REDSTORM BLOWN OUT IN WEST VIRGINIA

January 29, 2009


West Virginia bounced back from their weekend loss to Pittsburgh as the Mountaineers Take Care of St. John's (Daily Mail), 75-52 in Morgantown. Da'Sean Butler scored a game-high 21 and Alex Ruoff added 17 as the Butler-Ruoff Duo is Doing it All for WVU (Times West Virginian).

The was No Fooling Around (Charleston Gazette) in this one for WVU as they dominated from the get-go, taking a 36-20 lead by halftime. St. John's, 2-6 in the Big East, got 16 points from Paris Horne and 14 from DJ Kennedy. SJU, still playing without injured point guard Malik Boothe, managed just seven team assists against 18 turnovers in the game.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: ST. JOHN'S @ WEST VIRGINIA

January 28, 2009


West Virginia will look to shake off the sting of their rivalry game loss to Pittsburgh from the weekend. The Mountaineers are in the midst of a brutal stretch of games and they can not afford to take a breath against the Redstorm and let up in any way.

St. John’s got a win over the weekend against Rutgers and are now 2-5 in Big East play. They have yet to win on the road in the Big East and Morgantown is not a friendly venue for a visiting team.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

WVU Seels Ninth in a Row vs. St. John’s (Times West Virginian)
Redstorm Descends on Mounties (Bluefield Daily Telegraph)
Mountaineers Host Redstorm (Register-Herald)
Mountaineers Board Work Rebounds Under Huggins (Daily Mail)
Mountaineers Out to Regroup (Martinsburg Journal)

Even though the lost on Sunday to Pittsburgh, I am starting to like this West Virginia team more and more. They play hard on both ends of the floor for coach Huggins, they play unselfish and they will attack the boards. Their inexperience at key positions and the lack of a player ready to carry them offensively is still holding them back, but Da’Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff are definitely very capable scorers. If Devin Ebanks starts to flash more on the offensive end, this is a team that should continue to improve. They might be the team to watch and with Notre Dame and Georgetown showing signs of heading in the other direction of WVU, they could find themselves setting in among the top third of the Big East.

It is still a tough go for St. John’s and Norm Roberts. They are another team that will play hard for their coach, but they do not have enough bullets available to win consistently, especially on the road in the Big East. With injuries claiming Malik Boothe, Anthony Mason Jr and Rob Thomas, the Redstorm line-up is limited in scoring punch and ball-handlers, an area that WVU will certainly exploit.

While a 16 ½-point line seems quite high, considering that WVU is prone to some poor offensive showings and that SJU will defend, they still should earn a comfortable win right in that neighborhood of a difference.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 77
St. John’s 60

HORNE SOUNDS, 'STORM WINS

January 25, 2009

Sluggish Start Dooms Scarlet Knights (Asbury park Press) in a 70-59 loss at St. John's in Big East play.

It was the eighth straight loss for RU and Rutgers is Still Winless in the Big East (NJ.com) at 0-7.

SJU led by 11 at the half and RU got it to as close as two points late in the game, but the Redstorm held them off and scored the games last 9 points.

Paris Horne hit 12 of 13 shots and finished with 27 points to lead the way.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS GOES FOR 1ST BE WIN AT SJU

January 24, 2009

Rutgers, 0-6 in Big East play, will look for their first conference win tonight when they travel into the Big Apple to take on St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Redstorm were left reeling after collapsing down the stretch in a 71-60 loss against Cincinnati Thursday night. The ‘storm had an 11-point lead in the second half, put were outscored 31-9 to finish the game.

One has to wonder how St. John’s will rebound from that loss with such a short turnaround. Luckily for the Redstorm, Rutgers has enough of their own problems that will probably make sure this is a competitive ball game.

One thing SJU will do is defend. They play tough on the defensive side of the ball and will look to pressure the Rutgers backcourt into mistakes and forced shots. The RU offense is nearly entirely centered and dependent on Mike Rosario connecting from the perimeter. That is a lot of pressure for a freshman on the road who will face a pretty good defensive team.

