Some thoughts and observations on Seton Hall’s second consecutive victory, an 81-65 win against St. John’s:
Finally, a blowout
For the first time since Jan. 11 against Marquette, Seton Hall won a game by double digits. And this one really wasn’t ever very much in doubt. The Pirates led 20-6 11 minutes into the game and 36-22 at halftime. The Red Storm scored the first seven points of the second half to briefly make the Pirates sweat, but a 10-3 run soon ballooned the margin back to 16.
“We got five straight stops early” in the first half, coach Kevin Willard said, “and I thought that kind of relaxed us.”
Bye comes at a good time
Willard said afterward that both Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight are battling knee tendinitis, and that this is a good time for the Pirates’ second bye of the Big East schedule. The Hall will resume play Saturday at Marquette in what will be the Senior Day for Golden Eagles’ superstar Markus Howard, a good friend of Powell’s. After that, Seton Hall will host Villanova and travel to Creighton in a brutal final week of the regular season.
Albany still in sight
The Pirates obviously need to keep winning to make sure they can get one of the coveted “protected” seeds that will be sent to nearby Albany. Seton Hall (12-3) enters this week one game ahead of Creighton (11-4) and 1.5 games ahead of Villanova (10-4). With both of those teams still on the docket, the Pirates will have to earn their first Big East regular-season championship since 1992-93. Most bracketologists currently have both Seton Hall and Villanova penciled in as protected seeds in Albany. Penn State is another possibility, but the Nittany Lions hurt their cause with back-to-back losses to Illinois and Indiana this past week.
Mamu the aggressor
His buzzer-beater against Butler was his most noticeable shot, but Sandro Mamukelashvili has done a lot more than that the past two games, totaling 31 points and 16 rebounds, including a double-double against St. John’s. Mamukelashvili has attacked the rim for dunks and layups and also has set up others, notching three assists versus the Red Storm.
Willard downplayed a conversation he had with Mamukelashvili after he had only one rebound in the loss to Providence and was one of many players to draw Willard’s ire.
“Like I’ve said, he had a vacation for seven weeks,” Willard said Sunday, referring to the fractured wrist that sidelined the Euro forward. “For him, it was more of a mental grind, not physical, and I think he’s now in a pretty good mental state where he’s ready to attack and be aggressive every game. I think when you come back right away and you’ve got to play against the teams we have to play against, it just doesn’t come naturally.”
Some numbers
Seton Hall (20-7) now has 20 wins or more for five consecutive seasons, and is a virtual lock for its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance. … The crowd of 14,648 was the third-largest crowd for a Seton Hall game in Prudential Center history. It will be interesting to see if it is topped by the home finale against Villanova on March 4. … Seton Hall’s 14-point lead at halftime marked the first time it had led at intermission at home since Jan. 22 against Providence. The Pirates had trailed at the break in subsequent home games against DePaul, Xavier, Creighton and Butler.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Finally, a blowout
For the first time since Jan. 11 against Marquette, Seton Hall won a game by double digits. And this one really wasn’t ever very much in doubt. The Pirates led 20-6 11 minutes into the game and 36-22 at halftime. The Red Storm scored the first seven points of the second half to briefly make the Pirates sweat, but a 10-3 run soon ballooned the margin back to 16.
“We got five straight stops early” in the first half, coach Kevin Willard said, “and I thought that kind of relaxed us.”
Bye comes at a good time
Willard said afterward that both Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight are battling knee tendinitis, and that this is a good time for the Pirates’ second bye of the Big East schedule. The Hall will resume play Saturday at Marquette in what will be the Senior Day for Golden Eagles’ superstar Markus Howard, a good friend of Powell’s. After that, Seton Hall will host Villanova and travel to Creighton in a brutal final week of the regular season.
Albany still in sight
The Pirates obviously need to keep winning to make sure they can get one of the coveted “protected” seeds that will be sent to nearby Albany. Seton Hall (12-3) enters this week one game ahead of Creighton (11-4) and 1.5 games ahead of Villanova (10-4). With both of those teams still on the docket, the Pirates will have to earn their first Big East regular-season championship since 1992-93. Most bracketologists currently have both Seton Hall and Villanova penciled in as protected seeds in Albany. Penn State is another possibility, but the Nittany Lions hurt their cause with back-to-back losses to Illinois and Indiana this past week.
Mamu the aggressor
His buzzer-beater against Butler was his most noticeable shot, but Sandro Mamukelashvili has done a lot more than that the past two games, totaling 31 points and 16 rebounds, including a double-double against St. John’s. Mamukelashvili has attacked the rim for dunks and layups and also has set up others, notching three assists versus the Red Storm.
Willard downplayed a conversation he had with Mamukelashvili after he had only one rebound in the loss to Providence and was one of many players to draw Willard’s ire.
“Like I’ve said, he had a vacation for seven weeks,” Willard said Sunday, referring to the fractured wrist that sidelined the Euro forward. “For him, it was more of a mental grind, not physical, and I think he’s now in a pretty good mental state where he’s ready to attack and be aggressive every game. I think when you come back right away and you’ve got to play against the teams we have to play against, it just doesn’t come naturally.”
Some numbers
Seton Hall (20-7) now has 20 wins or more for five consecutive seasons, and is a virtual lock for its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance. … The crowd of 14,648 was the third-largest crowd for a Seton Hall game in Prudential Center history. It will be interesting to see if it is topped by the home finale against Villanova on March 4. … Seton Hall’s 14-point lead at halftime marked the first time it had led at intermission at home since Jan. 22 against Providence. The Pirates had trailed at the break in subsequent home games against DePaul, Xavier, Creighton and Butler.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
