by JP Pelzman
Seton Hall’s home game against Providence on Wednesday night is a must-win for the Pirates, and that is not hype. SHU’s four-game skid has left it with very little wiggle room in its hopes of making the NCAA tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Missing out by plenty on a potential mega-upset of Villanova on the road didn’t help, because that would have been the equivalent of a triple-word score in Scrabble.
Five takeaways about what may lie ahead for The Hall:
Kevin Willard has done this before. Like a driver steering out of a skid on an icy road, Seton Hall has tended to run into trouble in January in past seasons, and the Pirates have recovered to make the NCAAs each of the last three years. And Willard deserves credit for that, as do the players. And Willard and the current roster deserve credit for the Kentucky and Maryland wins that positioned them for the tourney in the first place. As Willard indicated Sunday, most of the current players haven’t been through a January slump before.
Because of that, he will have to shepherd them through this and make the proper tweaks to try to get them to come out on the other side.
What can Anthony Nelson bring to the equation?
Willard said Sunday he intends to give more playing time to backup freshman point guard Anthony Nelson. Nelson is averaging 7.8 minutes, 2.5 points, 0.8 assists and 0.8 turnovers in eight Big East games. He hadn’t gotten a long run for several games until playing 16 minutes Sunday, mostly because Willard made a mass substitution in the second half. Nelson is a true point, the only one on this roster, and perhaps he can get Myles Powell the ball in favorable situations. It will be interesting to see what combinations Willard uses with Nelson. Nelson is shooting 38 percent from two-point range and 30 percent from long distance, and his passing would be more effective if he can improve upon those numbers.
The roles have reversed since the first game against Providence. Interestingly, Providence came into the first meeting 0-3 in the Big East and in desperate need of a victory before a two-game road trip. Having been in the building that night, one could sense the energy and sense of urgency from the host Friars in their 72-63 victory. The Friars have won three of their last four, beginning with that game. Seton Hall needs to have that same determination Wednesday. The Pirates will have to deal with someone who didn’t play in that first meeting. Freshman guard A.J. Reeves returned Sunday from a foot injury that had sidelined him for over a month, and scored 11 points in 11 minutes in a win over DePaul.
Myles Powell has to be The Man. Powell is shooting only 29.6 percent from three-point range in Big East play, and that’s one reason the Pirates are 3-5 in the conference. Everyone--Powell, Willard and the other players--have to contribute to the effort to get Powell better shot opportunities. The Pirates would argue, reasonably, that it also would help if the officials grant Powell more foul calls when he’s almost constantly getting grabbed, held and bumped on offense.
The schedule gets more favorable. Seton Hall has three of the next four and four of its next six games at home. The Pirates visit Butler on Saturday and then return home for games against Creighton (Feb. 9) and Georgetown (Feb. 13) the next week. There is no sugarcoating this--it’s a make-or-break stretch for The Hall. The last three years, Seton Hall pulled itself out, just short of the abyss. We’ll see if the Pirates can do it again.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
Seton Hall’s home game against Providence on Wednesday night is a must-win for the Pirates, and that is not hype. SHU’s four-game skid has left it with very little wiggle room in its hopes of making the NCAA tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Missing out by plenty on a potential mega-upset of Villanova on the road didn’t help, because that would have been the equivalent of a triple-word score in Scrabble.
Five takeaways about what may lie ahead for The Hall:
Kevin Willard has done this before. Like a driver steering out of a skid on an icy road, Seton Hall has tended to run into trouble in January in past seasons, and the Pirates have recovered to make the NCAAs each of the last three years. And Willard deserves credit for that, as do the players. And Willard and the current roster deserve credit for the Kentucky and Maryland wins that positioned them for the tourney in the first place. As Willard indicated Sunday, most of the current players haven’t been through a January slump before.
Because of that, he will have to shepherd them through this and make the proper tweaks to try to get them to come out on the other side.
What can Anthony Nelson bring to the equation?
Willard said Sunday he intends to give more playing time to backup freshman point guard Anthony Nelson. Nelson is averaging 7.8 minutes, 2.5 points, 0.8 assists and 0.8 turnovers in eight Big East games. He hadn’t gotten a long run for several games until playing 16 minutes Sunday, mostly because Willard made a mass substitution in the second half. Nelson is a true point, the only one on this roster, and perhaps he can get Myles Powell the ball in favorable situations. It will be interesting to see what combinations Willard uses with Nelson. Nelson is shooting 38 percent from two-point range and 30 percent from long distance, and his passing would be more effective if he can improve upon those numbers.
The roles have reversed since the first game against Providence. Interestingly, Providence came into the first meeting 0-3 in the Big East and in desperate need of a victory before a two-game road trip. Having been in the building that night, one could sense the energy and sense of urgency from the host Friars in their 72-63 victory. The Friars have won three of their last four, beginning with that game. Seton Hall needs to have that same determination Wednesday. The Pirates will have to deal with someone who didn’t play in that first meeting. Freshman guard A.J. Reeves returned Sunday from a foot injury that had sidelined him for over a month, and scored 11 points in 11 minutes in a win over DePaul.
Myles Powell has to be The Man. Powell is shooting only 29.6 percent from three-point range in Big East play, and that’s one reason the Pirates are 3-5 in the conference. Everyone--Powell, Willard and the other players--have to contribute to the effort to get Powell better shot opportunities. The Pirates would argue, reasonably, that it also would help if the officials grant Powell more foul calls when he’s almost constantly getting grabbed, held and bumped on offense.
The schedule gets more favorable. Seton Hall has three of the next four and four of its next six games at home. The Pirates visit Butler on Saturday and then return home for games against Creighton (Feb. 9) and Georgetown (Feb. 13) the next week. There is no sugarcoating this--it’s a make-or-break stretch for The Hall. The last three years, Seton Hall pulled itself out, just short of the abyss. We’ll see if the Pirates can do it again.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
