LOUISVILLE, Ky. — From boys to men, to men to boys.
It was just this Sunday that Notre Dame coach Mike Brey lauded the testosterone level of the 2010-11 St. John’s team. They are men he declared after an 18-point loss.
Yes, the Johnnies were big, bad hombres on Sunday. But last night they were little, soft chicos.
They wilted in the face of short-handed Louisville’s relentless pressure, turning over the ball a season-high 25 times in an 88-63 loss in the KFC Yum! Center.
It was their worst loss of the season and their worst Big East loss since a 74-45 blowout to Marquette in the 2009 Big East Conference Tournament.
“This is how West Virginia felt when we took them to the woodshed on their homecourt,” said St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, referring to the league-opening road win over the Mountaineers.
“This is how Notre Dame felt after we took them to the woodshed,” he said. “This was a woodshed moment for us.”
The loss might prove even more costly for the Johnnies (11-6, 4-3 Big East). Senior guard Dwight Hardy, the team’s leading scorer, suffered a high, right ankle sprain in the second half and will be evaluated today.
Hardy (seven points on 2-of-7 shooting, zero assists and two turnovers), in his first big test in his new role as point guard, was just as guilty as every other St. John’s ballhandler. Lavin, sensing early that the Red Storm was flustered by Louisville’s pressure, called a timeout just two minutes into the game.
The score was tied 13-13 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half when Louisville (15-3, 4-1) — coming off a thrilling 18-point rally in the final 5:44 to stun Marquette, 71-70, on Saturday in a game dubbed the Miracle on Main Street — began the Massacre on Main.
“The other night was a tremendous victory,” said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. “Tonight was a complete shock.”
The Cards, playing without center Terrence Jennings (hip), made St. John’s look like boys during a 27-6 run that swelled Louisville’s lead to 40-19.
Senior D.J. Kennedy was stripped of the ball and compounded the error by being called for goaltending.
Freshman Dwayne Polee Jr. tossed an inbounds pass off the side of the backboard.
Senior Malik Boothe, under no duress, dribbled a ball off his foot.
“The pressure rattled us,” said Kennedy. “We haven’t been rattled all year.”
A team that plays nine seniors isn’t supposed to get rattled. It’s why Pitino voted the Red Storm No. 1 in the league’s preseason poll.
“I wasn’t just blowing smoke,” said Pitino. “If you have 10 seniors, it gives you a lot of experience. They’re very talented. The third thing is they’re very hungry to make the tournament. I told them as I was going down the line that you guys can make the tournament.”
Not if they play as they did last night. Senior Justin Burrell summed it up best.
“They tattooed us,” he said.
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Pitino was coaching in his 800th college game. He is 587-213 all time . . . The Cardinals shot 70 percent (7 of 10) on 3’s in the first half and 13 of 26 for the game.