PIRATES PROJECT
Seton Hall opens NCAAs with dangerous Wofford
Seton Hall opens with upstart Wofford on Thursday
A major rematch awaits Seton Hall — if it can survive a serious mid-major threat.
Appearing in a program-recordtying fourth straight NCAA Tournament, the No. 10 seed Pirates (20-13) will meet No. 7 seed Wofford (29-4) in Thursday’s f irst round in Jacksonville, Fla., in the Midwest Region.
“They’re excited about the challenge ahead,” coach Kevin Willard said. “This is as good of a basketball team as we’ve seen all year.” Not quite. Should Seton Hall open the tournament with a win for the second straight year, No. 2 Kentucky likely will be waiting in the second round and looking for revenge for the Pirates’ stunning 84-83 overtime win at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9.
Seton Hall, which returned one starter from last season (Myles Powell) and was picked to finish eighth in the Big
East, exceeded expectations via Powell’s star power and a young, improving supporting cast, making school history by winning 20 games for the fourth straight year. The Pirates clinched another trip to the Big Dance by winning four straight games — including one over 6-seed Villanova and a pair over 5-seed Marquette — before suffering a two-point loss to the Wildcats in the Big East title game.
“They could beat anybody in the NCAA Tournament, and they have,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They’ve beaten Kentucky, Maryland. Just speaks to ... what a great job Kevin did.”
Wofford has even more momentum.
Appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, the Terriers enter on a 20-game winning streak and most recently were ranked No. 20 in the nation — higher than any Big East team.
“That’s a lot. More than I’ve ever had,” Willard cracked. “If you look at the schedule, they challenged themselves ... and the NCAA Tournament did a good job of recognizing how good of a basketball team this is.
“I remember watching the [Southern Conference title game], and I was so impressed with how balanced they are offensively.”
As the highest-ever seed from the Southern Conference, Wofford sports the 14th-highest scoring offense in the country (83.0 points), ranks second in the nation in 3-point percentage (42.0), and suffered its only losses of the season to 1-seed North Carolina, 4-seed Kansas, 5-seed Mississippi State and 9-seed Oklahoma.
The Terriers are led by back-toback conference player of the year Fletcher Magee, a senior guard who averages 20.5 points and is a career 43.8 percent shooter from the perimeter.
“I thought I had the best shooter in the country, and I think Fletcher Magee might be right up there with him,” said Willard, referring to Powell.
Seton Hall’s s tar guard — the second-leading scorer in the Big East — will look forward to the shootout, coming off a standout performance in the Big East Tournament and having averaged nearly 25 points over his past six games.
“I think the country already knows him, but I think they’re going to get an even bigger taste next week on the national stage,” Willard said.
Still searching for their f irst Sweet 16 appearance since 2000, Seton Hall finally broke through last year with its first NCAA Tournament win in 14 years, knocking off N.C. State before falling just short against top-seeded Kansas. In 2017, the Pirates lost to Arkansas in the final minute. The year prior, the Isaiah Whitehead-led squad was walloped by Gonzaga.
Powell can’t envision this trip ending so soon. “We feel very confident. We’re playing our best basketball right now,” the junior said following Saturday night’s loss to Villanova. “This is the best time to play your best basketball.”