However, SJU has their own ballhandling concerns with point guard Malik Boothe out with an injury and freshman Quincy Roberts running the show. While SJU is at home, there is something that keeps telling me that Rutgers is not as bad as their 0-6 record would indicate. After being thoroughly embarrassed by Louisville on their home floor this week, I look for a more urgent performance and the front court trio of Greg Echenique, Hamady N’Diaye and JR Inman to control the paint on both ends of the floor. If Mike Rosario does not shoot the Knights out of it, I like for them to come up with a surprise and win one on the road, even if the college basketball odds tell me I am wrong by listing SJU as the 4 ½-point favorite at home.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 67
St. John’s 64

KENNEDY OUSTED, St. JOHN'S COLLAPSES

January 23, 2009



Tempers and frustrations boiled over in the meeting between St. John's and Cincinnati at Carnesecca Arena last night. When order was restored, it was the Redstorm in Foul Mood After Collapse (Newsday) and their fifth loss in six Big East contests.

With the score 43-35 in favor of SJU following a DJ Kennedy three-pointer 2:57 into the second half, referee karl Hess stopped the game and issued a double technical to Kennedy and UC forward Rashad Bishop for excessive jawing that had been building throughout the game. When both continued even after being seperated and issued T's, Curtis Shaw then hit the pair again with double technicals, ejecting both from the game.

Already short on players because of a string of injuries (Anthony Mason, Malik Boothe and Rob Thomas unavailable), the double ejection crippled the Redstorm as UC Grinds out a Victory (Cincinnati Enquirer), outscoring SJU 36-17 over the final 17:03 of the game.

Deonta Vaughn scored 20 of his game-high 23 in the second half, including 10 in a row in a spurt that allowed UC to take control of the game after trailing 55-52 with 7:50 to go.

Bishop added 15 for the Bearcats despite missing the final 17 minutes.

Even though Kennedy Gets Thrown Out (Daily News), the Redstorm extended the lead to as many as 11, 51-40, with 13:16 left, but they managed just one field goal in the last 7:50 and were outscored 31-9 to close the game.

Paris Horne had 20 for the 'storm and Justin Burrell added 15. Sean Evans had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but was just 4-13 from the foul line.

Notes:

-Cincinnati matched last year's win total (13-19) as they moved to 13-7 overall. They are not 3-4 in the Big East, winning three of their last four.

-UC was able to press SJU effectively as Boothe and Kennedy were unavailable the final 17 minutes, causing 21 turnovers.

-As a team, SJU was 14-31 from the foul line, aided by Evans' 4 of 13 effort.

-The Redstorm held a 43-33 rebounding edge, but it was negated by the 21 turnovers to UC just turning it over 10 times in the game.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: ST. JOHN'S HOSTS BEARCATS OF UC

January 22, 2009

Capping of a busy Thursday night in the Big East is a 9 PM game in Jamaica, Queens as St. John’s will host Cincinnati in Carnesecca Arena.

Cincinnati is a disappointing 2-4 in conference action after being swept in their season home and home with Providence. The Friars defeated UC on Monday night 72-63 to complete the sweep. So far, PC’s only two conference wins have come against DePaul and Rutgers, teams yet to win in Big East play.

St. John’s got some people excited when they upset Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden on January 3rd, 71-65. However, the Big East schedule has bitten them back as they have lost three consecutive games to Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Villanova by an average of 18 points. Tonight begins a stretch of seven conference games for the Redstorm where they only see one ranked opponent, a rare run in the Big East. Can they take advantage of it?

Here are some pregame stories and previews on tonight’s game:

UC Must Take Pressure off Vaughn (Cincinnati Enquirer)
As Injuries Linger, SJU’s Kennedy Rises to Occasion (NY Daily News)

The time is now for Cincinnati to pull out of their funk. For a team many thought could emerge as a conference darkhorse, they have been a disappointment with a 2-4 conference record. Their defense, which was so poor early in league play, has improved, but they still ask for too much from Deonta Vaughn so as he goes, all too often, so do the Bearcats.

