Until St. John’s takes the Garden court on Sunday against Notre Dame and we see how the Red Storm responds to last night’s 76-59 bludgeoning at the hands of Syracuse, one, and only one, positive came out of this latest Orange Crush.
Freshman Dwayne Polee II, the bridge between this senior class and Steve Lavin’s star-studded freshman class of 2011, has vowed not to forget the brutal beating his team suffered.
“I’m definitely going to remember this,” said Polee. “I’m to carry this chip on my shoulder until we beat them.”
For the record, this was Syracuse’s fifth straight win over St. John’s and the Orange’s 11th in 12 games. This was the difference between a Syracuse team ranked fourth in the nation and a St. John’s team that received four votes in the latest AP poll.
The triumph also gave Syracuse (17-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big East) its 1,800th win. St. John’s (10-5, 3-2) has 1,713 wins all-time.
This was once a fierce rivalry and the seniors, especially D.J. Kennedy and Dwight Hardy, spoke boldly about winning this battle between New York’s city and upstate Big East foes.
“It’s still a rivalry, it’s still a big game, but it’s like the Jets and the Patriots, you’ve got to win games,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The Post.
For the first eight minutes, it seemed as if St. John’s were going to rekindle the rivalry, as the Red Storm opened a 17-9 lead. And then Syracuse, which came out in T-shirts reading, “New York’s College Team” on the front and “Unfinished Business” on the back, closed the first half on a 26-7 run.
“It just so happened coincidentally that we were playing St. John’s at the Garden and we had those shirts,” Syracuse forward Kris Joseph said coyly. “I don’t know how it came about, but those were the shirts we wore today. It’s still Unfinished Business, but kind of just changed the front a little bit.”
St. John’s got 13 points from Justin Brownlee and 12 from Hardy, the only Red Storm player to make a 3 against Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone. The Johnnies were 2-of-12 from behind the arc.
Syracuse had four players in double figures, led by Joseph’s 18. Rick Jackson posted his 10th double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
The final 15 minutes was a Syracuse highlight film. Even walk-on Brandon Reese got into the act by converting a free throw.
“We never want to see someone kind of show us up in our own building,” said Polee.
Kennedy said the Johnnies were aware of all the yellow taxis that have Syracuse placards on the roof. The Red Storm can only hope the taxis aren’t painted orange today.
“That’s not an issue when you get on the court,” said Boeheim. “It’s not who wants to win, it’s who can win. Just because you have a reason to win doesn’t mean anything.”
That’s something else Polee should remember.