5 Thoughts: Seton Hall handles New Hampshire as Willard gets 200th win

Sandro Mamukelashvili's double-double was Seton Hall's first of season as Pirates overcame slow start to throttle New Hampshire Tuesday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEWARK, NJ -- What started as a gradual liftoff became an all-systems-go victory for Seton Hall Tuesday evening.

Three days removed from a valiant showing against Louisville that came up five points short and national juggernaut Kentucky beckoning this Saturday at Madison Square Garden, the Pirates overcame some early jitters and a brief gut check moments after halftime, handling business as expected in a 77-57 defeat of New Hampshire in what goes into the record books as the first Prudential Center win of the season after Seton Hall lost its first two contests of the year at its primary home venue by a grand total of eight points.

On a night where Kevin Willard's rotation was shorter than usual, with Taurean Thompson unavailable and freshman point guard Anthony Nelson limited to eight minutes in the second half after attending a funeral earlier in the day, the Pirates (5-3) were able to find balance on the scoreboard, as five players amassed 10 or more points, led by 18 from Quincy McKnight. Sandro Mamukelashvili increased the productivity with 14 points and 11 rebounds, providing Seton Hall with its first double-double of the year as Myles Cale (14 points, seven rebounds) also worked effectively to supplement battleground efforts from upperclassmen Myles Powell and Michael Nzei against New Hampshire (2-7) and its No. 339 rank in Ken Pomeroy's rating of Division I teams, the 15th-lowest figure in the nation.

At the end of the night, however, a win is a win, and Seton Hall takes an improved record and mounds of confidence into a second home of sorts Saturday afternoon, as John Calipari and Kentucky await in the Big Apple. Until then, we fill in for Jason Guerette, whose broadcast duties kept him off press row tonight, with a handful of takeaways from the proceedings that yielded an early Christmas present:

1) Mamu Mia!

Mamukelashvili is the primary focus tonight, as the 6-foot-10 sophomore continued to show his evolution and maturation as the heir apparent to Angel Delgado. His 14 points and 11 rebounds marked Seton Hall's first double-double since Delgado's heroic last stand -- a 24-point, 23-rebound lasting impression against Kansas in last March's NCAA Tournament -- and laid a backdrop to the effusive praise from his coach and teammates that ensued after the final buzzer.

"I think the biggest thing with Sandro is the more confident he gets, the more comfortable he gets on the offensive end," Willard assessed. "I think he's kind of doing a little bit of everything, to be honest with you -- rebounding, I think he's defending pretty darn well for the most part -- I wouldn't say he's doing one thing great, I think he's doing a lot of things well."

"That's the person that we need," Myles Cale added, citing Mamu's impact on both sides of the basketball. "He's really improved since last year, and I'm really happy. Me and him have been in the gym all summer trying to get better, because we knew our roles were going to be a lot bigger. We're just trying our best, and today, it worked."

As for the man in the middle, and his own reflection on his performance?

"Last season was kind of a learning experience, because I was behind the best player in the country," Mamu said of his role as Delgado's understudy. "I just learned every time I went against him and he was just boxing me out, showing me tricks on how to rebound. I feel like what he taught me really shows in the game, because I think his techniques are really easy, and I've been getting more rebounds."

"Last year, I didn't have that much confidence because I knew I was in for a certain amount of minutes, but now, Coach already believes in me and just puts me in there. I just want to show him that I deserve my minutes."

Myles Cale's 14 points and seven rebounds helped offset Myles Powell's battle against New Hampshire's defense. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

2) I can see for Myles and Myles...

Myles Powell was held to just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, a product of New Hampshire's defense, but Myles Cale was one of many who picked up the slack for the junior, contributing 14 points and seven rebounds while adding an additional offensive facet to the defensive spark the sophomore provides on a nightly basis.

"Although his numbers weren't great, I think he really did a good job of not forcing a lot," Willard said of Powell. "I think he's the best player in the conference, and he just has to get that mentality that he's the best player in the conference."

