Seton Hall’s streak of appearances in the NCAA tournament is probably over. Weeks ago, that was unthinkable. After Friday night, it’s hard to imagine the Pirates will be selected.
Georgetown and coach Patrick Ewing are the reason, after beating the Pirates for the second time in three weeks, 66-58, in the semifinals of the Big East tournament in the garden.
“Every team is going through its bad times,” said young Jared Rhoden, who led Seton Hall with 22 points and was the only Pirates player to hit double digits. “It seemed to me that we were having a bad time at the wrong time of the season.”
The Eighth Holes (12-12) were the best team. Better at first. Better in the end. Smarter and sharper in big times. And, for the first time since 2010, they will play for the conference title Saturday night, against the Friday night winner between No. 2 in Creighton and No. 3 in Connecticut.
Seton Hall’s fifth-place finish in four consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament began five years ago with the Big East tournament title. COVID-19 finished the season prematurely for last year’s high-ceilinged team.
Three weeks ago, the Pirates (14-13) appeared ready to return to the Big Dance. The rest of the season seemed to be about planting. But four consecutive defeats followed, starting with a loss to Georgetown. A win by overtime at St. John’s on Thursday offered the coach Kevin Willard the hope of turning the corner. It only delayed the inevitable.
The same problems reappeared (poor punctual guard play, inconsistent defense, slow starts). The continued absence of Harvard transfer Bryce Aiken, who was brought in to offer back-track experience, was very important. Aiken played just 14 games this season due to several injuries, and was not available this week. It put too much responsibility on Shavar Reynolds, who committed five bills on Friday.
“Obviously, not having him technically the last half of the season really hurt us in the fact that he only put so much into Shavar’s plate, not just offensively but defensively,” Willard said. “I feel bad for him. It’s a difficult way to end a career without being able to play all year. “
In the final minutes, Georgetown made the right plays, as he did against Villanova the day before. Chudier Bile’s 3-point play at 1:36 left the Hoyas ahead for good. Seton Hall scored just one point the rest of the way.
Reynolds was blocked at the other end and then committed a foul on Dante Harris in a 3-point attempt with 21.4 seconds left. Harris, who finished with 15 points, hit all three free throws to make it to the ice.
The missed free throws (the Pirates were 2-on-6 from the line during the final 5:51) didn’t help. Nor did the nightmare performance of senior star Sandro Mamukelashvili. Chased by Jamorko Pickett (who led the Hoyas with 19 points), Mamukelashvili finished 3-on-16 to finish with just eight points, the third game of the entire season in which he failed to reach double digits.
On Thursday, Ewing made headlines to inform reporters that Garden’s safety frequently stopped him during this tournament. He spoke with Knicks owner James Dolan and was willing to pass it on, focusing on his team’s impressive run to the final.
“It’s great to be here,” Ewing said. “It’s been my home for many years.”
The Seton Hall season, meanwhile, could be over, except for a surprise NCAA invitation. When asked about his interest in playing NIT, Rhoden declined to comment. Willard said he should talk to his elders, but he seemed to indicate it was unlikely. He would not want Mamukelasvhili to play and risk injury.
Willard then focused on his own shortcomings, rather than what went wrong against Georgetown. He was blamed for an aggressive no-conference program after his team’s COVID-19 shutdown that drove the Pirates back soon.
“I just don’t think it was probably the best decision,” Willard said.
With all that said, Seton Hall was still right there for a fifth straight bid in the NCAA tournament. On February 20, the pirates made a trip to Georgetown that began this mess from which they never really recovered.