St. John’s continues to struggle with injuries that had already took down their best player (Anthony Mason Jr.) for the year back in November and now starting point guard, Malik Boothe, and emerging bench contributor, Rob Thomas, have been sidelined. Justin Burrell is back playing, but has not been the same since fracturing bones in his face and having to wear a protective mask.

While the UC defense has been suspect, the St. John’s offense has been more suspect. While the ‘Storm will defend, this is likely to be a close, low scoring game, and with Vaughn, Mike Williams and Yancy Gates, UC has more offensive potential and, although the Redstorm is the 1-point favorite, look for the Bearcats to get the much-needed win.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Cincinnati 62
St. John’s 58

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEWS: ST. JOHN'S VISITS 'NOVA

January 18, 2009



Villanova (1-2) looks to climb back to .500 in Big East play on Sunday afternoon when they welcome St. John’s to the City of Brotherly Love for a big East match-up. The Redstorm are 1-3 in Big East play so far this year.

With much of the city of Philadelphia fixated on the NFL Odds of the Eagles reaching the Super Bowl later this afternoon, there is a little hoops appetizer to start their sports day.

Villanova will look to shake off the rust of not playing in eight days, when they lost to Louisville 61-60 at home. The Wildcats made a late run to take the lead, but a Terrence Williams basket with seven seconds put UL up by one. In the final seconds, ‘Nova missed two free throws and a couple point blank shots and ended up with a disappointing loss.

St. John’s played both Pittsburgh and Connecticut tough for about a half this past week, but ended up falling to both as they just did not have enough depth to compete the full forty minutes. Still, Jay Wright understands that Norm Roberts’ team will come after the Wildcats on the defensive side of the ball.

“I love their team’s toughness,” Wright said this week during the coach’s conference call. “They have four guys in double figures. They’re very well balanced. They play great team defense. I love their team defense.”

Against the Panthers, DJ Kennedy scored 18 points. It was Kenendy who was the catalyst for SJU’s upset win over Notre Dame earlier this season. Against UConn, Paris Horne scored 24, however, they will need to fin more than just one guy stepping up, they need a team effort, like they got against ND.

Injuries are also a problem for the Redstorm. They already lost Anthony Mason Jr for the season to injury and will likely be without starting point guard Malik Boothe once again. Justin Burrell has been playing with a mask after breaking facial bones in practice back in December, he has not seemed to be at his best since the injury. Adding to the injury list is Rob Thomas, the redshirt sophomore who has a long history of injury problems (among others) that have kept him off the floor. Thomas pulled a groin and did not play in the second half versus UConn on Thursday.

Villanova’s leading scorer this year is Dante Cunningham, who is averaging over 17 points and nearly 8 rebounds a game. Junior Scottie Reynolds is still capable of carrying the offensive load, too. For evidence of that, you need not look much further than his 40-point outburst in an OT win at Seton Hall which accounted for the Wildcats’ lone conference win to this point.

Look for Villanova to extend the defensive pressure in the half court to make it difficult for SJU to run their offense with freshman Quincy Roberts handling the point guard duties with Boothe out. This is where VU is at their best and should lead them to victory as 14 ½ point favorites.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the web:

St. John’s Sees Light After Brutal Stretch (NY Times)

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Villanova 70
St. John’s 60

SJU RENEWS UCONN RIVALRY TONIGHT

by Zach Smart


St. John's, a program that has dwindled, significantly, should be ready to go tonight. The Johnnies pulled off a heart-racing, hard-to-believe 71-65 upset of St. John's to open the New Year on a high note. The inevitable ecstasy would turn to agony, however, as the Johnnies were drubbed by the nation's top-ranked team in Pittsburgh.

Against the Panthers in the first half, some lingering effects of the Notre Dame upset were evident. The Johnnies played neck-and-neck with the Panthers, seizing a three-point lead following D.J. Kennedy's baseline jumper with 5:36 remaining.

The Panthers were suddenly in the midst of a first have dogfight.

