Seton Hall’s series of appearances at the NCAA tournament probably ended. Weeks ago, that was inconceivable. After Friday night, it’s hard to imagine that the Pirates will be selected.
Georgetown and coach Patrick Ewing are the reason, after they defeated the pirates for the second time in three weeks, 66-58, in the semifinals of the Big East tournament in Garden.
“Every team is going through its bad moments,” said junior Jared Rhoden, who led Seton Hall with 22 points and was the only Pirates player to hit double figures. “We felt we were hit by the wrong moments at the wrong time of the season.”
Hoyas in the eighth grade (12-12) were the better team. Better at first. Better in the end. Smarter and sharper in the big moments. And, for the first time since 2010, they will play for the conference title on Saturday night, against the winner on Friday night between Creighton no. 2 and Connecticut no. 3.
Seton Hall’s fifth series of four consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament began five years ago with a Big East tournament title. COVID-19 ended the season prematurely for last year’s high ceiling team.
Three weeks ago, the Pirates (14-13) appeared ready to return to Big Dance. The rest of the season seemed to be about sowing. However, four consecutive losses followed, starting with a loss at Georgetown. A victory in overtime against St. John’s gave coach Kevin Willard’s team the hope of turning around on Thursday. He delayed the inevitable.
The same problems – punctual guard play, inconsistent defense, slow starts – reappeared. The continued absence of the transfer from Harvard, Bryce Aiken, who was brought in to provide experience with a punch in the backfield, remained great. Aiken has played in just 14 games this season due to a variety of injuries and was unavailable this week. He put too much responsibility on Shavar Reynolds, who committed five turnovers on Friday.
“Obviously, not having him technically in the last half of the season, it really hurt that he put so much on Shavar’s plate, not only offensively, but also defensively,” Willard said. “I am just sorry for him. It’s a difficult way to end your career, not being able to play all year. ”
In the last minutes, Georgetown played the right games, as he did against Villanova the day before. Chudier Bile’s 3-point game with 1:36 left gave Hoyas the final lead. Seton Hall scored just one point the rest of the way.
Reynolds was blocked at the other end, then fouled Dante Harris on a 3-point attempt with 21.4 seconds left. Harris, who finished with 15 points, hit all three free throws to freeze him.
Missed free throws – the Pirates were 2-for-6 from the line in the last 5:51 – didn’t help. Sandro Mamukelashvili’s nightmare show didn’t do it either. Followed by Jamorko Pickett (who led Hoyas with 19 points), Mamukelashvili went 3-for-16 to finish with just eight points, the third game of the season in which he failed to reach double digits.
On Thursday, Ewing appeared on the front page because he told reporters that the Garden’s security frequently stops him during this tournament. He spoke with Knicks owner James Dolan and was ready to get over it, focusing instead on his team’s amazing run to the finals.
“It’s great to be here,” Ewing said. “It’s been my home for many years.”
Meanwhile, Seton Hall’s season may end, except for a surprise NCAA invitation. When asked about his interest in playing at NIT, Rhoden declined to comment. Willard said he would have to talk to seniors, but it seemed unlikely. He would not want Mamukelasvhili to play and risk injury.
Later, Willard focused on his own shortcomings, instead of what went wrong against Georgetown. He blamed himself for an aggressive non-conference program following his team’s COVID-19 shutdown, which caused the Pirates to return early.
“I don’t think that was probably the best decision,” Willard said.
However, Seton Hall was still there for the fifth consecutive bid in the NCAA tournament. On February 20, the Pirates made a trip to Georgetown, which began this dismemberment from which they never recovered.