March 14, 2011
It’s on!
For the first time in nearly 10 years, St. John’s is going to the
Big Dance, earning a No. 6 Seed in the Southeast Region of the
2011 NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm (21-11) will play the
11th-seeded Gonzaga University Bulldogs (24-9) at 9:45 p.m. on
Thursday, March 17, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.
A double-dose of Red Storm Fever is sweeping the St. John’s campus.
For the second straight season, the
women’s basketball team has earned an At-Large bid to the NCAA
Tournament. The team, a No. 9 seed in the Spokane region, will face
the Red Raiders of Texas Tech at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, March 19,
in Stanford, California. The game will be broadcast live on
ESPN2.
“We’re all excited to have the opportunity to play in the NCAA
Tournament,” said
Kim Barnes-Arico, Head Coach of the women’s team. “It’s the
greatest tournament in America, and we feel privileged to be among
the top teams in country.”
The men’s
team learned of their own selection at dinner on Sunday night.
“This was a special day for our players,” Head Coach
Steve Lavin said. “To be able to watch up close the experience
that our team has had on its journey to the upcoming NCAA
Tournament is something I’ll never forget.”
The 11th BIG
EAST team chosen for the tournament — 11 teams are an NCAA
record for a single conference — the team won 10 of their last 13
games, including wins against six Top 25 teams, four in the Top 10.
This will be the Red Storm’s 27th appearance in the NCAS
Tournament. Only 17 Division 1 schools have had more NCAA tourney
appearances than St. John’s.
In February, Coach Lavin appeared
on “Jim Rome is Burning,” ESPN’s popular half-hour of sports
discussion and opinion.
Learning of the selection “was one of the best feelings of my
life,” senior guard
Dwight Hardy told the NY Post. Hardy, who was named BIG EAST
Player of the Week a league-leading three times, received more good
news when he learned yesterday that his is a Finalist for the 2011 Wooden Award,
one of college basketball’s top honors.
The winner of Thursday’s game will face No. 3 Brigham Young
University (Mountain West Conference) or No. 14 Wofford (Southern
Conference).
With winners in the classroom as well as the playing courts and
fields, St. John’s 16 Division I, BIG EAST men’s and women’s
athletic teams reflect
St. John’s 141-year tradition
of excellence as a Catholic,
Vincentian university that prepares students for leadership in
their professions, communities and world.
(Read the
full story.)