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With the game log-jammed at 29, DeJuan Blair's putback of Gilbert Brown's missed free throw broke the tie. It was a veritable microcosm of the game, Blair fighting for position and ripping down boards with reckless regard for his opponent.

Blair, the homegrown Pitt product and high school teammate of St. John's DJ Kennedy, scored 23 points and ripped down 15 boards.

With under two minutes remaining in the half, Sam Young slammed on the breaks in transition, lofting the ball high in the air. Floating somewhere between the arena ceiling and the hardwood, the freakish Gilbert Brown jammed home the alley to give Pitt a 41-36 halftime edge.

The Panthers broke the game open in the second half, ripping off a momentum-rolling 16-6 lead that gave them a 64-48 lead by the half's midway mark.

So, the tri-state area rivalry renews itself tonight at 7 PM at MSG.

No.4 UConn (14-1, 3-1 Big East) is no Pitt, but they're front-loaded with super-sized bigs that could clog up the key and keep the Johnnies from attacking the cup.

Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 beanstalk, loves to influence, alter, manipulate, and change the trajectory of shots by guards and forwards audacious enough to take the ball to the rack on him.

Thabeet, a junior and surefire NBA lottery pick, hasn't been the presence he was last year. He had only two blocked shots against Cincinnati and looked lost and listless against Georgetown. The Huskies have won three consecutive games since then and will look to conclude the road swing with a victory that will help them in the conference race. The Huskies are currently tied for fifth place with Providence, who scored two Big East wins over downtrodden programs.

It should be an intriguing homecoming for Kemba Walker, the point guard who played at New York City power Rice High school last year. Walker is familiar with Madison Square Garden, aka "The Mecca," having played there in AAU tournaments and various high school games with former UConn Husky Curtis Kelly. He knows as good as anyone that the Huskies will need to bring their 'A' game.

"We can't sleep on them," said Walker during an interview with the Hartford Courant.

"We have to go as hard as every other game. Coach told us that they always play us hard."

The rivalry has been one-sided these past 10 years. The Huskies have won seven straight since Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor and company suffered a loss in 2002.

Last year against the Johnnies, Jerome Dyson tied a program record with nine steals and A.J. Price scored 25 points as the Huskies rolled to an 81-65 route. Dyson's nine steals in a game tied Scottie Burrell. Burrel played for the Charlotte Hornets during the "Grandma Ma" Larry Johnson era and won a ring with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1998. He originally set the record in 1990 against Maine.

Dyson, who loves to play at the Garden and beat up on the on-the-bubble teams, should have his hands full this time around. Last year, around this time, Dyson was virtually nonexistent in the UConn Huskies system.

The Rockville, Md. native was arrested along with former Husky Doug Wiggins, for an alcohol-related incident in which a small amount of marijuana was found near the car. When Dyson failed a drug test following the incident, he was suspended for around a month.

The Huskies seemed to be better without their go-to scorer, winning five straight, with three of the wins coming against nationally-ranked opponents. Dyson, who entertained thoughts of eventually bolting for the NBA draft at the beginning of his sophomore season, was in a brief funk once he returned. Out of the groove he'd been in at the first half of the system, Dyson's stock plummeted before he returned to formidable form.

It was UConn's recruitment of the aforementioned Wiggins that renewed the rivalry with UConn off the court. Wiggins was committed to Norm Roberts before reneging on his commitment just weeks before the signing period when an opening appeared on the UConn roster. Wiggins de-committed verbally from the 'Storm and then signed with UConn the next month, touching off some verbal jousting from the SJU head coach towards the UConn staff and it had internet message boards buzzing.

Now, to make this rivalry complete, the Redstorm need to compete more on the court. Is tonight the night?

