Seton Hall basketball falls at Villanova, denting NCAA Tournament hopes
PHILADELPHIA – Villanova was ice cold. The crowd of 15,000 at the Wells Fargo Center was church quiet. The magic appears all but gone from the Big East’s longtime flagship basketball program.
Yet Seton Hall failed to capitalize Saturday in a crucial contest, suffering a 58-54 road loss thanks to an offense that went sideways. The Pirates (15-11 overall, 8-7 Big East) took a serious dent in their NCAA Tournament hopes on a day when most fellow bubble teams also lost. They committed 18 turnovers, shot 39 percent from the field and attempted just seven free throws.
“You’ve got to give them (Villanova) credit; they played good defense," postgrad guard Jamir Harris said. "But at the end of the day we have very capable playmakers and ball-handlers on this team. We’ve got to be stronger with the ball.”
Despite the retirement of Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright and a clear rebuilding season, Villanova (12-13, 6-8) has now beaten the Hall six straight times dating back to 2020, when the Pirates won on the road in this series for the only time since 1994.
Senior forward Tyrese Samuel paced the Hall with 14 points and 10 boards over 32 minutes but was not on the floor for critical stretches when Villanova made runs.
“I got on him at halftime, and I thought he came out and he was solid in the second half," Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. "He made a difference. That was the big reason we came back.”
But, Holloway added, “For the first 28 minutes of the game we didn’t play."
The past nine meetings between these programs have been decided by eight or fewer points, with Villanova holding a 7-2 advantage.
“Seton Hall has a new coach, but they have the same identity,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “They play extremely hard.”
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. Samuel's rest costly
The Wildcats laid bricks for the first eight minutes until Samuel subbed out and Nova big man Eric Dixon scored on four straight possessions. Later, as the Hall had trimmed a 13-point deficit to one with nine minutes left in the second half, Samuel again got subbed out and the Wildcats pulled away for good.
Samuel's put-back dunk pulled the Hall within three with 10:46 left, and he subbed out for Tray Jackson 26 seconds later. By the time Samuel re-entered, at the 7:49 mark, Villanova led by seven and had wrested the momentum back.
Holloway’s had a good feel for his rotation in the second half of this season, but could Samuel have given him two or three more minutes? It might have changed the outcome.
2. Milestone for Jamir Harris
With a 3-pointer midway through the second half, Harris reached the 1,000-point milestone for his college career. The North Brunswick native and Patrick School grad spread the points out over stops at Minnesota, American and the Hall. He played a key role in helping the Pirates reach the NCAA Tournament last season, and continues to play hard this year despite struggling with his shot. He finished with six points Saturday.
"I feel like it’s a testament to the hard work I’ve put in over my entire career, and that I’m going to keep putting in," Harris said of the milestone. "To be able to get my thousandth point here at Seton Hall, a Jersey team, means the world to me.”
3. Al-Amir Dawes faceguarded
Aside from the rarely seen box-and-one junk zone, faceguarding is the ultimate sign of a defensive’s respect for an opposing player. That’s exactly what Villanova did against Hall guard Al-Amir Dawes after he torched Creighton for 19 points Wednesday and St. John’s for 21 a week prior.
Figuring out how to spring Dawes, who finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, will be crucial to the Pirates' success over these final few games.
4. Dre Davis remains sidelined
Sixth man Dre Davis (9 ppg) missed a fourth straight game since spraining an ankle at Butler two weeks ago. His absence on offense was glaring Saturday. The junior forward can shoot, slash and finish on the break. He’s also an 86 percent free-throw shooter. It’s likely he will return sometime over the next week.
Junior guard Femi Odukale nearly scratched due to knee problems but wound up logging 29 minutes, posting five points, five rebounds and three assists while shooting 1-of-8.
“Femi played 20 minutes and wasn’t supposed to play tonight," Holloway said. "His knee is bothering him, but he got out here and toughed it out. I was happy he did that to help us.”
Asked about injuries holding the team back, Holloway replied, "Everybody is banged up or tired coming down the stretch, so I don’t use that as an excuse. We’ve got to come out and play.”
5. Shrinking margin for error
The Hall's margin for error is approaching zero. First comes a can’t-lose against last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14) on Tuesday (6 p.m., CBS Sports Network). Then a Saturday acid test against UConn at Gampel Pavilion.
The schedule rounds out with shorthanded Xavier at home (Feb. 24), the rematch with Villanova in Newark (Feb. 28) and the finale at Providence (March 4).
Twelve Big East wins should be the magic number. That means winning four of the final five. It's a lot to ask for a team so limited on offense.
"We’ve got tough a group of guys in there, in a tough situation, and we’re going to keep fighting to the end,” Harris said. "We’ve got to fight. Every guy in that locker room believes that, and that’s what we’re going to do. No question about it.”
Is Holloway still confident in this team?
“Yeah, I’ll figure it out," he said. "I’ll get back to the game plan, I’ll get back to the lab and kind of stir something up to figure out how to win on Tuesday.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball falls at Villanova, denting NCAA Tourney hopes
