Game #107. It’s been a mere week since they last played, but we’re back in MSG for another edition of this one.
#11 Notre Dame and St. John’s square off for the second time in eight days as Coach Mike Brey brings his Fighting Irish to Madison Square Garden in New York City for a noon tipoff Sunday. Winning the first game 76-61 in South Bend, IN, last Saturday, Notre Dame looked to the scoring trio of Ben Hansbrough, Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin to jump on the Johnnies early and never let Steve Lavin’s squad into the game. Notre Dame is a notoriously poor road team, however, and so far this season they are playing down to their reputation, going 0-2 in conference road games (at Syracuse and at Marquette), and 0-3 when counting the semi-away game at Kentucky, the only other game played in a hostile environment this season. A winning road record is, for Notre Dame, a prerequisite if the Irish are going to make a serious run at the conference elites this season. After an unexpectedly hot 3-0 start that included two road wins, St. John’s has hit an 0-2 (at Notre Dame, vs. Syracuse) stretch in their conference schedule. After an up-and-down run through their non-conference slate, many were lowering their expectations for the Red Storm season. Justin Brownlee and Dwight Hardy have blended with the Storm’s veteran nucleus of DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne and Justin Burrell to bounce back for the opening sequence in the conference. Can the Johnnies engineer another turnaround? Join RTC Live at Madison Square Garden Sunday January 16 at noon when St. John’s hosts Notre Dame in this crucial Big East game.