St. John’s vs. Georgetown : Biggest Thing to Hit New York Since Blackout

“This is the biggest game of all-time and not a championship game,” Lou Carnesecca, coach of St. John’s top-ranked basketball team, said Tuesday, caught up in the hype surrounding the Redmen’s meeting with No. 2 Georgetown tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Garden has been sold out for this Big East Conference game for months, and scalpers reportedly are asking as high as $350 for a $12.50 ticket. ESPN cable network will televise it starting at 6 p.m. PST.

“You could play this game at Yankee Stadium and fill it,” said Carnesecca at a Garden news conference.

The Redmen replaced Georgetown as No. 1 by ending Georgetown’s 29-game winning streak, 66-65, Jan. 16 at Landover, Md. Their record now stands at 24-1 with 19 wins in a row, the longest in Division I.

Georgetown, the defending national champion, has won its last seven and stands at 25-2. The Redmen, 14-0 in the Big East, have clinched a tie for the conference crown, while the Hoyas are next at 12-2.

It’s also a contest involving two of the nation’s premier players, 6-foot-6 senior Chris Mullin, the Redmen’s all-time leading scorer, and 7-0 Patrick Ewing, the college game’s most intimidating defender who has blocked more than 100 shots in each of his four seasons at the Washington, D.C., school.

The two teams could meet again in the Big East tournament next week and again in the NCAA tourney.

Georgetown Coach John Thompson did not attend the news conference but sent taped comment for the media.

“We are a better team than St. John’s beat earlier in the year,” Thompson said. “I think that they are a better team than the one that beat us earlier in the year.”

Thompson added: “I’m glad they’re ranked No. 1. I hope we have an opportunity to beat them, and they can still be ranked No. 1 if we are not fortunate to do that. Right now, I don’t think the rankings mean anything. We’re getting ready to go into the NCAA tournament--that’s going to determine the No. 1 team in the nation.