BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ St. John's

January 23, 2007


Notre Dame hits the road tonight and heads East to New York City to face the St. John's Redstorm. The Redstorm were nearly left for dead last week, but their stirring upset victory over Syracuse has re-energized Norm Roberts' team. They have won two games in the conference, both at Madison Square Garden, and will look to make it #3 tonight. Notre Dame is 4-2 in the conference this year, good enough to be in a tie for 2nd place with Marquette, Syracuse and Louisville, but they have yet to win a game on the road in the conference, losing so far to Georgetown and Villanova in games they fell behind early and lost by at least 15 points each.


Irish Need Fast Start in NYC (South Bend Tribune)
Things Bouncing SJU's Way (NY Daily News)
Storm Wary of a Letdown (NY Post)
Irish Seek Comfort on Enemy Turf (Chicago Tribune)

Both teams will look to get out of the gate fast. Notre Dame will look to avoid digging an early hole, like they did against both Villanova and Georgetown, and St. John's will look to build more confidence by getting off to a quick start, like they did against Syracuse on Sunday, racing to a 13-2 lead out of the gate.

The Redstorm has been quite an enigma this year. Expected to show overall improvement, the St. John's offense has been downright offensive at times. They score very little in the paint and their perimeter shooting continues to me more cold than hot. Avery Patterson was supposed to give them a lift from the perimeter, but he has struggled shooting the ball at just 31% in Big East play (19-61) from the floor and 33% from beyond the arc (13-39) which most of the production coming against DePaul (5-9 from 3-pt range) and in a key 7-pt burst in 30 seconds late in their win over Syracuse. The Redstorm will need him to hit from the outside as it gives more room to their gang of slashers to attack the basket. Anthony Mason and Eugene Lawrence can also connect from long range, but it is not really their strength. Inside, they will need Lamont Hamilton to put pressure on the Notre Dame frontline with his ability to score and Aaron Spears needs to give them good minutes against Luke Harangody inside.

St. John's s not always very pretty on the offensive end, but they can play defense and tend to work very hard on that end of the floor. The young point guard tandem for the Irish, Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples, will have to take care of the ball against the physical Lawrence and ultra-quick Larry Wright and Daryll Hill (not the threat he used to be). On the wings Russell Carter will attack the basket and keep you honest while knocking in shots from deep and Colin Falls is still there to be accounted for because of his 3-pt marksmenship. Inside is where I see the biggest advantage for the Irish as Rob Kurz and Harangody will always give a consistent and smart effort in the post. Kurz is an excellent passer and rebounder who can step away and make you pay. The Irish can also come with Luke Zeller and Zack Hillesland to shake it up.

The Irish have gotten use to playing without sophomore Kyle McAlarney, a NY Native, but th enews that he has been expelled from Notre Dame ends any hope of him returning this season. Not sure if the final decision will cause any distraction to the team.

The Irish are a 5-pt favorite according to the oddsmakers. I think St. John's brings another solid effort, but in the end, too much shooting from Falls and inside play will get the Irish over the hump for their first conference road win, but it will not be easy!

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 65 St. John's 62