Hardy boys Storm past Golden Eagles

This one ought to do it.

All St. John's needs after Tuesday night's 80-68 Big East road win over Marquette in Milwaukee is to not stumble badly and the Red Storm should go back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.

The Johnnies (16-9, 8-5) spoiled the Golden Eagles' tribute to former coach Al McGuire by powering past them in the final 10 minutes for their fourth conference road win, fifth victory in six games and first win over Marquette in 11 games dating to 1966.

St. John's had rallied from a seven-point deficit and held a one-point lead when Justin Brownlee and Malik Boothe led the Johnnies on a 9-0 run to start a 17-5 spurt that gave them the upper hand at 70-57 with 4:41 to play.

Of those nine points, D.J. Kennedy had six and Dwight Hardy three. In that span, Brownlee had two assists and Boothe recorded two of his three steals, leading to all the points. Hardy finished with a game-high 28 points to pace four Johnnies in double figures.

Now St. John's needs to keep playing inspired ball - in other words, not screw things up - and it should seal the deal.

The Johnnies have five conference games left in the regular season, including home games against DePaul (6-18) and South Florida (8-18) and a road date with Seton Hall (11-15). If they win those, even if they lose at home to No. 4 Pittsburgh (23-2) and at No. 15 Villanova (20-6), they will be 19-11 and 11-7 in the Big East going into the conference tournament.

The Big East should get eight-to-10 teams into the 68-team NCAA draw. The Storm really can't be rated behind Cincinnati or Marquette, whom the Johnnies just beat on this two-game trip. It doesn't matter that Marquette (15-11, 6-7) could finish with an equal or better record, with a soft closing schedule that includes two games with Seton Hall, one with Providence (14-11) and one with No. 13 UConn.

"I am really proud of our kids to be able to win two games in a three-day stretch. In the Big East it is very difficult to do," coach Steve Lavin said. "We talked about it simulating NCAA Tournament conditions. The quick turnaround time and having to play two high-quality opponents like Cincinnati and Marquette gives you the opportunity to rehearse for NCAA Tournament conditions."

"I thought our players put together two consecutive games - now five out of six - where there was a sustained level of effort and degree of execution that was impressive."

St. John's has a top 20 RPI ranking, the second-best strength of schedule in the country and four wins over teams that were ranked 13th or higher nationally. But if the Johnnies suffer an upset or two and then lose their first conference tournament game, things could get precarious. If they have 13 or 14 losses, it might be tough to earn an invitation. Since 1985, there have been just five 14-loss at-large teams and 14 at-large teams with 13 losses.