Seton Hall’s series of NCAA tournament appearances is likely over. Weeks ago that was unthinkable. After Friday-evening, it is difficult 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 semi-finals of the Big East Tournament in the Garden.
“Every team is going through its bad times,” said junior Jared Rhoden, who led Seton Hall with 22 points and was the only Pirates player to get double digits. “I felt like we scored our bad times at the wrong time in the season.”
The eighth seed Hoyas (12-12) were the better team. Better in the beginning. Better at the finish. Smarter and sharper for big moments. And, for the first time since 2010, they’ll play for the title of the conference on Saturday night, against Friday night’s winner between No. 2 Creighton and No. 3 Connecticut.
The fifth-seeded Seton Hall’s streak 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) seemed ready to return to the Big Dance. The rest of the season seemed to be about sowing. But four consecutive losses followed, starting with a defeat at Georgetown. A win at St. John’s on Thursday gave coach Kevin Willard’s team hope it had turned a corner. It only slowed down the inevitable.
The same issues – insufficient point guard play, inconsistent defense, slow starts – came up again. The continued absence of Harvard transfer Bryce Aiken, who was brought in to give experience scoring a strike in the backcourt, loomed. Aiken played in only 14 games this season due to various injuries, and was unavailable this week. It placed too much responsibility on one-off walk-on Shavar Reynolds, who made five turnovers on Friday.
“Obviously, because he didn’t technically have him for the last half of the season, it really hurt us because it put so much on Shavar’s plate, not only offensively but defensively,” said Willard. ‘I feel bad for him. It’s a tough way to end your career if you can’t play all year round. “
In the final minutes, Georgetown made the right moves, just like the day before against Villanova. Chudier Bile’s 3-point play with 1:36 left put the Hoyas in the lead for good. Seton Hall scored just one point the rest of the way.
Reynolds on the other hand was blocked, then fouled Dante Harris on a 3-point attempt with 21.4 seconds to go. Harris, who finished with 15 runs, hit all three free throws to make the ice.
Missed free throws – the Pirates went 2-for-6 off the line during the last 5:51 – didn’t help. Nor is the nightmarish shooting performance of senior star Sandro Mamukelashvili. Mamukelashvili was chased by Jamorko Pickett (who led the Hoyas with 19 points) and went 3-for-16 to finish with only eight points, the third game of the entire season in which he didn’t reach double digits.
On Thursday, Ewing made headlines when he told reporters that Garden security regularly stopped him during this tournament. Speaking to Knicks owner James Dolan, he was ready to get past it, instead focusing on his team’s stunning run to the final.
“It’s great to be here,” said Ewing. “It has been my home for years.”
Seton Hall’s season may be over, barring an unexpected NCAA invite. When asked about his interest in playing in the NIT, Rhoden declined to comment. Willard said he should talk to his seniors, but he seemed to indicate it was unlikely. He wouldn’t want Mamukelasvhili to play and risk getting hurt.
Willard then focused on his own shortcomings, rather than what went wrong with Georgetown. He blamed himself for an aggressive non-conference schedule after his team shutdown with COVID-19, bringing the Pirates back early.
“I just think it probably wasn’t the best decision,” said Willard.
With all that said, Seton Hall was still there for a fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid. On February 20, the Pirates made a trip to Georgetown that started this swoon, from which they never really recovered.