Preview: Notre Dame vs. St. John’s

5th Mar 2008

Rob Kurz is set to play his last game in the Joyce Center tonight at 7:30 against St. John’s. He is a captain and the only senior on this young Fighting Irish team and has played well in his four years for Mike Brey. Rob is coming off one of his biggest games in which he scored 21 points in the win over DePaul and will look to keep his team undefeated this season at home. A win tonight would be the second season in a row that the Irish won every game in the JACC, extending the winning streak to 37 games. The Red Storm come into South Bend battling for the final Big East tournament spot with their 11-17 (5-11) record. They are tied with Providence and DePaul and desperately need a win but the 22-6 (12-4) Irish are not going to let that happen. They clinched a bye in the conference tournament with their win over DePaul and are now just trying to get the best seed possible.

St. John’s is coming off a thrilling victory over Seton Hall and hope to upset the Irish at home. They only have two players who average more than 10 points per game and one of them is a freshman. Anthony Mason Jr. is the leading scorer as a 6′7″ junior and averages 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Justin Burrell is the 6′8″ freshman out of the Bronx who averages 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. Burrell weighs approximately 20 pounds less than Harangody and will have a tough time guarding the soon-to-be Big East Player of the Year. Other contributors for the Red Storm are sophomore guard Larry Wright and senior guard Eugene Lawrence.

As a team in the Big East, St. John’s is dead last in scoring and rebounding, and second to last in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. So obviously they are not the greatest team if you base them on the numbers but they have some motivation coming into this game. They want to make the conference tournament and who wouldn’t want to upset the Irish at home. I’m sure the Red Storm will give tremendous effort the entire game but Notre Dame’s offense is just too much to handle.

Luke Harangody has been phenomenal all season and has put himself in great position to win the Big East Player of the Year. He is currently averaging a conference best 21.1 points as well as a second best 10.5 rebounds per game. Many are considering Luke in their top five for National Player of the Year but he most likely won’t win that with names like Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough also on the list. He should have another big game tonight against the Red Storm because of their lack of height and strength. I expect at least 25 points and 10 rebounds from Harangody this evening and I hope he can give Kurz some open looks when getting doubled.

Kyle McAlarney hasn’t shot as well from behind the arc since he hit 9 in the game against Syracuse. He is 4 of 16 from three in his last two games, only 25%. Hopefully he can pick his game up tonight and have another big showing in the final game in the JACC this season.

Tory Jackson hasn’t played as well either since he went on a four game hot streak including two double-doubles. It would be great to see him shoot some more but he always does when it’s needed. Tory has made some key shots that have completely swung the momentum towards the Irish. I would love to see another big game out of him before tournament time.

Mike Brey and company should capture the 37th win in a row at the Joyce Center tonight. I’m really hoping that Rob Kurz can have a big game for all that he has done in his four years for the Irish. The game will be on at 7:30 ET on ESPN regionally. If you can’t get it, check out ESPN360.com for a live stream if your ISP provides it. I’ll have a post-game article so check back and as always, Go Irish!

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