After rocky night in Denver

ball on the floor. The referee maintained that Whitehead struck Gonzaga guard Silas Melson in the face. The call came after the officials reviewed the sequence on a courtside monitor.

During timeouts, Whitehead wore an oxygen mask to combat the change in altitude. The Pirates (25-9) also looked lethargic at times.

Center Domantas Sabonis led the charge for Gonzaga early. He pivoted, pump-faked and put up eight points in the opening eight minutes. Gonzaga (27-7) worked the ball around the perimeter to probe against Seton Hall’s defense, but the surest route to more points was to give the ball to Sabonis. He managed 21 points as the Bulldogs bullied the Pirates inside.

Whitehead did not get much help from teammates either. Khadeen Carrington, a former Loughlin guard, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes, but little else went in from the perimeter. Carrington (10 points) finished 3-for-8 overall and 2-for-5 from behind the arc.

The Pirates sailed into the big dance with a three-game run through the Big East Tournament at the Garden last week. En route, Seton Hall handed No. 5 Xavier and No. 2 Villanova losses. Whitehead earned MVP honors for the tournament, and coach Kevin Willard enjoyed his first Big East Tournament championship. He is in his sixth season as the head coach in South Orange, and his father, Ralph, was in attendance to see his son’s NCAA tourney debut. Before taking on the Seton Hall job, Willard coached Iona.

Derrick Gordon became the first player to participate in three NCAA tournaments with a different school each time. Previously, he played with Western Kentucky in 2012 and UMass in 2014. He finished with 10 points.