JP's 5 Thoughts: Seton Hall bounces back, edges Butler

Myles Powell's 31 points helped return Seton Hall to winning ways Wednesday night against Butler. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, NJ -- For the last four years, and really ever since Butler joined the Big East, Seton Hall has always had a difficult time with the Bulldogs, even in their wins.

Why? Well, while the Pirates have been a physically tough bunch (see: Angel Delgado inside), the team that could match that toughness was Butler. Games between the two were usually physical battles as much as mental ones, leading to a bunch of tight games that harkened back to the old days of the Big East.

Tonight's was no different, as the Pirates survived foul trouble and free throw trouble with great execution down the stretch in a 76-75 win in Newark. Let's start at the very beginning:

1. Slow On The Uptake (Parts 1 & 2)

I don't usually like to open on the negative, so I'll keep it brief. Unlike the song from The Sound of Music suggests, it has not been a very good place to start for the Hall this year in Big East play. Tonight, six turnovers (including three offensive fouls) before the first media timeout were the culprit. The rest of the half, the Pirates were solid, both in their defense and their care of the basketball, building a nine-point lead at the break while holding the Bulldogs to just 11-for-35 shooting.

But then it happened in the second half, too. The Pirates committed four turnovers in the first five minutes of the second half, and watched an 11-point lead shrink to just three before they got some more breathing room. 

Adding just the first segments of each half, you get 10 of the Pirates' 16 turnovers for the game, and the visitors held a 23-6 edge in points scored off turnovers, without which the game would not have been nearly as close. 

BUT, the Pirates still prevailed. So how did they do it?

2. Powell and His Big "Bro"

Well, having Myles Powell around certainly didn't hurt. Butler did what everyone does to Powell nowadays: They face-guarded him to open the game, with his defender (Henry Baddley to start, but various players throughout the night) solely focused on him in spite of the rest of the action on the floor. And it worked for some time, but the Pirates' best player worked through it well.

Which made his final line all the more impressive: 31 points on only 15 field goal attempts (8-for-15). While about half the attempts he took were from three-point range, he also didn't shy away from contact, showing off his diverse offensive game (more on that later).

Other than Powell, I'm going to give a game ball to freshman big man Darnell Brodie. The 6'9", 265-pound Newark native had played just 12 minutes all year, and none since December 19. But with shot blocker Romaro Gill out for the foreseeable future with a sprained ankle, Butler boasting a pretty big front line, and Michael Nzei and Sandro Mamukelashvili in foul trouble, head coach Kevin Willard called on Brodie and he delivered three points, six big rebounds and some brick-wall style defense.

"Brodie was big," Powell said of his younger teammate. "He's been battling with the bigs all year long in practice. He's a big body, and we knew they had a big guy over there who was going to be big for them on the boards. We needed somebody to step up, and he took it upon himself. He said he would step up for the team today, and he did."

"He has such a great attitude that he brings into practice," Willard said. "He doesn't look like a joyous, happy kid, but he has a great attitude and it's been tough for him not to play. He said he was ready, and he played phenomenal."

3. Coaching

Here's another reason the Pirates prevailed: Coaching down the stretch, and in particular, two things that occurred in the last 45 seconds of the game.

After Mamukelashvili missed the back end of a pair of free throws, the Pirates were only up three points at 70-67. Kevin Willard then, with his players showing a man-to-man defense, threw on a zone for the first time all night. It resulted in Kamar Baldwin, who led the Bulldogs with 23 points but needed 26 shots to get them, settling for a three-pointer, which he missed, leading to two Quincy McKnight free throws on the other end and a five-point cushion.

But the second one was the one everyone was buzzing about after the game. After Baddley answered with a three-pointer to make it 72-70, the Pirates drew up an inbounds play in the ensuing timeout by the Bulldogs. McKnight got it in to Shavar Reynolds on the baseline, and he found Powell on the sideline. Before Butler could blink, the ball was back with McKnight at mid-court, and he passed it to Myles Cale near the Hall's bench. Another bounce to Mamukelashvili wide open for a driving layup on the baseline, and it was a four-point game.

The play achieved two things perfectly: It took about nine seconds off the clock, and got the Pirates two points. Not to mention the ball only hit the floor three times (two bounce passes, one dribble).

"We ran that play three or four times last year," Willard said. "Sandro knew what he was doing, Cale knew what he was doing. But this was the first time having Quincy out there and Shavar. It's a simple play, and it's designed to get the ball into Myles Powell's hands and take time off the clock."

It did more than that, and it could not have worked out better. Kudos to Willard down the stretch.

4. Graceful Charity

Seton Hall's free throw shooting was also a big part of this game, both in a good way and a not-so-good way. They opened up hitting seven of their first eight shots from the line, but for a large part of the game, they went into a cold snap where it seemed no one could hit one. Over their next 19 attempts, the Pirates made only seven while the Bulldogs kept hanging around and creeping closer.

But down the stretch, in the last three minutes, the Pirates found their legs again, knocking down nine of their last 10 shots, all of which were needed with Baldwin canning a three at the buzzer resulting in a one-point final result. Again, credit Powell for doing the heavy lifting, as he went 13-for-15 at the stripe while drawing 10 fouls on his own.

5. Marquette (Mark-quette?) Looming

Surely, you know what else happened around the Big East Wednesday night by now, as the Pirates' next opponents, the Marquette Golden Eagles, beat Creighton 106-104 in overtime on the road. They did so thanks to a Big East single-game record 53 points from Markus Howard, the second time in the last two seasons he's put up 50 in a game.

Usually, the Pirates have put McKnight in charge of spearheading the defensive effort against the other team's best offensive player, but Willard acknowledged that trying to slow Howard is a different story.

"I don't think 'Q' has seen this yet," Willard said. "It's a different scorer and a different offense. Markus' RANGE, the way Steve (Wojciechowski) brings him off stagger (screens) and fades. It's going to be something that's new."

So, is Willard excited to see how McKnight and company do against such a prolific shooter and scorer?

"I don't think you're ever excited to go up against Markus Howard," Willard quipped. "It's like (asking) 'are you excited to go get a colonoscopy?'"

The Pirates travel to Milwaukee for a Saturday tipoff at 2:00 eastern. Seton Hall will look to keep their winning ways going against yet another tough opponent, and also look to make it, as their skipper so colorfully put it, more enjoyable than a visit to the proctologist.