Notre Dame Basketball Appears Headed to Another NIT Berth

With leading scorer Luke Harangody dressed in street clothes nursing a deep bone bruise Sunday night, Notre Dame had to rely on its supporting cast to step into a leading role against St. John's. Coming into the game at 6-6 in the Big East, the Fighting Irish desperately needed a win to keep any hopes of an NCAA tournament bid alive. For a struggling St. John's team, a win would elevate their position in the Big East standings, potentially resulting in a higher seed in the Big East Tournament, likely the only post-season the Red Storm will see this season.

Stepping up for the Irish offensively were junior power forward Tyrone Nash and redshirt sophomore wingman Tim Abromaitis. Nash, often overshadowed by Harangody, played an aggressive game in the paint but struggled with his touch shots. Nash's 16 points were second on the team to Abromaitis's 24 points, including four three-pointers. His last three-pointer put the Irish ahead with a minute-and-a-half to go in the game, and sent coach Mike Brey galloping up the sideline with his fists swinging wildly.

Shooting was not a problem for either team in the game. Whether the teams were shooting the lights out or if a lack of defense was to blame could be debated, but the teams combined to shoot 51.4 percent from behind the three-point arc, which comprised of nearly 40 percent of the shots taken in the game. As the old saying goes, however, teams that live by the three, die by the three.

With time running out on the game clock and St. John's trailing by one point, junior guard D.J. Kennedy made a quick crossover move into the paint and drew a foul with 12 seconds to play. After making both free throws, the Red Storm led 69-68 as the Irish inbounded the ball. In a surprising decision by senior point guard Tory Jackson, Jackson lofted a three-point attempt amid pressure from St. John's and missed badly. The loose ball was batted around and eventually wound up back in Jackson's hands for another errant attempt at the buzzer, which failed to catch any rim.

Earlier in the week, Notre Dame lost at the buzzer to Seton Hall and once again had two three-point opportunities at the end of the game. Although Jackson's attempts were defended, unlike the attempts against Seton Hall, the end result was the same.

After dropping to 6-7 in the Big East, and potentially being without Harangody for Wednesday's game against Louisville, the chances of Notre Dame making the NCAA tournament continue to grow slimmer. All season, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey has remained adamant that a 9-9 finish in Big East play would be deserving of an NCAA tournament berth. If Brey and the Irish want to test that prediction, they will have to find a way to win three of their final five games against Louisville, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut and Marquette. If they can't, it will be another disappointing season, which will send the Irish to the NIT for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

Sources:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300460087