It took just 22 seconds for Notre Dame’s bid to get into the Big East Championship game for the first time in school history to go up in smoke.

Notre Dame came out strong in tonight’s 64-50 Big East semi-final loss to Louisville. After the two teams traded buckets for the first six minutes of the game the Irish went on a 7-0 run to take an early 15-9 lead. After sophomore point guard Eric Atkins scored on an easy layup after a Gorgui Dieng turnover Louisville head coach Rick Pitino called a timeout and lit into his team.

At that point Irish were playing with confidence, swagger, and were prepared to get redemption against the team that knocked them out of the tournament last season.   The only early blemish was three missed putbacks from junior Jack Cooley that prevented Notre Dame from building an even bigger lead.

Twenty-two seconds later and the entire look of the game changed. Twenty-two seconds later Notre Dame was essentially out of the game.

After the under twelve minute official timeout Pitino turned up the heat on Notre Dame. Dieng made a layup, the first two of his 16 points, and Louisville immediately went on the attack. Super-sub Russ Smith picked Martin in the backcourt and dished off to Kyle Kuric for an easy lay in. Pitino kept the pressure on and Smith again came away with a steal, this time ripping Jerian Grant in the backcourt before dishing the ball off to junior Peyton Siva for an easy deuce.

Irish head coach Mike Brey immediately called a timeout and tried to calm his team down but the damage had already been done. In just 22 seconds a 15-9 Irish lead was gone and the Irish would never lead again.

Dieng hit a jumper from behind the free throw line, stretching the limits of his range.   At that point the Notre Dame shooters went ice cold, failing to knock down a jumper the rest of the half. The Irish scored just four points during the final 12:44 of the half, all of which came from the free throw line.

While Notre Dame struggled to score points the Cardinal offense, a weak spot for Louisville all season, caught fire. Dieng scored six straight points as the Cardinals jumped to a 25-17 lead, forcing Brey to call another timeout. By this time the body language of the young Irish team had changed and Brey could not do anything to get his team out of its funk.

Louisville ended the half with a 20-4 run to put them up 35-19 at the break.

As is customary of Brey’s club, the Irish tried to fight back early in the second half. Notre Dame scored eight quick points out of the break to cut the Cardinal lead to 39-27, forcing Pitino to call a timeout.

When the Cardinal returned they went back to their sophomore big man, and Dieng responded brilliantly. He combined with Kyle Kuric to spark the Cardinals to a 14-2 run that eliminated any chance Notre Dame had at making it a game.

By the time Eric Atkins hit a jumper to end the run the Irish had fallen behind 53-29.

Game over.

Louisville came into the contest ranked 13th in the conference in shooting, but on this night they could not miss. The Cardinals shot 56.0-percent from the field, led by Dieng, who knocked down all eight of his shot attempts. Louisville’s interior players hit 12-of-13 from the floor while Irish forwards Cooley and Scott Martin combined to shoot just 9-of-24 from the field.

A night after forcing Marquette into 26 turnovers the aggressive Louisville defense forced 13 Irish miscues.

Dieng led the Cardinals with 16 points and grabbed six boards. After an early scolding from Pitino, Siva got his night turned around. He finished with 13 points, nine assists, and he led Louisville with eight boards. Kuric also chipped in 12 points and three boards.

Atkins led the Irish with 12 points. Cooley had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds but otherwise had a rough night. He struggled defending Dieng and missed a number of easy putbacks that could have helped Notre Dame withstand the early Louisville run. Martin and Grant shot poorly as well, combining to go just 6-of-22 and 17 points on the night. Grant came into the game with one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the conference but the aggressive Louisville defense forced him into five turnovers on the night.

With tonight’s loss the Irish lost out on a chance to play in their first Big East championship game. They also lost out on a chance for an automatic bid, but the Irish are clearly a tournament team. Notre Dame will head into the NCAA Tournament with a 22-11 record after finishing the season with a 13-5 conference record.

