Seton Hall basketball stunned by DePaul in Big East Tournament; eager for NIT bid

NEW YORK – There was silence in Seton Hall basketball team's locker room, the silence of a team that could not believe what just happened.

The Pirates played their way out of the Big East Tournament Wednesday with a 66-65 opening-round loss to lowly DePaul, blowing a four-point lead in the final 10 seconds thanks to two colossal mental errors, squandering a home-crowd feel at Madison Square Garden.

“A heavy feeling really describes it," said senior center Tyrese Samuel, who posted 16 points and 12 rebounds but also missed five free throws. "I have this heavy feeling in my stomach.”

Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said the Pirates (17-15) will accept an NIT bid, should it come -- they probably will get in and open on the road. But first, there's some reckoning about a finish that will go down in program infamy. Here's a breakdown of how it unfolded:

After the Pirates took a 65-61 lead with 17 seconds left on two free throws by postgrad guard Jamir Harris, they yielded a layup by DePaul’s Jalen Terry. The ensuing inbounds pass went to guard Al-Amir Dawes, the Hall’s best free-throw shooter, but he didn’t secure the ball and DePaul poked it away for a steal.

“I didn’t see any guys behind me,” Dawes said.

DePaul’s Emoja Gibson went for the kill, a quick 3-point hoist, and Seton Hall forward KC Ndefo crashed into him for a three-shot foul.

“I saw them get a turnover and I was running back on defense and put my hands up, and as he shot it, I somehow ran into him,” Ndefo said.

An 86 percent free-throw shooter, Gibson made all three to give DePaul a one-point lead with 3.9 seconds left. After a timeout, Hall point guard Femi Odukale drove the length of the court and got to the rim for a last-ditch layup attempt, which was blocked by DePaul’s Nick Ongenda.

“I saw an opening lane, thought it was perfect to seal the game,” Odukale said. “I thought it was a goaltend.”

The official on the spot ruled it a goaltend. In the final two minutes of a game, goaltend calls may be reviewed – only actual goaltend calls; no-calls of potential goaltends cannot be reviewed – and the call was reversed. DePaul victory.

“I keep telling these guys, four seconds, 3.5 seconds is a lot of time; you can get places,” Holloway said. “We execute and the kid just made a good block. I thought when you (the defender) hit the rim it's goaltending, but I'm not an official so I don't know.”

Added Samuel, “Close call. It was a good block. Can’t deny that. We practice that play a lot.”

The end result: Seventh-seeded Seton Hall excited Big East Tournament on Wednesday night for the first time since 2015.

Tenth-seeded DePaul (10-22) came in on a 12-game losing streak and dropped both regular-season meetings with the Pirates.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. 'Yes' to NIT the right call

Prior to this disaster, NIT bracketologist John Templon had Seton Hall as a No 3 seed, which means hosting a first-round game. Templon still thinks Seton Hall will make the field of 32 when it's revealed late Sunday, but probably as a road team now.

Seton Hall declined an NIT bid in 2021, but that was at the end of the bizarre Covid season when the circumstances were far less than ideal.

“Yeah, if we got an opportunity to keep playing basketball, who wouldn't?" Holloway said of playing in the NIT. "I'd love to."

It's the right move, and the players echoed that sentiment afterward.

"Of course, nobody in here wants to settle after this loss," Odukale said. "We know we’re better than that. If we get a chance to play in the NIT, it’s the same way we felt going into the Big East Tournament, we’ve got to win it.”

The program's last NIT appearance was in 2012, when they edged Steve Pikiell-coached Stony Brook and then lost to UMass, both in Walsh Gym. That was Kevin Willard's second season at the helm, with Holloway as his right-hand assistant.

The NIT has become somewhat less attractive because the semifinals and final have moved from Madison Square Garden to Las Vegas, but it still can serve as a building block. Last year's finalists, Xavier and Texas A&M, are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 right now and on their way to the Big Dance.

“Definitely," Harris said when asked if Seton Hall should accept an invitation. "If we have an opportunity as unit and go to war, I’m all for it.”

"Whatever the coaching staff has for us, I’m willing to do it," Dawes said.

The alternative is ending the season with one of the most brutal losses in recent program history. Not a good idea.

In the losing locker room, as the Pirates sat in front of their lockers and stared straight head in disbelief, the NIT was the one subject that got them talking.

“More opportunity, especially for the younger guys so for next year, they become more and more ready to play," Samuel said. "Also I love this team, I had a lot of great moments this year with them, so to play more games with them will mean a lot.”

2. Mental mistakes

The Hall was undone by mental errors, low-IQ plays that were the antithesis of the way Holloway's Saint Peter's teams played. It shows how much work lies ahead to fully put his stamp on his alma mater.

“We’ve got a veteran ball team," the coach said. "This is unacceptable for me because we work on this all the time. For us not to execute down the stretch and pull it out is disappointing.”

3. Fatigue a factor?

Junior point guard guard Kadary Richmond missed a fourth straight game with a back injury and doesn’t appear likely to return for the NIT, while senior forward Tray Jackson missed a second straight game with a sprained ankle. That left the Pirates with eight scholarship bodies and a seven-man rotation; freshman guard Jaquan Sanders hasn’t been able to crack the regular rotation.

Odukale once again filled in at point guard but committed five turnovers. His minutes have been sky-high -- 37 per game over the past three. Dawes is right behind him at 36 minutes over the past three contests, and he wasn't sharp either, shooting 6-of-15.

"We had a hard year, a lot of people hurt, a lot of people playing out of position," Samuel said, adding that fatigue wasn't to blame for this collapse. "Wasn’t feeling fatigue, but we had to make some plays down stretch, make some free throws, including myself.

4. Dre Davis limited

The Hall’s hottest hand coming in was sixth man Dre Davis, who shot a blistering 18-of-23 from the field (78 percent) over the prior three games after returning from a monthlong hiatus due to a sprained ankle. But the 6-foot-6 junior never got untracked. Holloway didn't check him in until midway through the first half, then pulled him after two fouls, instead riding a smaller lineup with Harris as a third guard.

Davis wound up playing just 10 minutes and scoring 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting while committing four fouls.

5. Wednesday blues

Wednesday at the Big East Tournament tends to be somewhat of a depressing scene. None of the teams are enjoying a particularly good season. About 10,000 fans showed up for the first half of Seton Hall-DePaul, the plurality rooted for Seton Hall, and Pirate fans did make themselves heard -- especially in the second half.

By the game's end, Villanova fans had begun pouring in and the building was closer to full. The announced attendance of 19,812 was a three-game total.

DePaul had no noticeable supporters besides its band members.

In the end, it didn't matter.

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 to DePaul: Big East Tournament