Watch Seton Hall basketball freshman Shavar Reynolds, a Manchester H.S. grad, see his dad for the first time in 11 months -- at the end of the Pirates' Friday practice. Jerry Carino
3 thoughts, 3 quotes from the Pirates first Big East loss, which came by a big margin.
There’s a reason why only one Seton Hall basketball team, the great 1992-93 edition, has opened Big East play 4-0.
It’s hard to do. Really hard.
That got reinforced Tuesday night as amped-up Marquette throttled the visiting Pirates 84-64.
The 13th-ranked Hall (14-3 overall, 4-1 Big East) saw its five-game winning streak halted ahead of Saturday’s visit from Georgetown.
Marquette (12-5, 3-2, Kenpom 38) got 31 points from postgrad sharpshooter Andrew Rowsey and controlled this from the start.
THREE THOUGHTS
1. The Hall looked tired. This was a classic trap game, coming on the back end of a two-game road swing three days after an emotional and much-publicized rally at Butler. The most telling stat: Marquette’s 13-5 edge in second-chance points. Shouldn't happen in a matchup between the league's best offensive rebounding team (SHU) and its worst defensive rebounding team (MU). But Angel Delgado did log 39 minutes vs. Butler.
2. Marquette possesses scary firepower, especially at home. Give them credit. They shoot and handle lights-out. If Markus Howard doesn’t torch you, Rowsey will. You have to score in bunches to beat these guys, and Khadeen Carrington looked gassed having to defend Howard while running the offense as both squads went up and down. He needs some relief in games like this. Didn't get any.
3. Life is harder when the bulls-eye gets larger. You take roundhouses from opponents every night when you’re ranked 13th. Can’t take a full 20 minutes to get the motor revved and always expect to climb out. A little historical perspective: The 1992-93 team, which will be honored Saturday, went 14-4 in conference play — losing the four by a combined 23 points.
THREE THOUGHTS
Kevin Willard's radio postgame with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin:
1. On wearing the bulls-eye: “We’ve had that all year. No one is pitching a shutout in this league. It’s just not happening. I would like to have played better. We battled back so well at Butler and did so many good things; we expended energy at Butler and we didn’t have enough in the tank (to rally at Marquette). Butler-Marquette, that’s a tough road swing.”
2. On getting beat in second-chance points: “They got a lot of rebounds out of transition. We defended well for the first parts of possessions. But we let guys get free runs and get some big offensive rebounds and that didn’t help. Those are killers. They’re a good basketball team. If Howard’s not going but Rowsey gets going, you’re going to be in for a tough night.”
3. On Angel Delgado having two assists instead of five or six: “They switched up looks on him, kept him a little off balance. He had two or three passes out for open threes that we missed. It’s not like he didn’t pass; we didn’t have the same crispness that we’ve had.”
Staff writer Jerry Carino: [email protected].