1. Jay Wright said it, Kevin Willard hinted at it and I absolutely fear it, especially when you have 3 seniors.....it is not advantageous for the home team to play a game on senior night against high quality competition.
2. Staying with that thought. Going into the game my biggest concern was Myles Powell. Powell is a very emotional person and in a setting as we saw last night with 16.863 fans screaming their support for Myles and his teammates the worry was he would try and do too much. And unfortunately for the Pirates that scenario played out.
3. Same old same old
Second chance points have killed the Hall all year long. Last night Nova only got 7 offensive rebounds. That was the good news. The Bad? Those 7 caroms led to 17 second chance points.
4. Give me the damn ball
NY Jet fans will certainly remember those words from former #1 draft pick Keyshawn Johnson. Hell, he wrote a book with that very title. But last night another athlete might have been thinking the same thing. A 6-10 athlete who shot 8-10 from the field and led the team with 20 points and a plus/minus of +7.
5. An absolute offensive clinic
Anyone who doesn't think that Jay Wright isn't the best coach in college BB just had to watch last night's game. Wright's young team put on a clinic in not only making shots but taking the most efficient ones as well. You can count on one hand how many low quality attempts the Wildcats had in the game. You would need both hands and probably your feet as well to do the same for the Pirates.
6. Freshmen usually hit a wall by this time after a long and arduous basketball season. Only problem, someone forgot to tell that to Justin Moore who seemed to break the back of every SHU rally on his way to scoring 19 points, 5-8 from the arc.
7. Getting back to senior night....Ro struggled, despite decent stats so too did Q and clearly Powell did not have one of his better games on either side of the court. Too much emotion is the bane of efficiency.
8. FWIW, there was a TT sighting on the Hall's bench last night.
9. Pick your poison
The Pirates struggled on offense with Gill in the lineup but played much better on that side of the court when they went small. Problem is as soon as that happened Nova attacked inside matching Seton Hall point for point down the stretch.
10. Home (not) sweet home
This team is too good to lose 3 games in conference at the Rock.as opposed to just 1 on the road. The way I see it is that the team plays to the crowd without the maturity needed to handle the emotions that result. That's unusual for an upperclassmen dominated team, but last night was a prime example.
11. Those of us who thought giving Shavar Reynolds a scholarship, and that would be everyone, could not have been more wrong. Two Pirates stood out last night, and one of them was wearing #33. No coincidence that those 2 players led the team in plus/minus.
12. Getting back to emotions.
Powell was an emotional wreck before the game and if you saw him in the post game he was almost as bad. That's why when Willard was asked about that his response shocked the heck out of me saying he was far worse yesterday.
The pressure on Powell being the face of college basketball nationally has taken a tremendous toll on the player. Not sure many could handle it and unfortunately because of that pressure we are not seeing the best of Myles Powell.
Sure he had 8 assists last evening and hopefully moving forward he'll use that stat to play more efficiently, because unlike last season the Pirates have enough weapons where the star guard doesn't have to be the whole show.
13. Kevin Willard when asked about Saddiq Bey said...he'll look great in a Knick uniform next season.
Powell and Howard get all the Big East love, but this kid is an absolute stud. He comes back next season and the Jay Wrights will be one of the favorites to win the national championship.
14. Who screwed up? The coach or the player?
Last possession of the first half. Nova has the ball out of bounds at halfcourt with 17 seconds left on the clock. The Hall has 5 team fouls and Willard inserts Tyrese Samuel. One would think to give a foul. But it never happened and Nova bull rushes an easy layup at the buzzer to go up 3.
15. 'Dance' with the one who brought you
Who needs rest? Certainly not the men of Jay Wright. His starters logged all but 11 minutes of the game.
16. Rhoden has been special all year long for the Hall, but last night the event was just too big for him. Chalk it up to experience and he'll become a better player for it.
17. History repeats itself?
If you're a Pirate fan you hope so. The Hall's 1 point victory over Nova at the Garden years ago that crowned the Pirates Big East Champions was the springboard used by Villanova to go on a major roll and win their second national title in school history.
Can last night's heartbreaking loss do the same for the Hall? We'll see. The talent is there. Just have to play with more efficiency.
18. Sometimes stats lie
Seton Hall
Less turnovers
More points off turnovers
Way more points in the paint
Way more fast break points
Bench scoring - 21 -0
Nova shoots 10-18 from the line
Final score
Nova 79
SHU 77
19. Should Reynolds have missed his second foul shot with 4 seconds left on the clock down 2? I say no and so did Willard.
Let the debate begin.
20. I would be remiss to not give a shout out to the fans in attendance. From the opening tip, hell even 20 minutes before, the near 17,000 in the arena did everything possible to spur their team on. But on this night the precision of a Jay Wright coached team was just too much for Seton Hall. Hats off to the Wildcats and their young squad.
21. Kevin Willard has shortened his bench and it's clear he has chosen experience over youth as Nelson (DNP) Samuel (17 seconds) and Obiagu (4 minutes) barely saw the light of day.
22. All year long the Pirates have played better on the road then at home. Will it happen again Saturday at Creighton, where clearly they will face their biggest away challenge of the year?
