Myles Powell and Seton Hall fought hard once again, but fell two points short in Big East tournament championship as Villanova won third straight conference title. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
NEW YORK -- A heavyweight fight was expected between Seton Hall and Villanova Saturday night, and in the latest installment of what has come to be regarded among the Big East Conference's most intense rivalries, the action on the hardwood lived up to the immense hype.
The Pirates, in the Big East tournament championship game for the second time in four years, advanced past Georgetown and Marquette from the No. 3 seed to clash with top-seeded Villanova, the two-time reigning postseason victors against whom Seton Hall won its most recent conference crown in 2016. When previewing the titanic clash Friday night following the aforementioned win over Marquette, Myles Powell reiterated that he and his teammates from South Orange were fighters, and would act accordingly on the grand stage of Madison Square Garden.
Seton Hall (20-13) did exactly that, matching the Wildcats stride for stride, shot for shot, for the majority of the 40-minute battle, but fell two points short at the final buzzer as Powell's game-winning three-point attempt was too strong and a last-second putback by Sandro Mamukelashvili was unable to get off in time, handing Villanova a hard-earned 74-72 triumph and blemishing the Pirates' previously unbeaten record in conference championship games.
As Jason Guerette will be preparing a column on Seton Hall and its maturation heading into a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance that seemed improbable at the start of the season, we fill in for him with postgame analysis on this Saturday night at the midpoint of March, offering perspective of the performance hardly anyone believed the Pirates would be capable of delivering four months ago, as well as a preview of mindsets as the blue-and-white gladiators of the Garden State embrace the realization of being among the 68 teams announced by Greg Gumbel on Selection Sunday, in less than 24 hours:
1) The final sequence:
After a Myles Powell layup pulled Seton Hall within one point, at 73-72, with 15.5 seconds remaining in regulation, Villanova was fouled on the ensuing possession, and doubled its lead when Eric Paschall split a pair of free throws. The Pirates quickly advanced the ball into their end, allowing Kevin Willard to call his final timeout with 8.9 seconds on the clock, thereby drawing up a play for Powell to get the ball and attempt to win the championship. The junior's three-pointer from the right wing -- contested by Phil Booth -- was strong off the rim, but before the Wildcats could run out the clock, Booth was whistled for a traveling violation by official Mike Roberts, giving Seton Hall one last shot to potentially tie or win the game. After a monitor review to place four-tenths of a second on the clock, the Pirates' lob for Mamukelashvili could not be executed, dropping the curtain on the 2018-19 Big East season.
“I was just supposed to pop up,” said Powell -- whose 25 points led all scorers -- of his contested look from long distance. “I was supposed to catch it at the top of the key, but I had to catch it in front of our bench. I know the type of player I am, and I just wanted to win it. I wasn't looking for overtime, I wasn't looking for none of that. I thought it was good, but it is what it is.”
Willard had no regrets when assessing the final outcome, praising the effort shown by his team.
“They fought hard and got some big stops," he said. “But I love the fact that my team fought and we had a chance to win it, and I'll take him shooting the last-second shot every day.”
2) Major Nelson
With Quincy McKnight limited due to tweaking his groin on what Willard said was a pivot on the offensive end of the basketball, Anthony Nelson was pressed into duty more often Saturday than Willard had been accustomed to playing him. The freshman responded, though, coming up huge with a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes as arguably the second-most valuable Pirate on the floor aside from Powell, his exhibit highlighted by an uncharacteristic three-pointer in the left corner to begin Seton Hall's first second-half rally, bringing the Pirates within four early in the final stanza, at 41-37.
“I just wanted to come off the bench and provide a spark for my teammates,” Nelson said of his increased workload. “I was just trying to make plays.”
“Ant, I thought, played phenomenal,” Willard echoed. “He played with great confidence and I thought he played really well defensively.”
3) Hello, my friend...we meet again:
Since the restructuring of the Big East prior to the 2013-14 season, it seems as though Seton Hall and Villanova have staged some of the conference's most intense -- and unforgettable -- battles over the years. As Jason Guerette hinted in his column from Saturday's title tilt, the clashes between the Pirates and Wildcats have been symbolic of the gritty, street-fight-esque encounters that made the Big East a household name in college basketball, and the legacy of the latest chapter in the history of the two storied rivals was not lost on its most experienced participant.
“We give people credit when it's due,” said Michael Nzei, the lone Pirate holdover from the 2015-16 team that upended Villanova in the Big East championship game. “Villanova's always been a great team, and it's never been easy for them playing against us. We always battle, and in a lot of the games, it's always gone to the last minute. I give them credit for being a good, tough opponent.”
