In no particular order
1. Truth be told
It's amazing what a difference hitting shots makes. Worst offense in the league? Not yesterday.
2. SJU vs SHU?
Not at the 13:30 mark. Soriano 8, Dawes 6.
3. Damn refs
Thought it comical that the fans, and that included me, thought we were getting a bad whistle in the first half. Then late I look up at the scoreboard and see St John's 10 fouls, Seton Hall 3 fouls.
BTW, Harris was not tripped by anyone on SJU. He just fell on his own.
4. Zoning in
Give Sha credit for changing defenses. The Pirates were getting shredded inside by Soriano early. He simply was too much for Samuel. So the Pirates mixed up their defenses, twice in the first half going to a zone. The first time just once out of a timeout. And then later for multiple possessions during their late run. They followed a similar script in the second stanza.
5. Practice doesn't always make perfect
If you came early and watched Jamir Harris shooting from range in warm-ups he was on fire. Thought to myself if he hits his first look out. Then the game begins and his first shot rattles in and out and that continued his season long shooting woes. 0-4 from range hitting a layup on six attempts.
6. Not as smart as I think I am
I would have bet anything, and I mean anything that Richmond easily had the best +/- in the game. Wrong. Richmond did have a +25 but not in the same ballpark as Ndefo, who despite only scoring 8 points had a +30.
7. Not as smart as I think I am, part 2
Around the 8 minute mark I semi jokingly told Rivals poster tact that the final score of the game was going to be 32-30. Missed by just 92 points!
8. Help!
As in weakside help defense. Seton Hall shined in that department all game long. To the tune of St John's shooting 41.2% from the field and 22.2% from the arc. That despite Soriano torching the Hall in the paint on 10-14 shooting.
9. More important than it looked
Great move by Holloway after the 8 minute timeout. Sure, the Hall was still up by 17, but just one game prior the Red Storm was in a similar situation vs Xavier and they almost pulled that game out. Before the timeout SJU scored on 2 straight possessions with Richmond on the bench resting for about a minute. After the TO Holloway reinserted Richmond who proceeded to either score or assist on the next 5 offensive scores. Game over and 5 minutes later Richmond was pulled to a well earned ovation.
10. Jerry and Matt vs Halldan
The real game came in the media room after the contest. Two stubborn Italians (LOL) were good naturedly debating who was the player of the game with Jerry noting Samuel and I Richmond. Matt Loughlin then came in to sit by us and he sided with Jerry. Clearly they were both wrong. LOL. What do you guys think?
11. History doesn't repeat
The last time SJU was in NJ they blew out the Pirates with a stifling defense and their urgency. Yesterday, different venue, same state, the polar opposite occurred.
12. And....
Staying with that I asked Anderson that question in the post game and he put the blame on himself. When I followed up noting that the game was lost early in the second half when SJU stopped running their offense and stopped valuing the ball, which led to the Pirate blowout, he agreed saying he felt his team lost their composure and didn't respond well to the situation.
13. Shades of the Friars
How many think this game reminded you of the Providence game, with a different result. In the first half it looked like the Hall dominated Providence and was going to chalk up an easy W. Then the second half began and Providence took immediate control of the game. For most of the first half yesterday it looked like the Storm was cruising to a victory, but then the second half began and Seton Hall took immediate comand of the game.
14. Where's Gary
Look for Cohen to be back in his radio seat in the Hall's next home game. He's having a difficult recovery from rotator cuff surgery. He is now scheduled to do the rest of our home games and selected away games.
15. Stats can lie
Clearly the Red Storm was going to turnover the Pirates and that telling stat was going to make the difference in the game, right? Well no. Seton Hall actually had 4 more steals and just 1 more turnover with the Pirates scoring 14 points off those turnovers to 13 by St John's.
16. Speaking of turnovers
Take away the 4 by Dawes and maybe he was the Pirates most valuable player.
17. No mercy
Despite playing an excellent game and the Hall in the mist of their blowout W Samuel had a momentary lapse and allowed an SJU player to get inside him just before the 8 minute TO to score on a missed foul shot putback. When the team came back to the bench during that timeout Holloway immediately pulled Samuel aside and gave him an earful. It might not have mattered yesterday but it sure as hell might in a later game.
18. They're called freshmen for a reason
Holloway drastically cut down on the minutes of his two young players. To the tune of 2 minutes for Tae Davis and none for Jaquan Sanders.
19. Urgency
We have seen the Pirates reach back to play with absolute urgency in two recent games. Each against a local team. Rutgers a couple of weeks ago and St John's yesterday. Was it because of playing must win games or was it because the team got up to meet the local challenge? I asked Sha that in the post game as that has been a talking point of his all year long. His answer? Don't ask me ask the players. I have been in their ears all year about that.
20. Fleeting moment or turning the season around?
Stay tuned Tuesday.
