JP's 5 Thoughts: Seton Hall blitzed early in loss to St. John's

Kevin Willard admitted following Seton Hall's loss to St. John's that he may need to change lineup to spark Pirates, who now face must-win scenario next week. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK -- The Garden was nearly sold out. Both Seton Hall and St. John's came in off midweek losses that left bad tastes in both fanbases' mouths. The first meeting between the two rivals ended in controversy. Even without Mustapha Heron, one of St. John's best players, the game was shaping up to be a potential classic at The World's Most Famous Arena.

St. John's then proceeded to punch the Pirates not just in the mouth, but the arm, both legs, and the back as well, sprinting out to a 23-point lead before warding off a big, late Seton Hall charge in a 78-70 wire-to-wire victory that dropped the Hall out of a third-place tie in the Big East standings and made the Pirates' NCAA Tournament path a little harder.

Here are the 5 Thoughts:

1. Seeing Red

St. John's fans had to watch their team lose thanks in part to a controversial call at the end of the December 29 game in Newark before Shavar Reynolds hit his game-winning triple at the buzzer. The Red Storm players had to do the same, and the way Saturday's rematch started, it looked like they thought about nothing but that previous finish for two months.

St. John's started off by making every shot they took for the first few minutes, and that elevated their defense on the other end. The result was that Shamorie Ponds and Marvin Clark II led a complete and total beatdown of Seton Hall for the better part of the first half. It was 28-5 after the first nine minutes before the Pirates finally responded.

"It was definitely payback," Ponds said after leading all scorers with 27 for the Red Storm. "We always kept it in the back of our minds, what they did to us (last time), so we wanted to put our foot on their neck early."

It was also the second-straight game that the Pirates came out of the gates and didn't look ready for the task at hand. With Xavier, it was the Musketeers' physicality. Tonight, it was St. John's overwhelming will to get revenge. While head coach Kevin Willard stopped short of calling out the players' effort, however, Myles Powell did no such thing.

"Coach can say that the effort was there because he always has our back," Powell said. "But as a captain and a leader, I don't think it was there. We found ourselves down 20 points and it's hard to always play from behind."

2. Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

The Pirates have had major issues with turnovers in Big East play: It's the singular stat alone that is most responsible for the vast majority of their losses. In a year of first halves that have been rough on the eyes in terms of ball security, tonight's was worse than any of their previous games, with a whopping 15 giveaways in the first 20 minutes. St. John's of course, excels at turning turnovers into points, and the Red Storm had 18 of those in the first half.

Quincy McKnight in particular had a rough night, turning the ball over five times in the half and seven times for the game. A bunch of the turnovers in the opening stanza came when Pirate ball handlers just had nowhere to go, and got caught in bad positions on drives. Most of McKnight's miscues were as a result of plays like this, which showed off St. John's general athleticism at the guard spots. 

How did the Pirates make their run? They shut off the turnover valve, of course, giving it away just four times in the second half until a couple of crucial late ones allowed St. John's to breathe a little easier. 

It's unfortunate because when they don't turn it over, the Pirates usually control the game, which was evident tonight in the Hall's comeback. Willard said afterwards that he may have a plan to try and fix what ails his team in this regard, as he did say postgame that he will be making changes to the Pirates' starting lineup, and specifically referenced the six assists against 13 turnovers by the backcourt. Stay tuned.

3. Rays Of Light

The Pirates were down 28-5 and going nowhere, and would have continued to do so had it not been for the spark that Romaro Gill and Shavar Reynolds gave them off the bench. The 7'2" Gill played true to his frame, and finished the first half with two points, three rebounds and three blocked shots. 

As for Reynolds, he may have shot just 1-for-6, but he scored four points and grabbed five boards in the first 20 minutes, and gave the Pirates the energy they lacked. He was the lone player to come out and match St. John's considerable energy off the jump. 

It was a good thing he and Gill did what they did because Seton Hall didn't end up getting completely run out of the gym like it looked as though the Pirates would. They made several runs in the game, cutting the Red Storm lead down to 10 in the first half at one point, then nine points in the early second half before a late 12-3 push sliced it to five points. But they could not get closer than that.

4. Same Old, Same Old

Lost in the momentum swings of this game was the fact that this exact same scenario played out between these two teams in Newark in December: St. John's is hot to start the game, forces turnovers, and scores off them to take a big early lead. In the second stanza, the Pirates stop giving the ball away and come back, with a close game brewing at the end.

In fact, Seton Hall has been a second half team all throughout Big East play as well, and Willard was asked about why the first half keeps on giving the Pirates so much trouble.

"I think these guys have followed Myles' lead most of the year," he said. "But I think some of the other guys need to help him out just a little bit more early in games instead of just sitting there watching Myles, and I think I need to make some changes to facilitate that a little bit."

This quote came on the heels of Willard commenting that Powell has at times been a bit too passive early in games, and obviously, both things can't be true at the same time. The grand answer may be trying to find the balance, the fine line between getting Powell going and the other players elevating the team at the beginning of games. Of course, the fact that there are just three regular season games remaining makes focusing on that specific part more difficult.

5. Playoff Time

As for Seton Hall's tournament hopes, yes, they are in jeopardy, but no, they are not dead. The Pirates' goal coming in was to win two of their final four games to get to 9-9 in the Big East. With the non-conference resume they put together and a soft NCAA bubble, that is likely enough for a fourth straight bid to the Big Dance.

It seems like this is a Thought every game, but this is the time of year where every game matters. Tonight's defeat makes going down to Georgetown and sweeping the Hoyas a must with the strength of the two home opponents Seton Hall has remaining, the top two teams in the Big East in Marquette and Villanova. The Pirates looked at their sharpest at home against the young Georgetown team, and they will need this next week off to re-calibrate and bring the same type of game to the floor in DC.