Hall’s tailspin continues in ugly loss to Marquette
Seton Hall can point to the lengthy COVID-19 pause that interrupted what had been a strong season. The Pirates also can single out the recent injury to Bryce Aiken or a number of other unfortunate factors.
But as February nears, this isn’t the same team that was a Top-25 fixture just a few weeks ago. Seton Hall is trending back towards the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Two days after getting whipped by St. John’s, the Pirates weren’t much better against No. 22 Marquette, and they were beaten soundly Wednesday night, 73-63, at Prudential Center in Newark.
The Pirates trailed by 20 points early in the second half, couldn’t sustain a brief run and were never really in it down the stretch. Seton Hall (12-7, 3-6 Big East) has now dropped four of its past five games and heard boos at home for the first time since 2016.
“Well-deserved,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said.
Marquette (15-6, 7-3) stifled Seton Hall’s offense around the basket, while the Pirates’ defense was inconsistent and lacking focus.
Aiken’s continued absence, following a concussion in the first meeting against Marquette on Jan. 15, has shined a light on Seton Hall’s offensive limitations. It has forced major minutes upon Kadary Richmond, the Syracuse transfer, who committed six turnovers on Wednesday and has 17 in his last three games while shooting 7-for-36 from the field. Senior star Jared Rhoden hasn’t stepped up, either. He was limited to 14 points on 5-for-17 shooting against the Golden Eagles and passed up multiple shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
“I’m still a little mystified about why we’re ball-faking some open shots,” Willard said. “We’re not flowing into offense quite as nicely as we had been earlier in the year, and that’s something I’ve got to fix. I’m not putting these guys in very good positions right now.”
The Pirates didn’t have an answer for Marquette star Justin Lewis, who poured in 33 points as the Golden Eagles won their seventh straight. One positive for Seton Hall was Jamir Harris, a transfer from American, who scored 16 points off the bench.
When asked if the senior guard needs to play more, Willard said: “I’ve got to figure a lot of stuff out, and that’s one of them.”
An ominous tone was set on the game’s opening possession. Ike Obiagu slipped to the basket for what looked like an open dunk. But Kur Kuath sprinted over to reject the 7-foot-2 center’s shot. Kuath had four blocks by the first media timeout, and Marquette was on its way to building a huge lead.
Seton Hall started by missing 19 of its first 23 shots, and found itself down 26-10 with 7:27 left in the first half. Rhoden began 0-for-8 before snapping his shooting drought with a jumper in the lane. He had been 0-for-13 going back to the loss Monday to St. John’s.
Marquette led 38-21 at the break, and soon the lead ballooned to 20. The result was never in doubt and the crowd let Seton Hall know about it.
“I think there’s a lot of things we need to work out, more than just conversations,” Rhoden said. “and we’re going to get to it.”
Obiagu set the Seton Hall record for career blocked shots with four rejections. That gives him 169 blocks. Samuel Dalembert held the previous record with 167.