4) Lasting impressions:
First and foremost, Powell channeling his inner Gerry McNamara and Kemba Walker will take center stage as one of the things that stand out from watching the Pirates take over the Big Apple, something we will chronicle during the week as Seton Hall readies for its latest NCAA Tournament foray, but two other factors were on display the past three days, signs that resonate past the conference tournament level.
“We can play with anybody in the country,” Powell reiterated. “Everybody doubted us, but we believed in each other. When you believe in each other, believe in yourself, you can do anything. We did a lot of things that people didn't expect from us, and everything that we did do, we believed we could do.”
“All season, we showed everybody that we're fighters,” said point guard Quincy McKnight. “We're scrappy, we're going to get after it. Nobody's going to punk us, no matter how much we're down, no matter how much time's left. We're fighting until the end, and we showed that again today.”
5) “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Willard playfully chided Powell in Saturday's postgame press conference when the junior guard got in front of a question meant for his coach, who clinched his fourth consecutive 20-win season on Friday, saying that he should have been named Big East Coach of the Year as opposed to the actual winner, Villanova's Jay Wright. Regardless, Willard projects the same level of belief in his players as they do in his abilities to place them in the right situations, and the mutual trust in one another has been one of the defining components of what has become a special season.
“I have so much confidence in this group,” Willard gushed. “I know they'll be back Monday ready to work, and as long as they come back the way they did after we lost a tough one to Georgetown, I have such great confidence in this team that I know we'll bounce back. And to be honest with you, I'm more looking forward to the NCAA Tournament. I have more confidence in my team than I think I ever have.”
2) Major Nelson
With Quincy McKnight limited due to tweaking his groin on what Willard said was a pivot on the offensive end of the basketball, Anthony Nelson was pressed into duty more often Saturday than Willard had been accustomed to playing him. The freshman responded, though, coming up huge with a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes as arguably the second-most valuable Pirate on the floor aside from Powell, his exhibit highlighted by an uncharacteristic three-pointer in the left corner to begin Seton Hall's first second-half rally, bringing the Pirates within four early in the final stanza, at 41-37.
“I just wanted to come off the bench and provide a spark for my teammates,” Nelson said of his increased workload. “I was just trying to make plays.”
“Ant, I thought, played phenomenal,” Willard echoed. “He played with great confidence and I thought he played really well defensively.”
3) Hello, my friend...we meet again:
Since the restructuring of the Big East prior to the 2013-14 season, it seems as though Seton Hall and Villanova have staged some of the conference's most intense -- and unforgettable -- battles over the years. As Jason Guerette hinted in his column from Saturday's title tilt, the clashes between the Pirates and Wildcats have been symbolic of the gritty, street-fight-esque encounters that made the Big East a household name in college basketball, and the legacy of the latest chapter in the history of the two storied rivals was not lost on its most experienced participant.
“We give people credit when it's due,” said Michael Nzei, the lone Pirate holdover from the 2015-16 team that upended Villanova in the Big East championship game. “Villanova's always been a great team, and it's never been easy for them playing against us. We always battle, and in a lot of the games, it's always gone to the last minute. I give them credit for being a good, tough opponent.”
4) Lasting impressions:
First and foremost, Powell channeling his inner Gerry McNamara and Kemba Walker will take center stage as one of the things that stand out from watching the Pirates take over the Big Apple, something we will chronicle during the week as Seton Hall readies for its latest NCAA Tournament foray, but two other factors were on display the past three days, signs that resonate past the conference tournament level.
“We can play with anybody in the country,” Powell reiterated. “Everybody doubted us, but we believed in each other. When you believe in each other, believe in yourself, you can do anything. We did a lot of things that people didn't expect from us, and everything that we did do, we believed we could do.”
“All season, we showed everybody that we're fighters,” said point guard Quincy McKnight. “We're scrappy, we're going to get after it. Nobody's going to punk us, no matter how much we're down, no matter how much time's left. We're fighting until the end, and we showed that again today.”
5) “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Willard playfully chided Powell in Saturday's postgame press conference when the junior guard got in front of a question meant for his coach, who clinched his fourth consecutive 20-win season on Friday, saying that he should have been named Big East Coach of the Year as opposed to the actual winner, Villanova's Jay Wright. Regardless, Willard projects the same level of belief in his players as they do in his abilities to place them in the right situations, and the mutual trust in one another has been one of the defining components of what has become a special season.
“I have so much confidence in this group,” Willard gushed. “I know they'll be back Monday ready to work, and as long as they come back the way they did after we lost a tough one to Georgetown, I have such great confidence in this team that I know we'll bounce back. And to be honest with you, I'm more looking forward to the NCAA Tournament. I have more confidence in my team than I think I ever have.”
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