Having some problems with uploading to my server so I'm just going to post this. Hopefully it will be resolved tomorrow sometime so I can get this up with the boxscores.
St. John’s went into Wednesday’s game playing for their Big East Tournament lives, needing a win to stay in contention for one of the last spots. They faced a Notre Dame team who has already clinched a top-4 seed for the Big East Tournament and were looking to dash the Johnnies hopes for post-season play. In playing at Notre Dame they faced a hostile environment, as Notre Dame enjoys the 2nd longest home winning streak in the Big East history. Notre Dame was able to assert themselves from the start and outplayed the Johnnies the whole game. They went into half time with a big lead and kept it up in the second half. They were able to play their game and win by 13, 68-55. The Johnnies were never able to make it much of a game. Starting off the game, the Storm didn’t get much production from their big players, Mason and Burrell; who needed to step up in order for the Redmen to have a prayer of winning and having a chance of playing in the BET. The Redmen found themselves in an early hole because of their failure to get meaningful possessions. The Johnnies struggled getting off quality shots and as a whole failed to do anything meaningful with the ball. Notre Dame, on the other hand, ran their offense effectively and was able to get good looks down low, mainly in the form of Luke Harrangody hook shots. The Irish went strong to the basket and were able to get off high-percentage shots that gave them quality possessions. Notre Dame went on an 8-0 run that allowed them to gain a double digit lead. SJU found themselves in a familiar position, going into the half down big, 33-21. SJU played a good half defensively, holding the high-scoring Irish squad to only 33 points, but the Irish took effective shots, shooting 61% for the half. On the offensive side, SJU did a terrible job shooting the ball, going 10-30 from the floor, and only scoring 21 points in the half. The Johnnies had a solid start to the half, slashing the led to 8 early in the 2nd period. But SJU was unable to keep it going, allowing Notre Dame to build a 14 point lead with 5 minutes left in the half. Notre Dame kept up the pace, never leaving the outcome in doubt. They led by as much as 18 before closing it out, winning by 13.
The Redmen shot 41% for the game, compared to 53% for the Irish. Coach Roberts sent out Burrell, Mason, Lawrence, Coker, and Kennedy to face the 19th ranked Notre Dame squad. The Johnnies had to find an answer to the high scoring Irish offense, led by sophomore forward Luke Harangody. Anthony Mason had a rough start to the game, only shooting 1-7 during the first half, with only 3 points. He played better in the 2nd half, adding 13 points to give him 16 for the game, leading the team. He made some bad plays as well, twice missing alley-oop chances and committing some bad turnovers. Dele Coker continued to show flashes of being a dependable big man for the Storm, scoring 2 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. He needs to build up his stamina though, as he at times struggled to keep up with the speed of the game. He also saw himself get into foul trouble, fouling out with 4:16 to go in the 2nd. Eugene Lawrence likely played his second to last college game against the Irish. He dished out 4 assists to complement the 6 points he scored. Lawrence led the team with 3 turnovers. DJ Kennedy continued his scrappy play, grabbing a team high 7 rebounds. To go along with that he also added 11 points, second only to Mason Jr for the team high. Justin Burrell had a spotty game, scoring 8 points, grabbing 5 boards, and dishing out 2 assists. Malik Boothe came off the bench and saw 13 minutes of actions. He dished out 4 assists and scored 3. Paris Horne was the best off the bench, contributing defensively as well as offensively. But the Redmen were unable to match the high-scoring Irish and lost big. Before the game, Garrett Knieste outlined his keys to victory.
Keys to the Game:
Slow Down the Irish Attack: The Notre Dame offense in the best in the Big East and one of the best in the country. The Irish have a lot of players who can rack up points, led by Luke Harangody. They thrive on finding the open man and taking effective shots. The Johnnies on the other hand, have struggled playing against teams who know how to score. The Irish play a balanced game that put a premium on handling the ball and shooting the three. In the first half the Johnnies limited the possessions that Notre Dame got, only allowing them to score 33 1st half points. Although the Irish shot 61% from the floor, they were unable to put up the points that they are accustomed to.
Grade: D
Break 70: While the Johnnies did a good job of slowing down the Irish, they failed to do speed up their own offense. In the first half, they were unable to get meaningful offensive possessions and went into the break with only 21 points. They shot 30% from the floor in the first half, and only 1-10 from behind the arc as they struggled to get anything going. The 2nd half showed more of the same; as the Johnnies played a scattered, ineffective game offensively. They got plenty of chances to put up some points, but they were unable to get quality looks at the basket, often allowing the shot clock to run down. Credit has to be given to the Notre Dame defense, which harassed the Johnnies and forced them to take bad shots. Both the Johnnies’ ineffectiveness and the strong Irish defense led to only 55 points for the Redmen.
Grade: F
Battle of the Charity Stripe: Both teams didn’t do a good job of getting to the line. The Irish only took 10 free throws, and made 7. The Johnnies were less effective, only going getting 6 chances, converting on 4 of them. The Redmen didn’t do a good job penetrating and drawing fouls, which would have given them more opportunities to narrow the lead.
Grade: D
Play Like You Want It: The Johnnies carried the weight of their season onto the court against Notre Dame, playing for their post-season lives. While it may have been an uphill battle, the Redmen still had a shot to put a good face on the season and finish strong. If there was ever a game for the Storm to step up and assert themselves, this was it. But SJU couldn’t get anything going and put forth a flat performance. Notre Dame controlled the game from start to finish, never leaving anything to doubt. Maybe the Redmen did want it, but they just couldn’t have it. They again were outplayed by a much more superior team, losing by double digits again. Barring a miracle, they have eliminated themselves from the Big East Tournament and will play there last game of the season Saturday at the Garden against West Virginia. Maybe they’ll step it up then, because after Saturday it’s going to be a long off-season in Queens.
Grade: F
Final Grade: 1.0
MVP: Sophmore sensation Luke Harangody led the Irish with 20 points. The Big East’s leading scorer chipped in with 6 rebounds as well, also a team high. He did a good job of finding good shots and converting on the chances he had. He shot a stellar 9-12 from the floor, also tops for the team. Senior Rob Kurz played a good game for the Irish, scoring 15 in his last game at the Joyce Center. Anthony Mason Jr. led the Storm with 16 points, but also led the team with 2 missed alley-oops.