The oddsmakers will say no. I beg to differ.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
2. Staying with that thought. Going into the game my biggest concern was Myles Powell. Powell is a very emotional person and in a setting as we saw last night with 16.863 fans screaming their support for Myles and his teammates the worry was he would try and do too much. And unfortunately for the Pirates that scenario played out.
3. Same old same old
Second chance points have killed the Hall all year long. Last night Nova only got 7 offensive rebounds. That was the good news. The Bad? Those 7 caroms led to 17 second chance points.
4. Give me the damn ball
NY Jet fans will certainly remember those words from former #1 draft pick Keyshawn Johnson. Hell, he wrote a book with that very title. But last night another athlete might have been thinking the same thing. A 6-10 athlete who shot 8-10 from the field and led the team with 20 points and a plus/minus of +7.
5. An absolute offensive clinic
Anyone who doesn't think that Jay Wright isn't the best coach in college BB just had to watch last night's game. Wright's young team put on a clinic in not only making shots but taking the most efficient ones as well. You can count on one hand how many low quality attempts the Wildcats had in the game. You would need both hands and probably your feet as well to do the same for the Pirates.
6. Freshmen usually hit a wall by this time after a long and arduous basketball season. Only problem, someone forgot to tell that to Justin Moore who seemed to break the back of every SHU rally on his way to scoring 19 points, 5-8 from the arc.
7. Getting back to senior night....Ro struggled, despite decent stats so too did Q and clearly Powell did not have one of his better games on either side of the court. Too much emotion is the bane of efficiency.
8. FWIW, there was a TT sighting on the Hall's bench last night.
9. Pick your poison
The Pirates struggled on offense with Gill in the lineup but played much better on that side of the court when they went small. Problem is as soon as that happened Nova attacked inside matching Seton Hall point for point down the stretch.
10. Home (not) sweet home
This team is too good to lose 3 games in conference at the Rock.as opposed to just 1 on the road. The way I see it is that the team plays to the crowd without the maturity needed to handle the emotions that result. That's unusual for an upperclassmen dominated team, but last night was a prime example.
11. Those of us who thought giving Shavar Reynolds a scholarship, and that would be everyone, could not have been more wrong. Two Pirates stood out last night, and one of them was wearing #33. No coincidence that those 2 players led the team in plus/minus.
12. Getting back to emotions.
Powell was an emotional wreck before the game and if you saw him in the post game he was almost as bad. That's why when Willard was asked about that his response shocked the heck out of me saying he was far worse yesterday.
The pressure on Powell being the face of college basketball nationally has taken a tremendous toll on the player. Not sure many could handle it and unfortunately because of that pressure we are not seeing the best of Myles Powell.
Sure he had 8 assists last evening and hopefully moving forward he'll use that stat to play more efficiently, because unlike last season the Pirates have enough weapons where the star guard doesn't have to be the whole show.
13. Kevin Willard when asked about Saddiq Bey said...he'll look great in a Knick uniform next season.
Powell and Howard get all the Big East love, but this kid is an absolute stud. He comes back next season and the Jay Wrights will be one of the favorites to win the national championship.
14. Who screwed up? The coach or the player?
Last possession of the first half. Nova has the ball out of bounds at halfcourt with 17 seconds left on the clock. The Hall has 5 team fouls and Willard inserts Tyrese Samuel. One would think to give a foul. But it never happened and Nova bull rushes an easy layup at the buzzer to go up 3.
15. 'Dance' with the one who brought you
Who needs rest? Certainly not the men of Jay Wright. His starters logged all but 11 minutes of the game.
16. Rhoden has been special all year long for the Hall, but last night the event was just too big for him. Chalk it up to experience and he'll become a better player for it.
17. History repeats itself?
If you're a Pirate fan you hope so. The Hall's 1 point victory over Nova at the Garden years ago that crowned the Pirates Big East Champions was the springboard used by Villanova to go on a major roll and win their second national title in school history.
Can last night's heartbreaking loss do the same for the Hall? We'll see. The talent is there. Just have to play with more efficiency.
18. Sometimes stats lie
Seton Hall
Less turnovers
More points off turnovers
Way more points in the paint
Way more fast break points
Bench scoring - 21 -0
Nova shoots 10-18 from the line
Final score
Nova 79
SHU 77
19. Should Reynolds have missed his second foul shot with 4 seconds left on the clock down 2? I say no and so did Willard.
Let the debate begin.
20. I would be remiss to not give a shout out to the fans in attendance. From the opening tip, hell even 20 minutes before, the near 17,000 in the arena did everything possible to spur their team on. But on this night the precision of a Jay Wright coached team was just too much for Seton Hall. Hats off to the Wildcats and their young squad.
21. Kevin Willard has shortened his bench and it's clear he has chosen experience over youth as Nelson (DNP) Samuel (17 seconds) and Obiagu (4 minutes) barely saw the light of day.
22. All year long the Pirates have played better on the road then at home. Will it happen again Saturday at Creighton, where clearly they will face their biggest away challenge of the year?
The oddsmakers will say no. I beg to differ.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
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