By JP Pelzman
As promised, coach Kevin Willard and his staff changed from sweats back to suits for Sunday’s game against Yale at the Prudential Center.
Willard's team looked even sharper on the court.
Seton Hall (2-0) limited Yale (2-1), the preseason favorite in the Ivy League, to 22 points in each half en route to an 80-44 rout as the Pirates tuned up in style for their marquee Gavitt Games matchup at No. 6 Michigan (2-0) on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
Michigan could move up to fifth in the poll now that No. 4 Villanova lost at No. 2 UCLA in overtime on Friday night.
“I just think that this team is really locked in defensively,” said senior wing Jared Rhoden, who returned to action and scored eight points in 21 minutes after missing the season opener with an ankle injury. “We’re all connected and we’re really good individual defenders. And when we come together and defend and communicate together, we’re unstoppable in that way.”
When it was pointed out to him that The Hall is legitimately going 10-deep at the moment, Rhoden said, “Those guys compete every day in practice against us. Having those guys get those reps and contribute and come in, it’s an amazing feeling.”
That depth makes it difficult for opponents to catch their breath on offense when a fresh sub is coming in as the Pirates apply defensive pressure. Willard noted it is especially difficult on opposing big men. Yale was outrebounded, 53-37 and outscored, 38-18 in the paint.
The Pirates began the game with a 17-4 run and after Yale cut its deficit to 19-15, the Hall pulled away for a 45-22 lead, capped by Myles Cale's swooping putback dunk at the buzzer off a missed Rhoden three. The second half was more of the same, as fans’ thoughts drifted to Tuesday’s marquee matchup.
“It's a big test,” Rhoden said of Michigan. “I think this game was (about) us trying to get acclimated to playing a good team. We watched Yale on film extensively (after a 91-71 rout of UMass) and they were really good and for us to come out and put on the show we did tonight, I think it shows a lot about who we really are and how good this team can be.”
Alexis Yetna, who scored a game-high 15 points, said, “It's a big chance for us that we’re ready to take on.”
About trying to slow down Michigan’s 7-1 superstar center Hunter Dickinson, he said, “We're going to take a lot of pride and play good defense. It's a whole team effort. We've got big guards, strong guards who are able to help.”
Clearly, that is something Willard is stressing. Here's what he had to say about trying to guard Dickinson, and about how it isn’t just on the bigs.
“You have to play really well (as a) team defensively,” the 11th-year Seton Hall coach said, “because they do a phenomenal job of short-rolling him, where they set a pick-and-roll, they space out two guys on the opposite side and they hit him early.
“If you rotate to him,” Willard continued, “he’s one of the best passing big men I've seen in a while, and he makes the right decision every time. If you don’t roll to him, he’s going to score. It's going to have to be a real team effort.”
Willard was asked about the quick turnaround, and noted that despite the noon start of the Yale game, there was nothing else the coaching staff could do with the team Sunday to prepare.
“From a mental side,” he said, “it’s challenging, because you have to figure out what you’re going to do on a scout.”
One thing that might help is that the Pirates are a bit deeper. Michigan, which has beaten Buffalo and Prairie View, has only eight players averaging double figures in minutes through two games.
“This is how I envisioned this team,” Willard said, “especially once Myles Cale came back and Bryce (Aiken) came back. You're going to get the same amount of possessions and shots. There's just not so much pressure on anyone on the court at any time and I think that’s the biggest difference with this team.”
He added, “No one has to stress about playing great every night. They know if I'm not playing well, someone is there to pick me up and that’s a really nice thing for a player to have, that every time you go into the game, you don’t have to stress about (how) I need to play great for us to win.”
As promised, coach Kevin Willard and his staff changed from sweats back to suits for Sunday’s game against Yale at the Prudential Center.
Willard's team looked even sharper on the court.
Seton Hall (2-0) limited Yale (2-1), the preseason favorite in the Ivy League, to 22 points in each half en route to an 80-44 rout as the Pirates tuned up in style for their marquee Gavitt Games matchup at No. 6 Michigan (2-0) on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
Michigan could move up to fifth in the poll now that No. 4 Villanova lost at No. 2 UCLA in overtime on Friday night.
“I just think that this team is really locked in defensively,” said senior wing Jared Rhoden, who returned to action and scored eight points in 21 minutes after missing the season opener with an ankle injury. “We’re all connected and we’re really good individual defenders. And when we come together and defend and communicate together, we’re unstoppable in that way.”
When it was pointed out to him that The Hall is legitimately going 10-deep at the moment, Rhoden said, “Those guys compete every day in practice against us. Having those guys get those reps and contribute and come in, it’s an amazing feeling.”
That depth makes it difficult for opponents to catch their breath on offense when a fresh sub is coming in as the Pirates apply defensive pressure. Willard noted it is especially difficult on opposing big men. Yale was outrebounded, 53-37 and outscored, 38-18 in the paint.
The Pirates began the game with a 17-4 run and after Yale cut its deficit to 19-15, the Hall pulled away for a 45-22 lead, capped by Myles Cale's swooping putback dunk at the buzzer off a missed Rhoden three. The second half was more of the same, as fans’ thoughts drifted to Tuesday’s marquee matchup.
“It's a big test,” Rhoden said of Michigan. “I think this game was (about) us trying to get acclimated to playing a good team. We watched Yale on film extensively (after a 91-71 rout of UMass) and they were really good and for us to come out and put on the show we did tonight, I think it shows a lot about who we really are and how good this team can be.”
Alexis Yetna, who scored a game-high 15 points, said, “It's a big chance for us that we’re ready to take on.”
About trying to slow down Michigan’s 7-1 superstar center Hunter Dickinson, he said, “We're going to take a lot of pride and play good defense. It's a whole team effort. We've got big guards, strong guards who are able to help.”
Clearly, that is something Willard is stressing. Here's what he had to say about trying to guard Dickinson, and about how it isn’t just on the bigs.
“You have to play really well (as a) team defensively,” the 11th-year Seton Hall coach said, “because they do a phenomenal job of short-rolling him, where they set a pick-and-roll, they space out two guys on the opposite side and they hit him early.
“If you rotate to him,” Willard continued, “he’s one of the best passing big men I've seen in a while, and he makes the right decision every time. If you don’t roll to him, he’s going to score. It's going to have to be a real team effort.”
Willard was asked about the quick turnaround, and noted that despite the noon start of the Yale game, there was nothing else the coaching staff could do with the team Sunday to prepare.
“From a mental side,” he said, “it’s challenging, because you have to figure out what you’re going to do on a scout.”
One thing that might help is that the Pirates are a bit deeper. Michigan, which has beaten Buffalo and Prairie View, has only eight players averaging double figures in minutes through two games.
“This is how I envisioned this team,” Willard said, “especially once Myles Cale came back and Bryce (Aiken) came back. You're going to get the same amount of possessions and shots. There's just not so much pressure on anyone on the court at any time and I think that’s the biggest difference with this team.”
He added, “No one has to stress about playing great every night. They know if I'm not playing well, someone is there to pick me up and that’s a really nice thing for a player to have, that every time you go into the game, you don’t have to stress about (how) I need to play great for us to win.”
