There have been better and worse days at St. John’s this year but the Red Storm are struggling at one of the most important times of the season, the end. The Red Storm has two games left this season including tonights contest with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Johnnies are hoping to find the luck of the Irish again tonight as they have won three straight against this Notre Dame team who will be celebrating their Senior Night. On January 15th, the Johnnies defeated the Irish 67-63 behind 17 points from freshman JaKarr Sampson.
Game Information
Date: Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Location: Purcell Pavilion- South Bend, IN
Time: 7:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22-7, 10-6)
Head Coach: Mike Brey
The Irish have been a top 25 team all season long and have had some epic games including the five overtime game against Louisville that will go down as one of the best games played this year. Their last time out they had snapped their winning streak with a loss to first place Marquette, 72-64 on the road.
Jack Cooley only played 15 minutes and did not score while Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins lead the way with 21 and 16 points respectively. The Irish will be headed to Louisville after the game with the Johnnies for a big Saturday rematch before the Big East Tournament begins next Tuesday, March 12th at Madison Square Garden.
Projected Starting Lineup:
F Tom Knight
F Jack Cooley
G Eric Atkins
G Pat Connaughton
G Jerian Grant
St. John’s (16-12, 8-8)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin
For the seventh time this season JaKarr Sampson was named the Big East Rookie of the Week. It is all but written that Sampson will be named the Big East Rookie of the Year next week at the Big East Tournament. Coming off a 22 point, six rebound performance in a heartbreaking loss to Providence on Saturday, Sampson has become the first option for the Johnnies since the D’Angelo Harrison suspension last week.
This will be the second game Harrison will miss. The Johnnies have one more game in the regular season before opening the Big East Tournament on Wednesday March 13th. Harrison would not be able to participate in any Big East Tournament or possible postseason tournament play either.
Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
F Chris Obekpa
G Phil Greene
G Jamal Branch
Keys to Victory
• Cooley Off- Last time these two teams met it was important for the Johnnies to slow down Jack Cooley. Cooley only had 10 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes and his lack of play was a big reason for the Johnnies pulling off the upset.
• Bench play- Without their number one scorer at their disposal the bench play has become more important for the Johnnies as Amir Garrett and Felix Balamou got a lot of burn vs. Providence and Marco Bourgault was moved to the bench. If they want any chance to beat the Irish they will have to hit their shots and be a pain on the glass.
• Guard the guards– Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins are high major scoring guards for the Irish. For the Johnnies to succeed they will need a conscious effort to guard the dual threat backcourt for the Irish.
• Block party- The Red Storm lead the nation in blocked shots per game this year and to be able to beat the Irish they will need their best block party effort to slow down a good shooting, well balanced team like the Irish. They Johnnies won last game with a big block at the end of the game and they will need to make stops to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Final Prediction: Notre Dame Wins, 60-50
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