PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By JP Pelzman
Looking back at Seton Hall’s 73-71 victory over Xavier and looking ahead to the Pirates’ game at No. 15 Villanova on Saturday:
Turning point.
When Xavier’s Zach Freemantle, a Teaneck native who went to Don Bosco, got tangled up with Tray Jackson with 13:39 to go, the Musketeers got the worst of it.
Jackson fell to the floor and Freemantle appeared to brush his sneaker on his head rather than avoiding the prone Jackson, and then seemed to catch him with his knee. Officials intervened before the situation could escalate any further and eventually charged double fouls against Freemantle and Jackson.
Freemantle also was charged with a dead-ball foul for the contact and his actions standing over the prone Jackson thus fouled out at that time with only four points.
Xavier trailed only 43-40 when Freemantle exited, but the Pirates quickly extended their lead to 55-45 with a 12-5 run that included five points by Jared Rhoden.
Xavier coach Travis Steele said, “It's a big play in the game. I'd love for the players to be able to decide the game. … I haven’t seen enough to say one way or the other (what exactly happened).
“It looked like to me there was a scrum,” he added. “Zach probably looked at the kid and stepped over him, which isn’t necessarily a technical foul to me in that situation. I think Tray was probably trying to get off the ground and caught Zach’s knee. It is what it is.”
Steele continued, “It's unfortunate for us, but Zach’s also got to keep his cool, got to know better.”
Favorable call?
Steele also wasn’t pleased with what happened with 19 seconds to go, when Colby Jones drove the lane with the Musketeers trailing, 69-65. It appeared to be an and-one and originally was called that way, but then was changed to a foul on the floor. Jones made both free throws to cut the deficit to two, but it could have been a one-point game.
When asked if he had gotten an explanation for the change, Steele replied, “No. I'll leave it at that.”
It looked as if he had a legit gripe. Then again, given some of the bad calls Seton Hall has endured the past two seasons (Providence, Villanova, Marquette), perhaps it was karma.
Aiken update.
Bryce Aiken (concussion protocol) sat out again. Although Jared Rhoden expressed optimism that he would be back soon, coach Kevin Willard again was noncommittal.
"I don’t expect him back anytime soon," the coach said. "The human brain is a crazy thing, so he’s doing all the exercises, he’s doing everything he needs to do--everything--he got hit really, really hard and it’s just taking him some time. I have no timetable on the injury, on anything. I have no idea. He could be back next Saturday or he might not be able to back, I have no idea.”
To miss or not to miss?
Speaking of Aiken, Willard apparently had wanted him to miss a late foul shot up two against UConn last month, but Aiken did not. The Huskies didn’t get a potential tying three-pointer off in time, however.
On Wednesday night, it was unclear whether or not Jamir Harris was trying to miss in a similar situation. But his foul shot rimmed out and the Musketeers’ desperation heave wasn’t good.
Scouting Villanova.
No. 15 Villanova (18-6, 11-3) almost blew a 17-point lead in the final three minutes against St. John’s on the road Tuesday night, and that is very un-Villanova-like. Point guard Collin Gillespie should be in better form after returning from a sprained ankle. He was held scoreless for the first time since his freshman season, although he did have 10 rebounds. He still leads the Wildcats with 16.5 points.
As Willard notes, these Wildcats go inside more than usual.
"I think Eric Dixon, the way Eric Dixon’s playing is off the charts," Willard said. "He could be a first team all-Big East guy right now, to be honest with you, and I think Brandon Slater, the way those two guys are playing, have made them kind of almost like a Villanova team that reminds me of my first couple years in the league, where they pound it inside and just made you defend. They’re such a good passing team."