"He's capable of doing this on a daily basis, and I think the biggest thing is when he's active, he's rebounding and he's defending the way he is, it just gets him involved in the offense that much better," he added with regard to Cale, underscoring the pressure his play takes off the former.

Cale's two-way explosiveness was also not lost on he and his teammates, and the ability for the Delaware native to showcase the interchangeable part of his game heading into a marquee matchup spurred on an additional confidence boost.

"Just seeing it go in, getting a couple buckets, it makes me feel real good, real confident," said Cale. "My teammates keep telling me to just keep being aggressive, and that's what I'm going to do."

"He's a great offensive player, and he's playing tremendous defense this year," Quincy McKnight proclaimed. "To be only a sophomore, his defense is great, he's helping everywhere. When we watch film, you see him everywhere on defense, and it's just great because Myles (Powell) needs help. They came out in a box-and-one on him today. We haven't seen that since we were in middle school, so it was a different look, and he just stepped up. He played so well today."

3) An update on Taurean Thompson:

The Syracuse transfer, who already survived one injury scare in the preseason, was unavailable because of this malady that happened Monday in practice:

"Taurean sprained his left ankle late yesterday in practice," Willard revealed. "I think he'll be fine for Saturday, we'll see how he looks tomorrow. I saw it happen, he came right down on someone's foot, so it's one of those things that, in my opinion, I think he'll be fine."

4) The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky...foe.

While John Calipari and the Wildcats will always be an imposing opponent both on paper and on the hardwood, Seton Hall has reason to be optimistic about its impending showdown with the longtime powerhouse, and the recognition of the opportunity Kentucky represents was mutually shared.

"We've been waiting for that since day one," Mamukelashvili excitedly admitted. "As soon as we saw our schedule and we saw Kentucky, we were looking forward to the game, so I feel like we should fix our offensive flow a little bit, because we've been getting stuck in a lot of positions. They have great guards, so we've got to be able to guard pick-and-rolls and switch."

"We're definitely locked in," McKnight said, "but we've just got to get back in practice the next three days and just lock in even more. Anytime you play against Kentucky, it's a great opportunity for anybody, and we're just going to come out and compete like we've been doing the past couple games."

While the Pirate players were largely upbeat, Willard remained more pragmatic and realistic, offering a deeper insight into the offensive quicksand to which his center alluded to.

"We've got to work offensively a little bit on just being a little bit more fluid at times, especially in stretches when we're actually playing good defense," the head coach cautioned. "We're just not taking advantage of certain opportunities on the break, and I think it's killing momentum, to be honest with you. It happened in the Louisville game, it happened tonight in both halves. Whether it's a fast break and we're not taking advantage of it, or if it's just in the half court, we've got to be a little bit more fluid throughout the game."

5) Do you know why the number 200 is so vitally descriptive to both you and me?

To paraphrase Gene Hackman's famous quote as Lex Luthor in the original Superman movie, the number 200 gains significance on this night after Kevin Willard picked up his 200th all-time victory with Tuesday's win. To honor the milestone, Seton Hall's players presented their coach with a commemorative jersey in the locker room after the game, bearing his name and the historic number on the testimonial.

"The fact that Myles Powell gave it to me was kind of special," Willard reflected. "It was nice, I'll just leave it at that."

Of greater appreciation to him, though, was the fact that the victory moved him into fourth on the Pirates' all-time wins list, ahead of Bill Raftery and closer to P.J. Carlesimo, both of whom were acknowledged as two of the program's most ardent supporters decades after their respective tenures in South Orange came to a close.

"I've always thought that the people that coached before me -- Raf, Coach Carlesimo -- were really special people, guys who represent this university, guys that are still huge fans and still text and still call after every win, still go out and no matter what, buy you dinner, or let me buy them dinner," a humble Willard shared while -- in textbook Willard fashion -- turning a moment meant to laud him into one of paying homage to those who came before him. "I think it's what makes Seton Hall a very special job, to be honest with you. It's the fact that you still have those two great legends who are actively involved in the program, and actively want the program to do well."