The 15th seeded Scarlet Knights were unable to pull off the third consecutive upset in the first round of the Big East Tournament, falling 61-50 to Notre Dame at the Garden.

Rutgers continued its trend of keeping it close by staying within six points of the Fighting Irish until the three-minute mark of the second half behind the long range shooting of Big East All-Freshman guard Mike Rosario.

Rosario finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting while junior center Hamady N’Diaye led the Scarlet Knights with 14 points. N’Diaye missed just one shot, pulled in five boards and had two blocks.

N’Diaye also defended well, holding Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody to a 17.6 percent shooting clip and just seven points.

Guard Tory Jackson led Notre Dame with 12 points and seven rebounds as the Irish advance to the second round of the Big East Tournament.

The Pirates got the fast paced, high energy affair they needed if they wanted to defeat Notre Dame on Saturday – and still fell short, falling 88-79.

In a game with 14 lead changes, the Hall gave the Irish everything it could. Playmakers, though, would mark the difference.

With the game tied late, it was Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney that stole the show. Despite early game struggles (including Harangody’s worst shooting performance of the year), both came up huge in the waning minutes, propelling Notre Dame to an emotional victory.

Eugene Harvey paced the Pirates with 21 points, while Robert Mitchell kicked in 15. Jeremy Hazell, who didn’t start, turned in a rough 3-12 mark from the floor.

John Garcia, meanwhile, left the game in the first half with back spasms.

Now at 0-4 in the conference, Seton Hall has a week off before traveling north to face Connecticut next Sunday.

That’s all for now, folks.

-Skip

At 0-3 in the Big East, the Pirates have to think their time is coming.

Well they would, anyway, if their next two games weren’t against Notre Dame and Connecticut.

Last year, the Fighting Irish beat the Hall 95-69. Two years ago, Note Dame prevailed 88-76. The year before that: 102-91. And the one before that: 66-65. The list goes on and on against the Irish, currently No. 13 in the country, who’ve had the Pirates’ number for years.

Worse, the Irish are on a 44-game home winning streak, which make things even worse for the Hall, which has bumbled its way to an 0-3 start in conference.

Notre Dame is led by forward Luke Harangody, who feels like he’s been a part of the Fighting Irish lineup for a decade. Harangody averages 24 points and 12 rebounds a game, and has historically made Seton Hall big men look like children on the floor.

Trust that he’ll get his, regardless. The test will be whether or not the Hall can respond.

The Pirates will counter with Jeremy Hazell’s 23 points a game, which may not be enough at the Joyce Center. Last year the sharpshooter dropped 26 on Notre Dame, and the Pirates were still embarrassed. Without massive help from Robert Mitchell and Eugene Harvey, things will be ugly yet again.

I’ll have more tomorrow, when I hit the arena.

That’s all for now, folks.

-Skip