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: UCONN AT ST. JOHN'S

St. John’s will look for an instant replay tonight as they try and upset the second straight top-10 opponent to visit Madison Square Garden in two home games. Back on January 3rd the Redstorm stunned Notre Dame, 71-65, behind DJ Kennedy’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Tonight, Connecticut brings their lofty national ranking to the Garden and will look to leave with it intact.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Huskies Make Turn in Fine Form (Middletown Press)
Second Half of Season Starts Tonight (Norwich Bulletin)
Johnnies’ Rob Thomas Up to Huskie Task Tonight at Garden (NY Daily News)
Huskies Make the Turn (TheDay.com)
It’s Homecoming Day for Walker (TheDay.com)
Huskies Bracing for Back Nine (Connecticut Post)
UConn Plays St. John’s at the Garden (Courant)

UConn enters the contest with an overall record of 14-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Big East. The Huskies have rallied for three consecutive wins since opening conference play with a 74-63 home loss to Georgetown. This is the third and final leg of a three-game road swing for Jim Calhoun’s squad, coming up with a 61-55 win at West Virginia and an 81-72 win at Cincinnati.

In the victory at Cincinnati, AJ Price shook off the cobwebs from his perimeter game by pouring in 22 points and Jeff Adrien had another day at the office with a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double for the victors.

St. John’s hung with #1 Pittsburgh for the first half on Sunday afternoon in the Steel City before the Panthers overwhelmed SJU after intermission in a 90-67 loss for the ‘storm. SJU turned the ball over 24 times as they continue to miss point guard Malik Boothe.

As usual, expect a very large contingent of UConn fans to invade the Garden tonight, giving it a strong feeling of a game being played in Hartford, or even Storrs, when the two teams take the floor. The Huskies will also look to use their size and strength in the paint with 7’3 Hasheem Thabeet and Adrien to take away the scoring opportunities of SJU. Pressure from Price and freshman point guard Kemba Walker in pushing the pace of the game will also be a detriment to SJU who will be without a point guard. In the loss to Pitt, Quincy Roberts, a freshman filling in for Boothe, had just one assist against 8 turnovers.


The oddsmakers are listing the Huskies as 12 ½-point favorites, but that seems to be a road line, we feel UConn will feel much more at home than this line indicates and they should role and get their offense moving with some easy buckets and a stingy defense making things very hard on SJU. It will be quiet different than playing against Notre Dame…

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 78
St. John’s 63

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: ST. JOHN'S @ PITTSBURGH

January 11, 2009


The newly anointed #1 team in the country will play their first game EVER as the top dog in the country when the undefeated Pitt Panthers host the Redstorm of St. John’s on Sunday at the Peterson Events Center.

Pitt has been off a week and basking in the glow of being the country’s top rated team, according to the AP and the coaches poll. In their last outing they hammered Georgetown, 70-54, at the Verizon Center.

St. John’s has also been itching to get back on the floor as the Redstorm stunned Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden in their last outing. SJU is 1-1 in Big East play and rebounded from a 21-point conference opening loss to Providence with the win over the Irish.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the internet:

Panthers Repeat ‘Bye Week’ Routine (Post-Gazette)
Homecoming for former Schenley Star DJ Kennedy (Tribune-review)
Fields Unfazed by Ranking (FoxSports.com)
St. John’s Ready for Date With #1 Pittsburgh (NY Times)
Pitt Prepares for Life at the Top (Tribune Review)

The early college basketball betting lines have Pitt as a 19 ½-point favorite on Sunday. The Panther ripped SJU last season at Madison Square Garden despite a huge offensive outburst from Anthony Mason Jr. Mason is out for the season with a knee injury and point guard Malik Boothe is also out with injury. The Redstorm do not match up well with the Panthers and DeJuan Blair and Sam Young will be tough to handle inside for SJU.

Defensively, Pittsburgh is still very strong and Jermaine Dixon has quickly established a reputation of being another lock down defender for the Panthers. In addition, Pitt can bring Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown off the bench as well, both with potential to be elite defenders in the Pitt mold. The key to some of Pitt’s recent success is the upgraded offensive production from the pair as they both average 10 PPG in the two Big East contests to date played by the Panthers.

SJU got a career game from DJ Kennedy, who had 20 pts and 10 rebounds in the win over Notre Dame last week. Kennedy was a high school teammate of DeJuan Blair, so it is a homecoming for the 6’7 G/F. Kennedy could be pressing a little trying to show the hometown crowd what he has while going up against the No. 1 team in the country that he is so familiar with.