Louisville improves to 25-9 on the season with the win, avenging an early season 67-65 home loss that sparked the Notre Dame turnaround. They face Cincinnati tomorrow night for a chance at the Big East Tournament crown.

Cincinnati knocked off regular season champion Syracuse in the other Big East semi-final game.

After winning a school record nine straight Big East games the Notre Dame Fighting Irish now find themselves in a bit of an offensive funk. Notre Dame shot the ball poorly in Saturday’s tight loss to St. John’s. Tonight the Irish were even worse as they dropped a 59-41 game to No. 12 Georgetown.

Notre Dame’s 41 point output was its lowest since a 1983 game against Northwestern.

The Irish were competitive early in the game as senior Scott Martin scored six early points to help give Notre Dame a quick 8-7 lead. Notre Dame missed eight of its next nine shots and turned the ball over five times as Georgetown pulled ahead 18-11.

Notre Dame remained close over the next two minutes but went the final 3:07 without a point as Georgetown took a 28-18 lead into the half.

Mike Brey’s club tried to hang with Georgetown early, quickly cutting into Georgetown’s double digit lead. After Irish guard Eric Atkins hit a layup to once again pull Notre Dame within ten at 39-29 Notre Dame went on another cold streak. The Irish went five minutes without a point and by the time Jerian Grant broke the streak with a pair of free throws the Hoyas had built a commanding 48-31 lead.

Notre Dame went another two points without a field goal and Georgetown continued to pound away inside as the lead grew to 52-31. The Irish scored the final five points of the game to make it look just a bit closer, but Notre Dame never really challenged Georgetown during the final 23 minutes of the game.

The Irish had been winning with hot shooting from the perimeter combined with strong interior play from Martin and junior forward Jack Cooley. On this night the Irish shooters were ice cold, shooting just 33.3-percent from the field and making just three of their 18 three point attempts. Grant continued his poor shooting of late, hitting just 2-of-13 from the field.

Notre Dame’s interior players had a rough night as well. Martin cooled off considerably after his hot start, finishing the night with just nine points and four rebounds. Cooley had been dominant inside, averaging 15.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game during the Irish win streak. Georgetown came into the game with one of the deepest and most athletic frontcourts in the country. Their athleticism and depth gave Cooley fits as the junior finished with more fouls (four) than he did points (two). Cooley was also held without a rebound on the night.

No Irish player scored in double figures.

Georgetown freshman forward Greg Whittington came into the game averaging just 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He scored a career high 15 points against the Irish, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and knocking down all three of his shots from behind the arc. Senior center Henry Sims and senior guard Jason Clark had good nights in their final game in the Verizon Center. Sims finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Clark finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

With the win Georgetown draws even with the Irish in Big East play. Georgetown is now 22-6 overall and 12-5 in conference play, putting them in a tie with the Irish. The Hoyas finish the regular season on the road against No. 7 Marquette on Saturday.

Notre Dame will look to get back on track in its season finale on Friday night against Providence. It will be senior night for the Irish. It will also be an attempt for the 20-10 Irish to stay in position for third place in the conference. A Notre Dame win and a Georgetown loss will give the Irish the third seed in the Big East tournament.

Madison Square Garden has not been a happy place for Mike Brey and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team the last four years. That misery continued this afternoon as the St. John’s Red Storm ended Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak with a 61-58 victory over the Irish.

Notre Dame has lost six of nine in the Garden during the last four seasons and has not beaten St. John’s in Madison Square Garden since March 6 of 2004. The strong outside shooting that was key to Notre Dame’s nine-game run failed it this afternoon as the Irish shot just 4-of-31 from behind the arc.

Notre Dame never led in this game and its shooting struggles began immediately. The Irish missed their first four shots as St. John’s built an early 7-1 lead. Freshman Pat Connaughton scored five quick points to get the Irish closer, but as would be the case all day, every time Notre Dame made a run the Red Storm had an answer.

