Armageddon in the Garden

Swagger.

That's what the Hoyas need to come into the Garden with tonight and make quick work of what should be an overmatched Red Storm. St. John's, coming off its most convincing win of the season against the horrible DePaul Blue Demons, hasn't beaten anyone in the RPI top 40 and doesn't start anyone taller than 6'8". But that doesn't mean the Johnnies are going to roll over and die. It may sound silly, but St. John's actually has something to play for, as wins in the next two will make the Johnnies eligible for the NIT.

The keys to this game are simple: 1) pound the ball inside and run the offense through Greg Monroe (see Nova game, 1st half) and 2) lock down Johnnie's leading scorer Paris Horne. That's it. Oh, and HOLD ONTO THE DAMN BALL AND STOP KICKING IT OUT OF BOUNDS.

The danger, as always on the road against an underdog squad is that if the Hoyas get off to a slow start, the crowd gets into it, and St. John's starts to think it has a chance to win. This is what happened to Notre Dame earlier this season, a loss which doomed its chances of making the Tournament. A similar loss for the Hoyas will do the same for ours. Last year's game was the best possible scenario for Georgetown (and the seemingly thousands of Hoyas who infiltrated MSG), as the Hoyas rushed to an early lead and never looked back in a 32 point win.

The Garden has consistently been friendly to the Hoyas, but I always remain wary of what can happen when the ball starts bouncing the other way. This feeling of impending doom is in no small part related to one of the most horrible Georgetown games I have ever attended, a loss to a St. John's team that started a bunch of walk-ons and a pigeon-toed center who could barely move. That game led to this, which I would like to think saved the program and brought us to where we are today.

Any Dance scenario requires the Hoyas to win tonight.

If they don't I may kill myself.

Casually.