Seton Hall’s unlikely, dramatic, just-where-the-heck-did-that-come-from 52-48 win over visiting Maryland on Thursday was yet another reminder of why athletic contests are played in real time, in real life, and not on computer programs. With Seton Hall missing its two top scorers, including its All-American candidate and inspirational leader, the Terrapins ballooned to a seven-point favorite yet never led after the 15:44 mark of the first half. Even Villanova coach Jay Wright called it an “impressive accomplishment” on the Big East conference call Friday morning.
Let’s break down how it went down:
Quincy McKnight led with words AND actions.
Much like the injured Myles Powell, the senior guard always has been an emotional player whom others rally around. And he seemed to ramp it up a notch, even by his lofty standards, on this night, getting in the grille of star Maryland guard Anthony Cowan Jr. from the jump and never letting up. Cowan shot 8-for-27 in two upset losses for Maryland against The Hall the last two Decembers, mostly while being guarded by McKnight.
Yes, the 15 blocked shots, six apiece by Romaro Gill and Ike Obiagu were huge, but McKnight’s trademark on-ball pressure set the tone. It was not easy for McKnight, who had to move from the 1 to the 2 after Powell suffered a concussion to allow Anthony Nelson to become the starting point guard. As coach Kevin Willard said, “I knew Q was smart enough to be able to handle sliding over a position and learning a new position in a couple of days. He’s got a great basketball IQ. … I had to get Quincy comfortable doing some things that he has not done in two years.”
Mark Turgeon’s in-game coaching=meh.
The Maryland coach has recruited quite well, but has yet to get past the Sweet 16 with the Terps. It is not difficult to understand why after watching the loss to The Hall. Turgeon threw his players under the proverbial bus afterward, noting they ran the wrong play out of a timeout more than once and that an unnamed player (it was Darryl Morsell) failed to recognize a switch from man to zone and threw away an inbounds pass in the final minute. All of that may be true, but it was Turgeon who failed to speed up Seton Hall until it was a bit too late. If Turgeon had elected to go to full-court pressure a minute or two earlier late in the game, the outcome might have been different.
Willard did a great job.
The 10th-year Seton Hall coach admitted he didn’t do a good job of getting his team prepared to play Rutgers in the previous game, in terms of not making the younger players aware of how intense the atmosphere at the RAC would be. Winning the chess match in this game wasn’t merely about what Turgeon did not do, but about what Willard did. He noted afterward how he wanted to start the offensive sets with about 18 seconds to go on the shot clock, and how Nelson did a good job of that. Also important, but unsaid, was that he clearly got his team to believe they could win without Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Powell update.
Willard said Powell probably will not play at DePaul on Dec. 30, but that he is “doing great” and is in “great spirits.” Still, it must be noted he has yet to be ruled out. In fact, he went on Face Time after the game to celebrate with the team from afar. Willard said with a half-smile, “I told him to turn off the lights. He’s jumping all around, he’s not supposed to be jumping around. He did most of the talking, he just said how proud he was and how much he missed us, and then I yelled at him because he’s supposed to be in a dark room not doing anything, and he’s not doing it.”
More offense will be needed.
Defense ruled the night Thursday, as The Hall, unsurprisingly, shot only 25 percent from three-point land in the absence of its top two scorers. Now, there’s no way the Pirates can be nearly as dynamic on offense as they were until both Powell and Mamu are back, but more made open shots would help. If The Pirates had canned more than five treys Thursday night, things would not have gotten so dicey in the final minute.
In the spirit of the Christmas season, here are two “bonus” takeaways:
Trap game supreme?
Before that DePaul game, the Pirates (7-4) will host Prairie View A&M (3-8, 2-8 vs. Division I teams) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers have four players averaging in double figures, so they can score the ball, as basketball people like to say. They trailed Colorado by only five points with only eight-plus minutes left Thursday night before fading and losing, 83-64. Seton Hall obviously has a preparation advantage, because Prairie View basically loses a day because of travel. Still, the Pirates must come back to earth after an exhilarating victory. A lack of scoring punch could make this another rock (Rock?) fight?
