by JP Pelzman
Seton Hall’s victory over ninth-ranked Kentucky on Saturday was its first non-conference win against a Top 10 opponent since knocking off No. 6 Ohio State at the Meadowlands on Super Bowl Sunday in 1992. For what it’s worth, the Buckeyes eventually became the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional that season, losing to rival Michigan in the Elite Eight. The Hall was seeded fourth in the East and lost to eventual champion Duke in the Sweet 16.
Where will the Pirates and Wildcats land this year? Nobody knows, of course, but Seton Hall’s win could help it get to the Big Dance for the fourth consecutive year. That’s where I begin the five takeaways.
1--Kentucky figures to get better. No, the Wildcats didn’t look like the No. 9 team in the country Saturday, except maybe when sophomore post PJ Washington was scoring at will in the paint down the stretch. And it’s true they are now 0-2 against power-conference teams, having also lost to Duke on a neutral court. But make no mistake--this team, like most John Calipari-coached squads, has talent aplenty and is likely to figure it out long before Selection Sunday rolls around. And that means the magnitude of this win in NCAA tournament should only increase in stature, unlike say, Seton Hall’s victory over now-struggling Miami in the Wooden Legacy title game.
2--Willard takes the heat. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard took full blame for Keldon Johnson’s half-court buzzer-beater that sent the game into overtime. He said afterward that during the delay in which the officials put fourth-tenths of a second back on the clock after Myles Powell’s go-ahead three, he had “too much time to think” and decided to have 7-2 Romaro Gill, in his only cameo of the game, guard inbounds passer Washington. Willard said he normally prefers to leave the inbounder unguarded and have that an extra defender to force the shooter into a tougher angle. Johnson’s shot was straight-on and swished. “It was stupidity,” said Willard, reminding the Kentucky media that the Wildcats guarded the inbounds passer on the fateful sequence in 1992 that resulted in Christian Laettner’s game-winner for Duke in the regional final.
3--The Pirates didn’t execute it well. To be fair to Willard, Myles Cale didn’t distinguish himself on that sequence either. He really needed to, in age-old basketball parlance, “stop the ball” and get in Johnson’s face. Instead, he was a bit slow to react, perhaps afraid of fouling while Johnson already was in the act of shooting. Of course, Cale more than made up for it with his game-winner in overtime. And Willard should be credited for taking the blame himself and not throwing Cale under the proverbial bus. Still, the sequence turned into a teachable moment for all concerned, and it’s the best kind of teachable moment--the one that occurs in a victory.
4--Willard makes interesting choice. An unconventional thing Willard did later paid off. He didn’t take a timeout after Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans went 1-for-2 from the foul line, making it 83-81, UK with 25 seconds left in OT. “I didn't want to call timeout,” Willard said later. “Each time I call timeout, you're giving a Hall of Fame coach (John Calipari) a chance to set up his defense--and they're really good defensively and long--and with the guys we had left, it was going to be tough to run something with screening action, misdirecting action.” Sandro Mamukelashvili, Mike Nzei and Jared Rhoden all had fouled out. But also important is that sometimes in late-game situations, it can work better if a coach trusts his players to make the right play, and in this case, they did.
5--Transfers step up. Taurean Thompson, looking fully recovered from the ankle injury that sidelined him against New Hampshire earlier in the week, had 13 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes, important production considering that Washington’s dominance inside helped foul out both Mamukelashvili and Nzei. Thompson also showed maturity by passing up a three with The Hall down two and instead feeding to Cale, who pump-faked and then drilled the game-winner.
Quincy McKnight had 15 points and five assists, although he also committed six turnovers. McKnight’s scoring helped The Hall stay afloat early in the second half until Myles Powell found his shooting stroke late.
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https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Seton Hall’s victory over ninth-ranked Kentucky on Saturday was its first non-conference win against a Top 10 opponent since knocking off No. 6 Ohio State at the Meadowlands on Super Bowl Sunday in 1992. For what it’s worth, the Buckeyes eventually became the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional that season, losing to rival Michigan in the Elite Eight. The Hall was seeded fourth in the East and lost to eventual champion Duke in the Sweet 16.
Where will the Pirates and Wildcats land this year? Nobody knows, of course, but Seton Hall’s win could help it get to the Big Dance for the fourth consecutive year. That’s where I begin the five takeaways.
1--Kentucky figures to get better. No, the Wildcats didn’t look like the No. 9 team in the country Saturday, except maybe when sophomore post PJ Washington was scoring at will in the paint down the stretch. And it’s true they are now 0-2 against power-conference teams, having also lost to Duke on a neutral court. But make no mistake--this team, like most John Calipari-coached squads, has talent aplenty and is likely to figure it out long before Selection Sunday rolls around. And that means the magnitude of this win in NCAA tournament should only increase in stature, unlike say, Seton Hall’s victory over now-struggling Miami in the Wooden Legacy title game.
2--Willard takes the heat. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard took full blame for Keldon Johnson’s half-court buzzer-beater that sent the game into overtime. He said afterward that during the delay in which the officials put fourth-tenths of a second back on the clock after Myles Powell’s go-ahead three, he had “too much time to think” and decided to have 7-2 Romaro Gill, in his only cameo of the game, guard inbounds passer Washington. Willard said he normally prefers to leave the inbounder unguarded and have that an extra defender to force the shooter into a tougher angle. Johnson’s shot was straight-on and swished. “It was stupidity,” said Willard, reminding the Kentucky media that the Wildcats guarded the inbounds passer on the fateful sequence in 1992 that resulted in Christian Laettner’s game-winner for Duke in the regional final.
3--The Pirates didn’t execute it well. To be fair to Willard, Myles Cale didn’t distinguish himself on that sequence either. He really needed to, in age-old basketball parlance, “stop the ball” and get in Johnson’s face. Instead, he was a bit slow to react, perhaps afraid of fouling while Johnson already was in the act of shooting. Of course, Cale more than made up for it with his game-winner in overtime. And Willard should be credited for taking the blame himself and not throwing Cale under the proverbial bus. Still, the sequence turned into a teachable moment for all concerned, and it’s the best kind of teachable moment--the one that occurs in a victory.
4--Willard makes interesting choice. An unconventional thing Willard did later paid off. He didn’t take a timeout after Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans went 1-for-2 from the foul line, making it 83-81, UK with 25 seconds left in OT. “I didn't want to call timeout,” Willard said later. “Each time I call timeout, you're giving a Hall of Fame coach (John Calipari) a chance to set up his defense--and they're really good defensively and long--and with the guys we had left, it was going to be tough to run something with screening action, misdirecting action.” Sandro Mamukelashvili, Mike Nzei and Jared Rhoden all had fouled out. But also important is that sometimes in late-game situations, it can work better if a coach trusts his players to make the right play, and in this case, they did.
5--Transfers step up. Taurean Thompson, looking fully recovered from the ankle injury that sidelined him against New Hampshire earlier in the week, had 13 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes, important production considering that Washington’s dominance inside helped foul out both Mamukelashvili and Nzei. Thompson also showed maturity by passing up a three with The Hall down two and instead feeding to Cale, who pump-faked and then drilled the game-winner.
Quincy McKnight had 15 points and five assists, although he also committed six turnovers. McKnight’s scoring helped The Hall stay afloat early in the second half until Myles Powell found his shooting stroke late.
Comments
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
