PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By Tyler Calvaruso
Seton Hall’s loss to No. 7 Creighton snapped its three-game winning streak, but the Pirates’ biggest loss
of the night came just after the first half under-16 timeout.
In what was a freak step that could have happened to anyone on the court, Bryce Aiken rolled his right
ankle – the same ankle that forced him out of action earlier this season – on Marcus Zegarowski’s foot
while making a cut and went down in a heap. Aiken required help from Tony Skinn and Tony Testa to get
back on his feet and could put barely any weight on the ankle as he made his way back to the sideline.
Aiken was then taken back to the locker room for further evaluation and did not return. A possible
timetable for his return is currently up in the air.
Seton Hall had been thriving since Aiken’s return as the Harvard graduate transfer worked his way back
into the swing of things, going 4-0 in games in which he registered double-digit minutes. Now, Aiken
could very well miss an extended period of time, which would leave Shavar Reynolds to shoulder the
load of Seton Hall’s point guard duties for the foreseeable future.
“I don’t know,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said when asked about the severity of Aiken’s injury on his
postgame radio spot with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin.
As for the game itself, Creighton opened on a 17-4 run, locked in defensively and ended Seton Hall’s
mini-winning streak by a final score of 89-53. The Jays locked in defensively to limit Seton Hall to 33%
shooting from the field and 17% shooting from three and thrived offensively, firing 60% from the field
and 54% from beyond the arc. Damien Jefferson was instrumental in Creighton’s efforts, posting 16 first-
half points and finishing with 19.
Creighton picked up where it left off against Seton Hall in last season’s season finale, opening up a 14-4
lead at the under-16 timeout. That lead ballooned to 13 before the Pirates started cutting into the
deficit, but the Jays kept Seton Hall separated by a distance throughout the first half. That continued into
the second half, as Creighton dominated the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Pirates 52-27.
“Totally my fault,” Willard said. “I was trying to protect Ikey a little bit in the beginning of the game,
switched the starting lineup up and I think it got us off to a bad start offensively. They did a great job in
the second half, really jumping out in the second half and just putting the pedal to the metal. We just
didn’t play well.”
Quick Thoughts
-Seton Hall learned a little bit about life without Bryce Aiken earlier this season. Now, it needs to prepare
for that reality once again. Considering the nature of Aiken’s ankle injury, it is tough to see him returning
anytime soon. Kevin Willard will also approach Aiken’s latest absence with even more caution that he did
before, which could extend his time on the sideline.
-Creighton poses a bigger matchup nightmare for Seton Hall than any other team in the Big East and that
includes Villanova. The Pirates tried playing Creighton’s small-ball game and it did not work. Willard went
back to standard lineup with Ike Obiagu at the five for a little bit and that did not work either. Creighton
just has Seton Hall’s number right now with its style of play and ability to attack from all angles. Willard’s
adjustments not working in the slightest perfectly paints that picture.
-That is about as bad as Seton Hall has looked offensively all season. It goes without saying Creighton
deserves its fair share of credit for the way it played defensively, but the Pirates simply lacked cohesion.
It just was not their night in any facet of the game.
-Time for Jahari Long to grow up on the fly. With Aiken likely out for a while, it is on the freshman to
assume backup point guard duties.
“I think it’s definitely going to have to be Jahari [as Seton Hall’s backup point guard],” Willard said. “I’m
asking [Takal Molson] to play three different positions and it’s just not fair to him. It puts a little hesitancy
into his game and it puts a lot of pressure on the other guys to play too many minutes. That’s one reason
why I put Jahari out there for those last eight minutes. I wanted him to get a feel and get some game
time, get more comfortable about being out on the floor.”
-The good news is Seton Hall has a real chance to bounce back against DePaul on Saturday. The Blue
Demons always find a way to make things tough on the Pirates, but this team is going to carry a chip on
its shoulder to Chicago.
“We’re flying out tonight right now and we’ll get to Chicago late,” Willard said. “We’ll have a day. We
gotta regroup, we gotta recover. You get smacked down, you gotta pick yourself back up. This group has
done that so far.”
