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Recap: Seton Hall drops close one on the road to No. 3 Villanova, 76-74

Date: January 20, 2021

By: Chris Kiely

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Laurence Kesterson/AP Photo

You might feel like you have read this before. Seton Hall and Villanova play a close contested game for 40 minutes that ends in a one score game. The reality is that it is true. Here are scores of Seton Hall versus Villanova since the 2015-2016 season.

 

2016 72-71 Villanova

2016 69-67 Seton Hall

2017 55-53 Villanova

2018 69-68 Villanova

2019 79-75 Seton Hall

2019 74-72 Villanova

2020 79-77 Villanova

 

Whether it was Isiah Whiteside’s three-point play, Angel Delgado’s missed layup, or Myles Powell’s deep arching missed three, it seems like every one of these games between these two Northeast schools is a classic battle. You can add 2021 to the list as the Seton Hall Pirates fall short of upsetting the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats as they lose by a score of 76-74.

 

The immediate knee-jerk reaction to a game like this is pointing to the call made in the last seconds where the referees called Takal Molson with a loose ball foul with just seconds left in the game. In games like this, the referees just need to put their whistles in their pocket, let their teams play it out, and put their egos aside. Putting the bad call aside, there are some major things the Pirates should takeaway with them as they just played a one-possession game on the road against the No. 3 ranked team in the country.

First, Jared Rhoden has now solidified himself as the number two scoring option in this offense. His first half was incredible as he put up 17 points but scored only two in the second half. However, his seven of nine shooting from the field and 3-5 from behind the line prove how elite he can be. Speaking of three-point shooting, the Pirates seemed to be on fire from three in the first half, shooting six of 11, and making them from deep. Also, Shavar Reynolds and Myles Cale have also proven to be reliable scoring option as both scored 11. While Rhoden went silent in the second half, Cale and Reynolds were not as they scored 19 of their combined 22 points.

 

Defensively, the Pirates had two main positives in this game. First, the Pirates had a fantastic six-minute span of allowing no field goals for Villanova. While the Wildcats might not have played for an entire month, the ability to stop a one of the best teams in the country for a 1/3 of the half on offense is phenomenal. Second, the Pirates were able to shut down Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to eight points and just one rebound. For a top Big East player that averages 16 points and 7.6 rebounds, the Pirates should be really proud to slow down such a phenomenal Big East player.

 

As for the negatives, there are quite a few. The Pirates were sloppy as they had 13 turnovers in the game. Second, the defense was poor in 3-point guarding, particularly on Swider and Samuels. As I stated in my pregame article, the Pirates needed to guard the three-point shooting well. Second, the Pirates gave up a six offensive rebounds, which resulted in seven second chance points. If they were to cut that in half, the Pirates would have won.

Again, I stated that the Pirates could not give second chance opportunities to the Wildcats because they would take advantage of it incredibly. Also, the Pirates needed to take advantage of the six-minute dry-spell by Villanova, which they were unable to do. Lastly, the Pirate were below-average on free throw shooting, proving once again that every free throw matters in close games like this.

 

The Pirates next matchup is at Butler on Friday, Jan. 22, and they will be entering the gauntlet part of this season. Their next two home games are against Creighton on Jan. 27, and Villanova on Jan. 30. As brutal of a lost this is, it is clear that the Seton Hall-Villanova rivalry is the best rivalry in the conference right now.

Chris Kiely can be reached at christopher.kiely@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Men's Basketball, Sports

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