After Connaughton’s quick run D’Angelo Harrison knocked down back-to-back jumpers, scoring four of his 15 points. That was the start of a quick 8-0 St. John’s run that put the Irish behind. Four points from Notre Dame senior Scott Martin and a triple from sophomore Alex Dragicevich again drew the Irish within three, but once again St. John’s pulled back ahead thanks to Harrison and Moe Harkless.

Harkless scored 12 first half points and Harrison added nine as St. John’s built a 31-25 halftime lead.

After a quick Martin layup to start the second half freshman forward Amir Garrett scored seven straight points as St. John’s quickly built a 38-27 second half lead. Harrison and Harkless took over from there as St. John’s extended its lead to 45-31 with just 13:07 left in the game.

As is typical of Brey’s ball club, the Irish would not go down quietly. Notre Dame spent the next thirteen minutes fighting and chipping away at the Red Storm lead. Martin followed a Jack Cooley layup with four straight points, bringing the Irish within six at 53-47.

Harkless answered back with another bucket but the Irish followed that up with five quick points. Sophomore guard Eric Atkins struggled all game long, but his three-pointer with 4:53 left in the game brought the Irish within three. Cooley answered a St. John’s free throw with two more of his 18 points as Notre Dame cut the Red Storm lead to 56-54 with 3:11 left in the game.

A Harkless layup was sandwiched between buckets by Cooley and Martin as Notre Dame cut the lead to one at 59-58 with just 45 seconds left in the game.

Notre Dame had a chance to take the lead late if it could come up with a late stop, but Garrett drove down the middle of the Irish defense and hit an off-balanced left-handed runner with 8.9 seconds left to give St. John’s a 61-58 lead.

Dragicevich got a clean look at a game-tying triple from the left baseline as time expired but he could not hit the shot.

Cooley and Martin paced the Irish with 18 points apiece. The two Irish veterans combined to shoot 16-of-24 from the field. The rest of the Notre Dame offense shot just 9-of-42 in the three-point loss. Notre Dame’s guards were especially bad, as Atkins and Jerian Grant combined to shoot just 3-of-18 from the field and 1-of-10 from behind the arc.

Harkless finished the game with 22 points and nine rebounds. Harrison scored 15 points while Garrett chipped in 11.

St. John’s improves to 13-16 overall and 6-10 on the season with the win. They finish the season out with back-to-back road contests against Pittsburgh and Rutgers.

Notre Dame drops to 20-9 overall and 12-4 in the Big East.

The loss drops Notre Dame to third in the conference and a full game behind second place Marquette. The loss also eliminated what little hope Notre Dame had left at tying for the Big East crown.

Notre Dame travels to Washington, D.C. for a Monday night contest against No. 8 Georgetown. Notre Dame concludes its season on March 2 at home against Providence.

For much of the night it seemed Notre Dame’s seven game win streak was ready to come to a crashing halt. The Villanova Wildcats held a 20-point lead over the Irish before Notre Dame’s improbable second half comeback kept the Irish streak alive as Notre Dame beat the Wildcats 74-70 in overtime tonight in The Pavilion.

After trailing Villanova 39-19 with just 1:50 left in the first half the Irish outscored the Wildcats 55-31 en route to another huge win.

Notre Dame and Villanova switched roles during the first 20 minutes of the game. The Irish were the team that could not defend or shoot the basketball, two things Villanova has struggled with all season. Notre Dame shot just 35.7-percent from the field during the opening half and made just 3-of-12 from behind the arc. Notre Dame’s backcourt was especially bad as the Irish guards made just 3-of-14 from the field.

Villanova, playing without starting guards Maalik Wayns and James Bell, shot the ball extremely well early in the game. The Wildcats shot 48.4-percent from the field as their freshmen came up huge early on. Freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston continued his recent strong play by putting up 14 points in the opening stanza.

Villanova used runs of 13-0 and 8-0 to build up its big early lead. Jay Wright’s club was especially dominant on the boards, out-rebounding Notre Dame by a 20-to-7 margin in the first twenty minutes of the game.