If there ever was a game to get used to being No. 1 in the Big East, this is likely the one for Pitt. They should have a very lively crowd ready to welcome the #1 Panthers as they have not played at the Peterson Events Center in 25 days (3-0 on the road since their 12/17/08 win over Siena). This is a game they should win comfortably, although the oddsmakers seem to have put a rather large number on this one for two teams more than willing to play a slower pace.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Pittsburgh 76
St. John’s 58

HUGE PITT STOP FOR ST. JOHN'S

By Zach Smart

Norm Roberts finally took the first major stride in bringing basketball back to New York City Saturday, as the Johnnies delivered an improbable 71-65 victory over Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. For years, Roberts has been trying to revive an ailing program, one that abruptly dipped under the bridge following Mike Jarvis’ disastrous stay as head coach.

While Roberts’ team has been the walking wounded, an injury-plagued team that bares more resemblance to “The Infamous Infirmary” than a Big East team entertaining NCAA tournament thoughts, their win against Notre Dame could be a major steppingstone.

They withstood a 28-point performance from Luke Harangody and went on to win, behind 20 points from D.J. Kennedy.

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Pretty wild when you think about the fact that St. John’s beat Notre Dame who defeated Georgetown who defeated previously no.2-ranked Uconn. If you think that’s odder than Woody Harrelson’s penchant for earthly products (word around the campfire has it this guy even wears footwear made out of hemp), think about the NCAA as a whole.

During a normal stretch in the NCAA regular season, Boston College stuns previously top-ranked North Carolina in a major upset, and then falls to Harvard. That’s crazier than a nut-house rat.

Roberts and St. John’s hopefully won’t be riding a major high from last week. Their ecstasy can soon turn into agony as they head to Pittsburgh for a 12:00 PM date with the country’s top-ranked program.

Pittsburgh has molded their own version of earth, wind, and fire in inside presence DeJuan Blair (14.2 PPG, 12.5 RPG), scoring threat Sam Young (19.5 ppg) and battle tested, veteran point guard Levance Fields (6.5 APG).

It should be an interesting homecoming for the aforementioned Kennedy, a Pittsburgh native who’s shown he can score in clusters this season. Kennedy, a versatile 6-foot-5 sophomore, has been averaging 13 points to go with 7.3 boards.

His scoring, however, has been more than inconsistent. He’s the kid who lit up Long Island for 23 but managed just two points in a 70-56 loss to Miami. He scored 16 points against Eastern Michigan but dropped just 7 in a 2-for-10 showing in a loss to Providence.

So, for a team that’s still searching for their identity after a season-ending injury to former go-to-guy Anthony Mason Jr., Kennedy needs to take it upon himself to lead. Norm Roberts likes his toughness and his all-around game, but both Kennedy and sophomore Paris Horne (13 ppg, 45 percent FG) need to bring their full offensive repertoire every night. The games against Bethune-Cookman, NJIT, and St. Francis N.Y. are no more.

One familiar face that Kennedy will be reunited with on Saturday is Blair, another homegrown Pittsburgh product. Blair grew up roughly 600 yards from the Peterson Events Center at the Pittsburgh Hill District.

Fitting, because it took Blair roughly 600 yards to skyrocket to Big East school stardom.

Freshman year was a sprint and not a marathon for Blair, who was a Consensus Freshman All-America selection after averaging 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.

-Young has become one of the premier scorers in the Big East. If he really erupts one of these games, he will pass Carl Krauser for the most points scored in a game at the Peterson Events Center. Krauser gave Syracuse a 32-spot back during the 2005-06 campaign. He scored 33 in a 14-point win over Belmont back on Nov. 25.

-Beyond Young and company, Pittsburgh has oceanic depth with veterans Tyrell Biggs, Gilbert Brown and Jermaine Dixon, the younger brother of NBA player and former Maryland star Juan Dixon.

