By Zach Braziller
Kevin Willard (left) and Chris Mullin. Photo: Bill Kostroun; Paul J. Bereswill
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seton hall pirates
Seton Hall sees another opportunity slip against a top team
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Over the past three weeks, Seton Hall’s schedule has read like a minefield. One top-10 team after another. Two games against No. 6 Villanova, one against No. 7 Xavier and No. 10 Providence, mixed with a home game against surprising Creighton, which is tied for second in the Big East.
The results, a 1-4 record, don’t accurately depict how the Pirates performed, they believe.
“I like the way we’re battling. I like the way we’re playing,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in a phone interview. “Where we are, ideally, is not where we want to be. But I think we’re in a good position.
“You’re going to have some tough losses and you have to bounce back. I think we’ve bounced back OK.”
The true test for the Pirates (13-6, 3-4 Big East) awaits: Can they respond from this stretch and beat the teams they are better than on paper.
It begins Wednesday against undermanned and inexperienced St. John’s.
Seton Hall, though, isn’t taking the Johnnies (7-13, 0-7), losers of 10 straight, lightly despite their struggles. More important than the opponents, Willard said, is the location. Four of the Pirates’ next five games are at home, against St. John’s, Marquette, Georgetown and Butler.
“We’re going to be able to get some practice and individual work done, almost what the bye week did for us,” Willard said, referring to the time off before an upset of Providence. “We can get into a rhythm, play good basketball.”
Seton Hall does have the look of an NCAA Tournament team, with four top-100 victories — two over ranked opponents Providence and No. 22 Wichita State — and an RPI of 44. Several mock brackets have the Pirates in the tournament at the moment. Though they have lost four of their past five games, three of those contests were on the road, and three of the defeats — to Villanova twice and to Xavier — were by single digits.
“We believe we can beat everyone in the league,” sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead said. “We obviously know we’re at the level of the top-tier teams in the Big East. Every game is an opportunity to prove we should be dancing in March. We have to prove we belong.”
Seton Hall led Villanova by two points with 1:58 left last Wednesday, before coming undone in the final possessions. And the Pirates hung with Xavier on Saturday before the Musketeers wore them down.
Nevertheless, they aren’t taking bows for merely playing tough against top-10 opponents.
“There’s no such thing as moral victories,” Whitehead said. “We lost.”
St. John’s, meanwhile, desperately is in search of a win, and it couldn’t pick a better time for it, to put a dent in its rival’s March hopes.
Despite the Johnnies’ winless streak, they have played tough in the Big East, losing four times by 10 points or fewer. The latest setback was a 78-73 loss to Marquette on Sunday at Carnesecca Arena, a game in which St. John’s trailed by as many as 20 points, but got within three late before falling short.
“I was proud of the way they played in the second half,” Red Storm coach Chris Mullin said Sunday. “It just shows if you play with energy and just lay it out there, good things can happen.”
For both Seton Hall and St. John’s, that hasn’t resulted in many victories of late. Wednesday night, though, it will — for one of the two scuffling locals.
http://nypost.com/2016/01/26/st-johns-looks-to-spoil-seton-halls-ncaa-tournament-push/
Kevin Willard (left) and Chris Mullin. Photo: Bill Kostroun; Paul J. Bereswill
MORE ON:
seton hall pirates
Seton Hall sees another opportunity slip against a top team
How hoops star left behind powerhouse to turn around Wagner
Seton Hall nearly upsets No. 4 Villanova: 'We see where we're at'
Derrick Gordon's play shows he's more than just a trailblazer
Over the past three weeks, Seton Hall’s schedule has read like a minefield. One top-10 team after another. Two games against No. 6 Villanova, one against No. 7 Xavier and No. 10 Providence, mixed with a home game against surprising Creighton, which is tied for second in the Big East.
The results, a 1-4 record, don’t accurately depict how the Pirates performed, they believe.
“I like the way we’re battling. I like the way we’re playing,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in a phone interview. “Where we are, ideally, is not where we want to be. But I think we’re in a good position.
“You’re going to have some tough losses and you have to bounce back. I think we’ve bounced back OK.”
The true test for the Pirates (13-6, 3-4 Big East) awaits: Can they respond from this stretch and beat the teams they are better than on paper.
It begins Wednesday against undermanned and inexperienced St. John’s.
Seton Hall, though, isn’t taking the Johnnies (7-13, 0-7), losers of 10 straight, lightly despite their struggles. More important than the opponents, Willard said, is the location. Four of the Pirates’ next five games are at home, against St. John’s, Marquette, Georgetown and Butler.
“We’re going to be able to get some practice and individual work done, almost what the bye week did for us,” Willard said, referring to the time off before an upset of Providence. “We can get into a rhythm, play good basketball.”
Seton Hall does have the look of an NCAA Tournament team, with four top-100 victories — two over ranked opponents Providence and No. 22 Wichita State — and an RPI of 44. Several mock brackets have the Pirates in the tournament at the moment. Though they have lost four of their past five games, three of those contests were on the road, and three of the defeats — to Villanova twice and to Xavier — were by single digits.
“We believe we can beat everyone in the league,” sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead said. “We obviously know we’re at the level of the top-tier teams in the Big East. Every game is an opportunity to prove we should be dancing in March. We have to prove we belong.”
Seton Hall led Villanova by two points with 1:58 left last Wednesday, before coming undone in the final possessions. And the Pirates hung with Xavier on Saturday before the Musketeers wore them down.
Nevertheless, they aren’t taking bows for merely playing tough against top-10 opponents.
“There’s no such thing as moral victories,” Whitehead said. “We lost.”
St. John’s, meanwhile, desperately is in search of a win, and it couldn’t pick a better time for it, to put a dent in its rival’s March hopes.
Despite the Johnnies’ winless streak, they have played tough in the Big East, losing four times by 10 points or fewer. The latest setback was a 78-73 loss to Marquette on Sunday at Carnesecca Arena, a game in which St. John’s trailed by as many as 20 points, but got within three late before falling short.
“I was proud of the way they played in the second half,” Red Storm coach Chris Mullin said Sunday. “It just shows if you play with energy and just lay it out there, good things can happen.”
For both Seton Hall and St. John’s, that hasn’t resulted in many victories of late. Wednesday night, though, it will — for one of the two scuffling locals.
http://nypost.com/2016/01/26/st-johns-looks-to-spoil-seton-halls-ncaa-tournament-push/