Irish junior Jack Cooley, Notre Dame’s lone first half bright spot, scored the final four points of the half. Those four points would end up being huge for the Irish, who entered the halfway point down 39-23.

Notre Dame’s shooting woes continued early in the second half as the Irish missed their first six shots out of the locker room. Villanova could not take advantage as the Wildcats looked like their usual selves out of the break. They simply could not shoot the basketball and turned the ball over early in the second half.

Irish freshman Pat Connaughton knocked down a three-pointer with 15:51 left in the game to cut the Villanova lead to 40-29. That triple would be the start of an impressive Irish run. After starting the game off 3-of-12 from behind the arc the Irish caught fire in the second half and in overtime.

A Jerian Grant triple cut the Villanova lead to 10, but Notre Dame went cold again as the Irish went almost four minutes without scoring a point. But again Villanova could not take advantage of the Irish cold streak.

Trailing 46-32 with under twelve minutes to go the Irish began to make their run. Point guard Eric Atkins knocked down a triple with 10:52 left to get the Irish within nine points. Villanova continued its cold shooting and Atkins would add a layup two minutes later to continue to chip into the Wildcat lead.

Freshman Tyron Johnson made a layup and Pinkston followed that up with a triple to push the lead back to 10, but Connaughton again answered with one of his seven triples on the night. The two teams traded free throws over the next three minutes before Atkins took over the game.

Atkins hit a layup and then hit Cooley for a deuce as the Irish cut the lead to 56-51 with just over three minutes left in the game. Connaughton followed with another from deep as the Irish cut the lead to two. A Pinkston turnover, one of 11 on the night for the Wildcats, led to another Atkins bucket. The Irish point guard hit an off balance runner and was fouled. His free throw gave the Irish a 57-56 lead, its first since the 14:19 mark of the first half.

Grant, who struggled all night long, knocked down a step back triple from behind the NBA line as the Irish took a 60-56 lead with just 1:01 left in the game. Villanova would have one more run left as the Wildcats were able to tie the score at 60-60 thanks to a Maurice Sutton put back with just five second left in regulation.

That layup sent the game to overtime but the Irish had all the momentum heading into the extra session.

Connaughton and Pinkston traded triples as the two teams went back-and-forth early in the overtime session.

Grant was left wide open for a triple from the right wing as the Irish took a lead it would not lose. Villanova took poor shots down the stretch and the Irish came up with the big shots. Connaughton’s final triple of the night gave the Irish a 71-65 lead with under a minute left in the game.

Cooley and Atkins put the game away from the line as the Irish continued their miraculous run.

With the win the Irish improve to 19-8 on the season and 11-3 in conference play. Notre Dame has now won eight straight games.

Cooley had another huge night for the Irish scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, his fourth consecutive double-double. All of Connaughton’s 21 points came from behind the arc as the freshman knocked down 7-of-12 from deep. Connaughton added nine rebounds on the night as well.

Atkins scored 17 points and led the Irish with six assists, coming up with big plays for the Irish during its big second half comeback. Grant struggled from the floor but came up with two huge triples late in the game.

Notre Dame shot 9-of-18 from deep during the second half and overtime. The three point shot was the catalyst for the Irish. Notre Dame used great ball movement in the second half as the extra pass often broke free a wide open shooter. When the Irish shooters got their chances they came up huge late in the game.

Pinkston came up big for the Wildcats, scoring 24 points for Villanova. He struggled with his shot during the second half but he continues to develop as a scorer for the Wildcats. Junior Maurice Sutton came into the game averaging just 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds but his 10-point, 11-rebound performance was his third double-double in the last five games for Villanova.

With the loss Villanova drops to a disappointing 11-15 on the season and 4-10 in conference play. Villanova has now lost five of six and seven of its last 10 games. The Wildcats host Connecticut on Monday before traveling to No. 9 Georgetown next Saturday.

Notre Dame remains tied with Marquette for second place in the conference. The Irish host West Virginia on Wednesday night and travel to St. John’s next Saturday.