-Boxing out Blair, who had an eye-popping 17 boards during the Panthers’ victory over Georgetown, will be quite the daunting task. The Johnnies don’t exactly have the personnel to contain him. Sean Evans, however, has shown flashes of excellence (19 points and 13 boards against Marist), and will be put to the test Saturday.

-It’s too bad Malik Boothe is still hurt. One of the game’s intriguing subplots would be the point guard matchup. Levance Fields and Malik Boothe are both New York players that bring that New York savvy, though Fields has had a much more prosperous college career. Both players employ a pass-first, dish-before-swish mentality though Fields has never been afraid to launch the big shot.

ST. JOHN'S UPSETS NOTRE DAME IN THE GARDEN

January 3, 2009


by Ray Floriani


NEW YORK CITY - Make no mistake, St. John’s 71-65 victory over tenth ranked Notre Dame was decided on the Madison Square Garden floor. The seeds of this victory though, were sown in the film room, coach’s offices and meeting areas on the St. John’s campus in Queens.

* One of the first things St. John’s coach Norm Roberts did following a twenty one point Near Year’s Eve loss at Providence was to call a team meeting. Roberts simply stressed that his tem had ‘to lay it all on the line’. something they did not do at Providence. Roberts also addressed each individual to remind them of their specific role.

* In studying Notre Dame tapes, Roberts and his staff noted that Luke Harangody, the Irish low post threat, is a prolific passer out of a defensive double team. “We decided to play Harangody one on one ,” Roberts said. “We didn’t want to double him and give up wide open looks on the perimeter and let them shoot threes.”

During the contest St. John’s showed great resiliency. They had the ball and a chance to make it a two possession game with seconds left in the first half. A turnover answered by a Harangody lay in at the buzzer cut the lead to one at the break.

In the second half St. John’s built a seven point lead with just under ten minutes to play. Notre Dame responded with a 7-0 run. The Red Storm, never surrendered the lead, dug in and regrouped. In the stretch St. John’s made the plays to seal the verdict.

“Today we got a great win over one of the best teams in the country,” said D.J. Kennedy of St. John’s “It was a 40 minute effort and everyone contributed.” A 6-6 sophomore forward Kennedy led the way with 20 points 10 boards. St. John’s had four players in double figures. Other Storm notables were…

* Justin Burrell with 18 points and some tough defense on Harangody to make him earn everything he got.

* Paris Horne, a 14 point scorer who defended exceptionally well on the perimeter forcing ND’s Kyle McAlarney into a 10 point (4 of 12 night).

* Rob Thomas with 10 points 5 rebounds off the bench.

Harangody did some damage leading the way with 28 points on 12 of 24 shooting. No one else could step up for Mike Brey’s club as the Irish shot 4 of 17 from three. “Give their defense a lot of credit,” Brey said. ’They were aware of hugging (locating) our shooters.”

St. John’s played mostly man to man but Roberts did a nice job of occasionally throwing in a zone or 2-2-1 pressure for a few possessions to keep the Irish off balance.

Attendance was 9,807, a good percentage ND fans. Legendary coach Lou Carnesecca visited the Storm locker room following the game. ND is 10-3 and St. John’s is 10-4. Both are 1-1 in the Big East.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: NOTRE DAME @ ST. JOHN'S

January 3, 2009

Notre Dame heads to Madison Square Garden to met St. John’s on Saturday afternoon. The Irish, despite two losses in their pre-conference schedule, have remained in the top 10 and are currently ranked #7 in the country.

The Irish opened Big East play with a 92-82 win at DePaul and will look to start off with back-to-back road wins ahead of Monday’s date with Georgetown at the Joyce Center. In their win over the Blue Demons, old reliable Luke Harangody dominated the paint with 26 points and 16 rebounds and senior Zach Hillesland added a career-best 17 points in the win.

St. John’s started fast on New Year’s Eve sprinting out to an 11-0 led on Providence in Rhode Island. However, the Redstorm turned into a pumpkin well before midnight as PC stormed back to bury SJU 75-54.

