Pirates owed answer for snub
One question hung over South Orange like a black cloud Sunday night, after the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee kicked Seton Hall’s basketball team and the Big East Conference in the face.
Why?
Why did a team that went 13-7 and finished fourth in the sport’s secondrated league get left out of March Madness when the likes of Michigan State, Virginia and Colorado got in? Why did that league receive only three bids, a historically low number, while conferences rated lower reaped a windfall: eight for the SEC, six for the Big Ten, six for the Mountain West, five for the ACC.
The chair of the selection committee did a lot of yapping about bidstealers Sunday night, but when it came to why the Big East paid most of the tab for it (starting with Seton Hall, which was its closest squad to the cutline), the guy offered no coherent answer. New Jersey bracketologist Brad Wachtel, who correctly predicted the Hall would narrowly miss the cut, said the Pirates’ resume clearly merited inclusion if he were in charge.
“Super disappointed, super shocked,” Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. “Can’t believe a team that won 13 games in supposedly the second-best conference in the country numbers-wise, the disrespect that the Big East got shown. It’s mind-boggling to me.”
Holloway grew up in the Big East as a Pirate player and assistant. He’s well aware this was unprecedented. In 1993, when the conference got just three bids, Syracuse was serving a postseason ban with a 20-9 record. And his Pirates are now the first squad to finish five-plus games above .500 in Big East play and miss the Dance. Ever.
“Hours later, I still can’t believe it,” Holloway said. “I still can’t believe only three teams got in from this conference. That’s a shame, and it’s disrespectful on every level. It’s disrespectful to the Big East and I think it’s disrespectful to us. In any major conference in the country, you win 13 games and you’re in. What team won 13 games in a major conference that’s not in right now?”
The answer: nobody else.
“I’m heartbroken for my team,” he said. “It was one of the worst things to watch, just to watch their faces. I actually hurt for them guys.”
‘We have to take a closer look at this’
The Big East did have a representative on the selection committee — retiring Butler athletics director Barry Collier — but he has to leave the room when teams from his league are discussed.
On Sunday Big East commissioner Val Ackerman declined to comment, which rubbed salt into the wound for fans who wanted to see their commissioner fighting for them, the way the loudmouth commissioners of the football-driven leagues always seem to be throwing their weight around.
“As a conference we have to take a closer look at this,” Seton Hall athletics director Bryan Felt said. “It’s incredibly disappointing for a league as respected as we are as a powerhouse for basketball to only get three teams in. We’re all trying to understand the reasoning.”
Regarding Seton Hall’s rejection in particular, Felt said he’s heard no clear explanation as to what separated Seton Hall from the bubble teams that made the cut.
“We beat the No. 1 and the No. 7 team overall (UConn and Marquette) and had 13 wins in the conference, that’s as solid as it gets,” Felt said. “The example I’m trying to understand is Virginia.”
The Cavaliers went 2-7 against Quad 1 opponents (Seton Hall went 5-8) with no top-20 wins.
They did fare much better out of conference. But when it came to how the final bubble teams were sorted amid the bid-stealing carnage, the committee offered no rhyme or reason. Felt said he expects to get clear answers at some point.
Holloway suggested that running up scores could help – a prospect that disgusts him.
“I believe in old-school ways, and I also respect the game of basketball,” he said. “You know how many times this year we could have really blown teams out, but I took my starters out because
I’m old school? But that’s the way to go right now, if you beat teams by X amount of points, your NET goes up?”
If the committee is going to rely on metrics, then show your math. Why are Michigan State, Virginia and Colorado in and Seton Hall, Providence and St. John’s out? Where is the spreadsheet? Don’t throw your hands up about bidstealers.
“This game of basketball changed so much, I have no idea about anything anymore,” Holloway said. “The only thing I know is hard work and winning games, and it seems like that’s not even good enough anymore.”
He sat back in his office chair, shaking his head.
“You finish top four in the Big East and you don’t get in the NCAA Tournament?” he said. “You guys ever heard of anything like that before?”
‘I’m proud of them, man’
The one bit of solace Sunday night was the unanimous decision by Seton Hall’s seniors and postgrads who comprise its starting five to accept an NIT bid.
As a top seed, the Pirates host Saint Joseph’s Wednesday in Walsh Gym (7 p.m., ESPN2).
“I love that he gave these guys the option,” Felt said of Holloway. “That’s who he is. His team embodies him. Sha always makes it a point that it’s about the name on the front of the uniform. To see them come back and say, ‘we want to do this,’ shows they have tons of respect for Seton Hall. I’m really hoping our fans come out and rally behind that, because it’s great.”
Not making the Big Dance is a gut punch, but if nothing else, this season proved Holloway’s high-major headcoaching chops.
“He’s showing what his capabilities are,” said Felt, whose known it since he hired him to take Saint Peter’s helm in 2018.
Sunday night was a time for leadership, and while the Big East’s leadership sat silent, Holloway stood up for his guys and the surprising, memorable season they’ve authored.
“I’m proud of them, man,” he said. “No one really thought we could do it except the people in that locker room.” That’s hardly an exaggeration. “What these guys did from a standpoint of 20 wins, 13 wins in the conference,” Holloway said, “is very impressive.”
Painful as Sunday was, they don’t need the selection committee’s validation for that.