Seton Hall returned home for their first home game of Big
East play. The Seton Hall Pirates (12-3,
1-1) would face the third best team in the nation, the Louisville Cardinals (13-1, 1-0). This
game was a chance for redemption, as Louisville eliminated Seton Hall after a
close game in the Big East Championship last season. The game was close the entire first half of
the game. The biggest lead of the half,
9 points, was held by Louisville.
However, that lead was not established until there was only 4 minutes
left in the half, with Louisville leading 31-22. Seton Hall then rallied on a 12-5 scoring
run, ending the half at a near tie, 36-34 in favor of the Cardinals. The second half started off poor, as it took
three and a half minutes for the first score, a lay-up by Louisville’s Kevin
Ware. Seton Hall tied the score again
with 13 minutes left. A 7-0 run by
Louisville started to show a debilitated Pirates roster. The Hall only had 8 players suited up for the
game, and that forced four players to play over 30 minutes during the
game. Fuquan Edwin suffered the fewest
breaks, only sitting one minute over the course of the game. The 10-man Cardinals were revitalized and
struck down the Pirates, ending the Pirates’ hope of a big upset. Seton Hall fell by a score of 73-58.
This game had a result that poorly demonstrated Seton Hall’s
performance. The fact that Seton Hall
was able to play evenly for 27 minutes with the #3 team in the country is
impressive. The wear and tear of a
season with little rest finally took its toll late in the game. Louisville’s main scorers consisted of seven
players, while the Pirates could only really score with four players. Aaron
Cosby, Eugene Teague, Brandon Mobley, and Fuquan Edwin
all dropped more than 10 points. Kyle
Smyth was the only other player to score, contributing only two
points. Seton Hall, a team that lives
and dies from 3, died today, shooting only 25% beyond the arc. Aaron
Cosby and Fuquan Edwin,
players who need to be automatic for a win, combined for 5-24 from the field, a
shocking 21%. This stat line is less
than half of their season average of 45%.
The Cardinals also brought a force of their own in Gurgui Dieng. Since Peyton Siva didn’t do much for the
scoreboard, Dieng stepped in with a double-double, dropping 16 and grabbing 14
boards. All of this came three games
after coming back from a broken wrist. Seton
Hall’s goal was to shut down Peyton Siva and Russ Smith. They succeeded there, but underestimated
Dieng, who had a career day at the Prudential Center. The Cardinals’ goal was to shut down Fuquan Edwin, and
succeeded. He scored 13 points, 9 of
which were made after Louisville pulled away.
Had he been hitting shots earlier, the crowd would have gotten into it. At halftime, the arena was electric, with
everyone on their feet. That flusters
opponents, and really leads to a true home court advantage. Had Seton Hall had more fresh players
available, they had potential to capitalize on Louisville’s mistakes.
Room for Improvement:
·
Roster Depth
·
Not relying on just a few players for points
·
Consistency to keep the crowd in it
A close game that ended as a blow-out, Seton Hall loses at
home by 15 to #3 Louisville. Seton Hall
drops to 12-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Big East. Next week, the Pirates will host the Providence
Friars (8-7, 0-3). Keep in mind, the
Friars had just lost to #6 Syracuse by only 6 points. With that in mind, Seton Hall hopes to lock
in a win and move to .500 in their conference, which may be the most
competitive in the NCAA.
Tom Maayan defended by Russ Smith |
Some kids in the crowd getting into it |
Eugene Teague hitting the front end of an "and one" before the half |
More information at: http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=330092550
I only went to one Seton Hall game this season and it was actually this one. I definitely agree with every word you said. Dieng, the center for Louisville, was definitely underestimated. It befuddled me why Seton Hall didn't man mark him harder or even double team him considering he is 6 foot 11 inches!
ReplyDeleteI agree! It seems as though they were trying to shut down the source of their points, Peyton Siva. They tried to shut him down, which they did to an extent (7 points when he averages 11), but it also wound up turning against them. He started dishing the ball low and just letting Dieng go off on Seton Hall's dilapidated big men.
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious, you were at this game too paul?!? This is the only Seton Hall game i've ever been too. I'm not a huge basketball fan but when Seton Hall tied it up with 13 to go, that was insanely exciting. The atmosphere at the Prudential Center was crazy!
ReplyDelete