Sean Evans led SJU in their conference opener with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Redstorm was without point guard Malik Boothe, out with an injury, and Justin Burrell has not found his comfort zone since returning to action wearing a mask due to facial fractures suffered earlier this season. SJU is already without Anthony Mason Jr, their leading scorer from a year ago, who will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury suffered in the season’s second game.

Here are some of the pregame stories and previews found on the web:

Cool Hands Carried Irish (South Bend Tribune)


Native New Yorker Kyle McAlarney returns home for the contest and look for the outside half of the dangerous inside/outside duo of McAlarney and Harangody to have a big game. Once K-Mac hits a few shots to loosen the defense, Harangody will go to work inside and SJU has few answers for the Irish offense that can rack up the points.

The latest college basketball odds have the Irish as a 9 1/2-point road favorite. We would like to see St. John’s prove they can keep up with an offense as potent as the one they will see on Saturday.


Prediction:

Notre Dame 75
St. John’s 63

ST. JOHN'S BLOWS EARLY LEAD IN BIG EAST OPENER

11-0 run to start game wasted in blowout loss to PC


By Zach Smart

Providence— Norm Roberts knows they are no “easy outs” this season.

Those games were taken care of before Big East play kicked off. The Johnnies got off to their best start since the 1994-95 season by scoring victories in guarantee games against a groundbreaking bad NJIT and other smurf-size programs.

So, heading into the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence Friday night, he knew his team would need to be at full force. With point guard Malik Boothe, go-to-guy Anthony Mason Jr. sidelined with injuries, and freakishly athletic forward Justin Burrell fresh off a nagging injury, the Johnnies were nothing short of...well...shorthanded.

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The absence of these three vital cogs, along with an ineffective five minutes from the ever-soft 6-foot-11, 265-pound Center Tomas Jasiulonis (scoreless with one board as he continues to be on a short chain in Roberts' system this season) presented a gap wider than the Sargasso Sea.

Randall Hanke turned in his best performance of the season, and the Friars' mauled the Johnnies to the beat of 75-54.

It was as much as the Friar fans, who braved the snow and arctic, jam-packed highway roads to get the game, could have asked of their senior center. Providence, which improves to 9-4, had been waiting for a breakout game of that type from Hanke.

NBE predicted the Friars would stamp a 73-63 victory. Hanke's performance, however, ran parallel with the Friars' dismantling of the Johnnies, who hope to revive an ailing program this season.

Hanke scored a season-high 17 points in just 18 minutes, hitting his shots at a 7-for-10 clip.

The towering 7-foot Center scored with ease, getting his first two point on a layup off a deft feed from Jeff Xavier.

Hanke added a pair of free throws and then connected on a jumper, followed by a quick lay-in. The back-to-back buckets helped keep the momentum rolling as Providence, which withstood an early 11-0 Red Storm run, held a 33-25 edge at the intermission.

The Friars upped the lead to 40-27 early in the second, reeling off a swift 6-0 run following a Paris Horne bucket. The head-spinning run prompted Roberts to call for a 30-second timeout.

The lead ballooned to 65-47 after a 7-0 run.

The spurt featured five points from Hanke and culminated with a trifecta from Weyinmi Efejuku (thank God I wasn’t announcing this game).

The snowstorm outside the gym, one which left more empty seats than a box office snooze-show (the summer flick “College” was terrible by the way, almost as bad as “Eurotrip”), ran parallel to the perfect storm inside the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

With Marshon Brooks (15 points) scoring nine points and helped facilitate a titanic 29-8 run.

The run left Roberts irate and gave the Friars a 29-19 lead that they wouldn’t squander.

Sheraud Curry, who scored 16 points and had eight dimes, was exceptional. He was a major part of every spurt and gave an efficient account of himself.

Geoff McDermott, who hands out assists like a fraternity house hands out cups of jungle juice, snared nine boards and Jonathan Kale chipped in with 10 points.

The lack of a bench and abysmal life from beyond the arc (2-for-17) hurt St. John’s, which was led by Sean Evans and Paris Horne.

Both players paced the Johnnies with 16 points apiece.