Seton Hall’s series of NCAA tournaments is probably over. Weeks ago it was unthinkable. After Friday night, it’s hard to see the Pirates being selected.
Georgetown and coach Patrick Ewing are the reason after beating the Pirates in the garden for the second time in three weeks, 66-58, in the Big East Tournament semifinals.
“Every team goes through their bad times,” said junior Jared Rhoden, who led Seton Hall with 22 points and was the Pirates’ only player to score double figures. “I felt like we’d hit our bad time at the wrong point in the season.”
The eighth seeded Hoyas (12-12) were the better team. Better at the beginning. Better at the end. Smarter and sharper in big moments. And for the first time since 2010, they play Saturday night for the conference title, against the winner of Friday night between Creighton and Connecticut no.
The fifth-seeded Seton Hall’s four runs after the NCAA Tournament began with a Big East Tournament title five years ago. COVID-19 ended the season early for the high ceiling team.
Three weeks ago, the Pirates (14-13) appeared to return to the Big Dance. The rest of the season seemed like it was about boring. But four consecutive losses follow, starting with a loss at Georgetown. An overtime victory over St. John’s coach Kevin Willard’s team on Thursday hoped it would make a comeback. It only delayed the inevitable.
The same issues – subpart point-guard play, inconsistent defense, slow start – reappear. The continued absence of Harvard-grade coach Bryce Aiken, who was brought in to gain experience in the backfield, posed a major threat. Aiken has played in just 14 games this season due to a variety of injuries and he was unavailable this week. That laid too much responsibility for the one-time run-up to Shavar Reynolds, who committed five turnovers on Friday.
“Because he didn’t have him technically the last half of the season, it hurt us a lot because it put just as much on Shavar’s plate, not only offensively but also defensively,” Willard said. “I feel bad for him. It’s a hard way to end your career if you can not play all year. ”
In the final minutes, Georgetown delivered the right plays, like the day before against Villanova. Chudier Bile’s three-point game with 1:36 left gave the Hoyas the lead. Seton Hall scored just one point for the rest of the point.
Reynolds was blocked on the other side and overcame Dante Harris with a three-point effort by 21.4 seconds. Harris, who finished with 15 points, hit all three of the free kicks to ice it.
Missed free throws – the Pirates were 2-for-6 off the line over the last 5:51 – did not help. Neither did senior star Sandro Mamukelashvili’s nightmare shooting performance. Supported by Jamorko Pickett (who led the Hoyas by 19 points), Mamukelashvili finished 3-for-16 with just eight points, the third game all season in which he failed to score double figures.
Ewing made headlines on Thursday for reporters that Garden Safety regularly stops him during this tournament. He spoke to James Dolan, owner of Knicks, and was ready to move there and rather focused on his team’s beautiful run to the final.
“It’s great to be here,” Ewing said. “It’s been my home for many years.”
Meanwhile, Seton Hall’s season may be over, and it’s going to be a surprise for the NCAA. Asked about his interest in playing in the NIT, Rhoden declined to comment. Willard said he will have to talk to his seniors, but he seems unlikely. He does not want Mamukelasvhili to play and risk an injury.
After that, Willard focuses on his own shortcomings, instead of what went wrong against Georgetown. He pleaded guilty to an aggressive non-conference schedule following the closure of his team’s COVID-19 that put the Pirates back early.
“I just think it was probably not the best decision,” Willard said.
With all that said, Seton Hall was still there for a fifth NCAA Tournament. On February 20, the Pirates undertook a trip to Georgetown that started this swoon from which they never really recovered.