for the next few minutes; after their early shooting success, UConn would make just two of the subsequent seven attempts before a Rick Pitino timeout. This time, it was a one-point game in favor of UConn, with nine minutes left in the half.
Feeling the energy rising, this became a classic grind-it-out Big East Street fight type of game.
St. Johns would cling to a (21-20) lead into the under-eight timeout.
After falling behind early St. Johns would storm up a 22-8 run and find itself out front (27-22), forcing a UConn timeout with 5:51 left in the opening half of play.
The Dan Hurley timeout seemed to have worked as the Huskies returned with a fire; after a Cam Spencer three, the game was tied again after the final media break at 29 all.
Woah, what a first half of action. In a half where UConn led by nine, there were ten lead changes and multiple ties; St. John's would hold the halftime lead (37-36).
The headliners of the opening half were Danis Jenkins, who led all first-half scorers with 13 points.
For UConn, Newton and Castle would combine for 22 opening half points.
2nd Half
UConn would have the advantage in the opening minutes of the second half, taking back a three-point lead.
The Huskies seemed able to handle any run St. Johns would throw at them. The teams would take blows back and forth, but UConn had the most significant answer so far. It rose after the Red Storm regained momentum (46-44). UConn scored nine points the following before St. John's stopped the (9-0) run.
After a free throw, UConn led 53-49 out of the under-12 media timeout.
Clingan would get tagged with his fourth foul with just 11:05 remaining in the game. It's a tough spot for Hurley to be put in.
At the 8:54 mark of the second half was the first time either team led by double digits. UConn would hit free throws to put them in front (62-51).
An X factor in this game was Cam Spencer. He just continued to hit shots at the right time, this time to give the Huskies a ten-point advantage heading into a media timeout. (64-54) Spencer made the score and became a headache for Pitino to deal with.
His 16 points and shooting four for five from three at this moment felt huge.
Spencer felt like he put the first real dagger in the game with a three-pointer to put the Huskies up 15 and their most significant lead, adding to his already impactful day.
As the game wound down to its final minutes, UConn was in control on the boards and always had an answer for what the Red Storm was brewing. The Huskies grabbing 14 more rebounds and missing just one free throw in 18 attempts were big difference makers.
The closing touches were finally put on this one.
The Huskies would win with a final score of UConn 77 and St. John's 64.
Closing
UConn would show why they are the team to beat in College Basketball.
Spencer, Newton, and Castle would combine for 62 of the Huskies 77-point effort.
UConn and Dan Hurley would improve to 20-2 overall and remain No.1.
For Rick Pitino and the Red Storm, they fall to 13-9 and are staring down, being losers in five of their last six games.