Give the fans a hand, too.
The announced crowd was 13,313, impressive given the frigid weather and the pall cast over the program by two straight losses in which a star player suffered a devastating injury. The Seton Hall supporters made their presence felt from the start in the first home game since Nov. 23.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
Let’s break down how it went down:
Quincy McKnight led with words AND actions.
Much like the injured Myles Powell, the senior guard always has been an emotional player whom others rally around. And he seemed to ramp it up a notch, even by his lofty standards, on this night, getting in the grille of star Maryland guard Anthony Cowan Jr. from the jump and never letting up. Cowan shot 8-for-27 in two upset losses for Maryland against The Hall the last two Decembers, mostly while being guarded by McKnight.
Yes, the 15 blocked shots, six apiece by Romaro Gill and Ike Obiagu were huge, but McKnight’s trademark on-ball pressure set the tone. It was not easy for McKnight, who had to move from the 1 to the 2 after Powell suffered a concussion to allow Anthony Nelson to become the starting point guard. As coach Kevin Willard said, “I knew Q was smart enough to be able to handle sliding over a position and learning a new position in a couple of days. He’s got a great basketball IQ. … I had to get Quincy comfortable doing some things that he has not done in two years.”
Mark Turgeon’s in-game coaching=meh.
The Maryland coach has recruited quite well, but has yet to get past the Sweet 16 with the Terps. It is not difficult to understand why after watching the loss to The Hall. Turgeon threw his players under the proverbial bus afterward, noting they ran the wrong play out of a timeout more than once and that an unnamed player (it was Darryl Morsell) failed to recognize a switch from man to zone and threw away an inbounds pass in the final minute. All of that may be true, but it was Turgeon who failed to speed up Seton Hall until it was a bit too late. If Turgeon had elected to go to full-court pressure a minute or two earlier late in the game, the outcome might have been different.
Willard did a great job.
The 10th-year Seton Hall coach admitted he didn’t do a good job of getting his team prepared to play Rutgers in the previous game, in terms of not making the younger players aware of how intense the atmosphere at the RAC would be. Winning the chess match in this game wasn’t merely about what Turgeon did not do, but about what Willard did. He noted afterward how he wanted to start the offensive sets with about 18 seconds to go on the shot clock, and how Nelson did a good job of that. Also important, but unsaid, was that he clearly got his team to believe they could win without Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Powell update.
Willard said Powell probably will not play at DePaul on Dec. 30, but that he is “doing great” and is in “great spirits.” Still, it must be noted he has yet to be ruled out. In fact, he went on Face Time after the game to celebrate with the team from afar. Willard said with a half-smile, “I told him to turn off the lights. He’s jumping all around, he’s not supposed to be jumping around. He did most of the talking, he just said how proud he was and how much he missed us, and then I yelled at him because he’s supposed to be in a dark room not doing anything, and he’s not doing it.”
More offense will be needed.
Defense ruled the night Thursday, as The Hall, unsurprisingly, shot only 25 percent from three-point land in the absence of its top two scorers. Now, there’s no way the Pirates can be nearly as dynamic on offense as they were until both Powell and Mamu are back, but more made open shots would help. If The Pirates had canned more than five treys Thursday night, things would not have gotten so dicey in the final minute.
In the spirit of the Christmas season, here are two “bonus” takeaways:
Trap game supreme?
Before that DePaul game, the Pirates (7-4) will host Prairie View A&M (3-8, 2-8 vs. Division I teams) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers have four players averaging in double figures, so they can score the ball, as basketball people like to say. They trailed Colorado by only five points with only eight-plus minutes left Thursday night before fading and losing, 83-64. Seton Hall obviously has a preparation advantage, because Prairie View basically loses a day because of travel. Still, the Pirates must come back to earth after an exhilarating victory. A lack of scoring punch could make this another rock (Rock?) fight?
Give the fans a hand, too.
The announced crowd was 13,313, impressive given the frigid weather and the pall cast over the program by two straight losses in which a star player suffered a devastating injury. The Seton Hall supporters made their presence felt from the start in the first home game since Nov. 23.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
