NEW YORK — For the fifth straight year, Connecticut left the Big East tournament without winning a game. And for the second time in the run, there won't be an NCAA tournament bid to offset the hurt.

St. John's ran away from the Huskies 73-51 Tuesday, extending their Big East tournament losing streak to six games and beating them for the first time since February 2002, a stretch of nine games.

Connecticut's fourth straight loss overall was a lifeless performance that turned into the Huskies' worst beating of the season.

"I think it's a good time to reflect where we are today and how we ended up today," said Huskies coach Jim Calhoun, who sat on the bench for most of the final 10 minutes instead of working the sideline as he has for 24 seasons at Connecticut (17-15) that includes two national championships and six Big East tournament titles. "This is certainly not typical. We've been beaten before and ended seasons on some sour notes before and some great notes. But I think maybe it's a good time to sit back."

Sean Evans had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead St. John's (17-14), which had lost three of four to close the regular season.

For a second straight season the Red Storm beat a traditional power in the first round of the tournament — they defeated Georgetown 64-59 last year — and the second-round opponent will again be Marquette. Last season the Golden Eagles beat St. John's 74-45.

"I know it was a good win," said St. John's point guard Malik Boothe, who had eight points and nine assists. "We also can't celebrate on this win. Last year we were in the same position going against the same team in the next round and they pretty much had their way with us. We have to have the same focus tomorrow."

Connecticut, which reached the Final Four last season, has not won a game in the Big East tournament since the 2005 quarterfinals. The losing streak includes last season's six-overtime loss to Syracuse in the quarterfinals.

Cincinnati 69, Rutgers 68

Lance Stephenson celebrated being selected Big East Rookie of the Year by making the deciding free throw with 1.8 seconds to play, leading the Bearcats to the opening-round victory.

Stephenson had 13 points — 10 in a 4-minute span of the second half — nine rebounds and five assists to lead the 11th-seeded Bearcats (17-14) to their first ever victory in the Big East tournament and a second-round matchup against sixth-seeded Louisville on Wednesday.

Mike Rosario had 26 points to lead the Scarlet Knights (15-17).

Cincinnati had lost its previous three games in the tournament.

South Florida 58, DePaul 49

Dominique Jones had 20 points and nine rebounds, and South Florida beat DePaul for its fourth straight victory.

Mike Mercer added 14 points for the ninth-seeded Bulls (20-11), who hope a strong showing this week could propel them into an NCAA tournament field already sure to be flush with Big East regulars.

It was the first Big East tournament victory in two appearances for South Florida since joining the league in 2005-06.

Will Walker scored 20 points to lead DePaul (8-23), which lost its final 13 games.

Seton Hall 109, Providence 106

Herb Pope had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Seton Hall built a huge second-half lead before barely holding off a furious Providence rally.

In a breakneck game between the league's two worst defensive teams, the Pirates (19-11) opened a 76-47 advantage with about 13:30 to play.

But the Friars (12-19), led by Jamine Peterson's 38 points and 16 rebounds, charged nearly all the way back and turned the final minutes into a frantic finish.