By JP Pelzman
Seton Hall won't play its next game at the Prudential Center until November.
Perhaps that’s a good thing.
The Pirates lost three of their last five games at The Rock this season, including an emotion-filled 79-77 defeat against Villanova on Wednesday night. The Hall (21-8, 13-4) now must beat host Creighton (23-7, 12-5) on Saturday afternoon to earn an outright Big East regular-season title and top seed in the conference tournament next week.
Villanova (23-7, 12-5) visits depleted Georgetown on Saturday. If both Creighton and the Wildcats win, there would be a three-way tie for the top seed, and then tie-breakers would come into play. Seton Hall would finish third because it would have been swept by Creighton.
“I feel we play better with our backs against the wall anyway,” a frustrated, yet still confident Myles Powell said afterward after a 5-for-18, eight-assist night.
“This is going to add fuel to the fire for us,” said an equally defiant Quincy McKnight. He shot 6-for-14 with 16 points, seven assists and four turnovers.
Emotions ran high from the start. The Senior Night ceremonies, featuring McKnight, Romaro Gill and headliner Powell, third all-time on Seton Hall’s career scoring list, brought the crowd of 16,863 to a fever pitch. (That is a Prudential Center record for a Seton Hall game.)
But perhaps the emotions ran too high. The Wildcats, coming off a an upset loss to surging Providence in their home finale in Philadelphia on Saturday, countered that raw emotion with surgical precision, especially on offense. Villanova was 13-for-32 (40.6 percent) from three-point range for the game, and had very few hiccups.
One came in the first half, when a 15-5 Seton Hall run gave the Pirates a 27-22 lead on Powell’s driving layup with five minutes to go. But Myles Cale’s trey at the 19-second mark was the Pirates’ only other basket before halftime, and Villanova led 33-30 at intermission.
The Hall never led again, trailing by as many as 14 and by 10 with 2:20 to go. But a Powell three cut that deficit to seven and set the stage for the visitors' shockingly horrific, un-Villanova-like foul shooting (4-for-11 down the stretch), leaving the door open for a miracle comeback.
But Powell missed a contested three-point attempt that could have tied the score. Shavar Reynolds was fouled on the play, and made both free throws, which was coach Kevin Willard’s strategy, to make it 78-77 with four seconds left.
Seton Hall had one final chance after Jermaine Samuels made one of two foul shots with 3.4 ticks remaining, but Cale’s trey attempt as the buzzer sounded was no good and likely would’ve been waved off had it gone through. Replays seemed to indicate he did not beat the clock with his release.
Willard said, “Kids love being in the program, and when you see them for the last time on your home court, it’s emotional, it’s hard.”
Willard “told me that he loved me,” Powell said, describing their pre-game embrace. “I heard the crowd start cheering. It just caught up to me. I love this building. I love my fans. I love the university. So it was just an emotional night for me, and I just wish it could have turned out a little better.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright knew Powell would have trouble turning the page after that moment.
“I personally hate Senior Night, I really do,” Wright said. “It's emotional, there's so much going on, there's so much in the kids' heads. I saw Myles Powell just crying. That’s how much this program means to him. I'm watching that and thinking to myself, ‘if this kid comes out and busts our butt after being that emotional, he's an absolute killer.’
Wright added, "Senior Nights are hard. It's much more taxing on the home team.”
Unfortunately for Seton Hall, Creighton has no seniors in its starting lineup. But maybe the Pirates’ road mojo--7-1 away from Newark in Big East play--will make the difference.
“No matter what happens on Saturday, we’re still (Big East) co-champions,” Willard said. “This will hurt (Thursday), but I have a lot of confidence in this team to bounce back.”
Seton Hall won't play its next game at the Prudential Center until November.
Perhaps that’s a good thing.
The Pirates lost three of their last five games at The Rock this season, including an emotion-filled 79-77 defeat against Villanova on Wednesday night. The Hall (21-8, 13-4) now must beat host Creighton (23-7, 12-5) on Saturday afternoon to earn an outright Big East regular-season title and top seed in the conference tournament next week.
Villanova (23-7, 12-5) visits depleted Georgetown on Saturday. If both Creighton and the Wildcats win, there would be a three-way tie for the top seed, and then tie-breakers would come into play. Seton Hall would finish third because it would have been swept by Creighton.
“I feel we play better with our backs against the wall anyway,” a frustrated, yet still confident Myles Powell said afterward after a 5-for-18, eight-assist night.
“This is going to add fuel to the fire for us,” said an equally defiant Quincy McKnight. He shot 6-for-14 with 16 points, seven assists and four turnovers.
Emotions ran high from the start. The Senior Night ceremonies, featuring McKnight, Romaro Gill and headliner Powell, third all-time on Seton Hall’s career scoring list, brought the crowd of 16,863 to a fever pitch. (That is a Prudential Center record for a Seton Hall game.)
But perhaps the emotions ran too high. The Wildcats, coming off a an upset loss to surging Providence in their home finale in Philadelphia on Saturday, countered that raw emotion with surgical precision, especially on offense. Villanova was 13-for-32 (40.6 percent) from three-point range for the game, and had very few hiccups.
One came in the first half, when a 15-5 Seton Hall run gave the Pirates a 27-22 lead on Powell’s driving layup with five minutes to go. But Myles Cale’s trey at the 19-second mark was the Pirates’ only other basket before halftime, and Villanova led 33-30 at intermission.
The Hall never led again, trailing by as many as 14 and by 10 with 2:20 to go. But a Powell three cut that deficit to seven and set the stage for the visitors' shockingly horrific, un-Villanova-like foul shooting (4-for-11 down the stretch), leaving the door open for a miracle comeback.
But Powell missed a contested three-point attempt that could have tied the score. Shavar Reynolds was fouled on the play, and made both free throws, which was coach Kevin Willard’s strategy, to make it 78-77 with four seconds left.
Seton Hall had one final chance after Jermaine Samuels made one of two foul shots with 3.4 ticks remaining, but Cale’s trey attempt as the buzzer sounded was no good and likely would’ve been waved off had it gone through. Replays seemed to indicate he did not beat the clock with his release.
Willard said, “Kids love being in the program, and when you see them for the last time on your home court, it’s emotional, it’s hard.”
Willard “told me that he loved me,” Powell said, describing their pre-game embrace. “I heard the crowd start cheering. It just caught up to me. I love this building. I love my fans. I love the university. So it was just an emotional night for me, and I just wish it could have turned out a little better.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright knew Powell would have trouble turning the page after that moment.
“I personally hate Senior Night, I really do,” Wright said. “It's emotional, there's so much going on, there's so much in the kids' heads. I saw Myles Powell just crying. That’s how much this program means to him. I'm watching that and thinking to myself, ‘if this kid comes out and busts our butt after being that emotional, he's an absolute killer.’
Wright added, "Senior Nights are hard. It's much more taxing on the home team.”
Unfortunately for Seton Hall, Creighton has no seniors in its starting lineup. But maybe the Pirates’ road mojo--7-1 away from Newark in Big East play--will make the difference.
“No matter what happens on Saturday, we’re still (Big East) co-champions,” Willard said. “This will hurt (Thursday), but I have a lot of confidence in this team to bounce back.”
