Even freshman Russell Carter got into the act. With 1 minute 57 seconds remaining in the game, the little-used reserve moved to the right corner, took a pass and fired. The swish of his three-pointer put the Irish ahead by 27 points and added insult to an already injured St. John’s team.
Against a team whose season has been capsized by suspensions, dismissals and accusations of wrongdoing that include racism and improper payments to athletes, the Irish (16-11, 9-7 Big East) soared Saturday, pushing the Red Storm (6-21, 1-15) firmly to the bottom of the Big East barrel with an 89-62 win at Madison Square Garden.
Crowded out of the lane by the Red Storm zone, Notre Dame stepped out in style, connecting on a team-record 17 three-pointers in 37 attempts. Left for dead by NCAA tournament prognosticators a few weeks ago, the Irish entered a new piece of evidence in their argument for postseason consideration.
“Our 9-7 [conference record] is a lot different from anybody else’s 9-7,” Irish coach Mike Brey said, referring to victories over Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Syracuse.
Going into the Big East tournament, which tips off here Wednesday, the Irish probably need at least two victories to assure themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament.
“Seventeen wins and we will be thoroughly discussed next weekend [by the selection committee],” Brey said. “Eighteen wins, done deal. I’d just be shocked [if we didn’t make it].”
After a slow conference start, the Irish are enjoying a renaissance. Playing without starting forward Torin Francis for the last seven games, Notre Dame has gone 5-2.
Rick Cornett, who has seen his playing time soar since Francis went out for the season with a bad back, had a career-high nine rebounds in just 12 minutes Saturday.
“I don’t mean this in a bad way, but Rick’s eyes lit up when Torin went down,” Irish point guard Chris Thomas said. “It was a great opportunity and he has taken advantage of it.”
Freshman Colin Falls also delivered again, scoring 11 points. Torrian Jones and Tom Timmermans matched that and Jordan Cornette scored 12.
Thomas led the Irish, matching St. John’s guard Daryll Hill with a game-high 25 points.
Brey said Saturday’s game was the perfect warmup for the Big East tournament.
“We played well on this floor,” Brey said. ” Hopefully we can do it again Wednesday.”
