Seton Hall needs guard Isaiah Whitehead (15) to play well if it hopes to make a deep run into the Big East Tournament, which kicks off on Wednesday night. (Jim O'Connor | USA TODAY Sports)
By Andrew Garda | For NJ Advance Media
New York--The Big East Tournament kicks off at venerable Madison Square Garden Wednesday night when Seton Hall (16-14, 6-12 Big East) takes on Marquette (12-18, 4-14 Big East).
The Pirates' second season tips off at 7pm EST on Fox Sports 1 or you can catch the play-by-play on AM970 or FM89.5.
The two teams split the regular season series, each losing to the other at home. Neither Marquette nor Seton Hall had a great end of the season run--both teams lost eight of their last ten games--but it's a whole new season and a new beginning.
The slate is clean. What can the Pirates do to start things off with a win?
1. Isaiah Whitehead must step up
The freshman guard spent the last portion of the loss to Georgetown on the bench, and while coach Kevin Willard said it was mostly because he had been out already and therefore not in sync with the offense, inconsistency had to be part of the reason as well.
That can't be repeated against Marquette or in any portion of the Big East Tournament. They need Whitehead to step up and produce, avoid the turnovers which have plagued many of his last few games and make better decisions when shooting.
We know that the Golden Eagles will focus on Sterling Gibbs at the perimeter and try to box out Angel Delgado inside. Seton Hall needs a player to step up--they need Isaiah Whitehead to start fulfilling all his promise.
2. Work inside
This is a constant suggestion in these previews and yet remains a chronic problem for Seton Hall. There are times when this team relies on Angel Delgado to do everything inside. Yes, Brandon Mobley does work in the interior, and sometimes other players step in as well, but all too often Seton Hall does a lot of standing around in the paint on both ends of the floor as the opposition grabs a rebound.
It's not just about rebounding though, it's about driving the lane and crashing the rim. Seton Hall settles for jumpers when they have the talent to force a layup and draw the foul. Against Georgetown they almost seemed timid at times, as if they were afraid they would get called for a foul themselves.
Enough is enough. Start producing inside the key.
3. Take care of the ball
A lot of the time, Seton Hall is its own worst enemy. In the loss to Georgetown, Seton Hall turned the ball over 15 times and most of them were completely avoidable. Sloppy passing, poor shot selection and bad ball-handling all caused those turnovers, which like many teams the Hoyas were able to turn into points.
Imagine how effective this team would have been if they weren't sloppy? That Georgetown game might have been much different.
Seton Hall's Gibbs, Delgado and Whitehead among All-Big East Honors
While Seton Hall fought back, Whitehead sat down
4. Hit your free throws
If you do not make free throws--especially down the stretch--you will lose basketball games. It's that simple. Seton Hall was 40 percent from the foul line last Saturday, just 7-of-17. That's unacceptable.
5. Play for 40 minutes
At the end of the day, consistency is what this team needs. They need to stay focused and aggressive for 40 minutes. Too often over the last month of play this team has played really well for one half, and been a stumbling mess the other.
This is a one and done situation, so if they pull that they may find themselves not only going home Wednesday night, but not playing another game at all. Forget the NCAA dreams they had at the beginning of 2015--right now they are fighting for an NIT bid.
If they let up for even a few minutes, this could go horribly wrong. If they're going to go down, let it be by playing with 100 percent effort and focus for all 40 minutes.
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