Seton Hall justifies hype with season-opening rout of Wagner

Myles Powell’s 27 points paced Seton Hall as Pirates downed Wagner in season opener. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The hype is real.

Seton Hall, No. 12 in the nation and the preseason consensus choice to win the Big East, opened its 2019-20 season Tuesday night against Wagner with several minor question marks. From the absence of head coach Kevin Willard to a group not accustomed to playing amid this much hoopla, the Pirates took the floor in a businesslike fashion, building a comfortable lead and gradually expanding it with a high-flying, take-no-prisoners style at both ends en route to throttling the Seahawks, visitors from Staten Island, by the final of 105-71 at a sold-out Walsh Gymnasium.

About that preseason buzz? Well, it’s only one night, but at first blush, it seems to be validated.

“We’re for real,” Myles Powell remarked when asked about the chatter surrounding Seton Hall, minutes after he wowed the 1,655 patrons in attendance with an effortless 27 points on just 13 field goal attempts, feasting on a young Wagner lineup that was no match for the Pirates’ massive size and enormous depth.

“I thought our defense was much better,” Grant Billmeier — substituting for Willard as the head coach served the last of his two-game suspension for tampering allegations — added. “Give Wagner some credit. Their guys made a lot of tough shots, and I thought we really tightened things up defensively in the second half.”

A prime source for clamping down came on the part of Ike Obiagu, the 7-foot-2 Florida State transfer whose interior presence was something Willard could not stop raving about at last month’s Big East Conference media day. In his first official game action, the Nigerian big man was perfect from the floor on his way to 11 points, but his three blocked shots — one that was sent into the first row of Walsh’s baseline stage — made the bigger impact.

“That’s what he’s been doing to us since the summertime,” Powell said of Obiagu and his mountainous stature in practice. “That’s what we expect out of him. He led the NCAA in blocks as a freshman, so we’re gonna stay on his tail. He’s a big presence, he and Ro (Romaro Gill). It makes a lot of things easier.”

“I thought Ike was really good,” Billmeier echoed. “I think playing two exhibition games certainly helped him get the nerves out and allowed him to kind of get into a flow playing with referees and playing with the crowd. I’m really happy with the minutes we got from him tonight.”

So too does the steady point guard play of Quincy McKnight and Anthony Nelson, who combined for 17 points, but more importantly, 13 assists against only two turnovers in an exhibit of stout ball handling that was proof positive that the Pirates are more than just the All-American depicted on the marquee.

“I think it’s great to have two ball handlers,” Billmeier assessed. “It takes the stress off of Myles and you’ve got two guys who are able to get in the lane and get him shots, and are very unselfish basketball players.”

“Coach has been doing a great job of building confidence in these guys,” added Powell. “When I went into the draft, he was telling me I wasn’t coming back, so he was building confidence in them. They went out in Italy and they’ve just been working and working, and Coach was telling them to limit their turnovers in practice. They came out and did what they did, and when you have younger guys that listen and want to do better, it makes everything easier.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s matchup against Stony Brook, Seton Hall is far from a finished product, but the Pirates have momentum on their side, which can only help moving forward.

“You guys have seen how good we could be at the end of last year, and we’re just trying to keep that train rolling. It starts with me and Coach Willard being the head guys — Coach Willard being the head coach and me being the leader — and we’re going to come back and watch film to see how we can get better.”

As of now, though, the hype is indeed real, and it is spectacular.