4 Thoughts: Seton Hall clobbers Xavier in much-needed bounce back

Kadary Richmond’s near-triple-double ignited Seton Hall’s commanding win over Xavier Wednesday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — After getting blasted at Villanova on Super Bowl Sunday, dealing its metrics a big hit in the process, Seton Hall entered Wednesday night's game against Xavier in Joe Lunardi's First Four Out among the ESPN bracketologist’s latest NCAA Tournament projections. Xavier also was on the wrong side of the bubble, but not too far outside, making the matchup in Newark an absolutely critical one for both teams.

And in one of their most impressive showings that I can remember, the Pirates came out like gangbusters in the opening 20 minutes, suffocating the Musketeers on defense while sharing the ball and hitting their shots on offense. They rode that momentum to an 88-70 victory at Prudential Center, a true blowout (Xavier never got closer than 14 points in the second half) that might reset the needle on the tournament metrics.

After a great Valentine’s Day for Pirate fans everywhere, here are the Thoughts:

1. You're A Perfect 20

Seton Hall came out fearless and focused on defense to start this game, forcing Xavier into turnovers by getting into almost every passing lane, defending the rim well, and generally making things miserable for the visitors. 

It was the best extended stretch of defense I think I've seen with my own eyes in a long time. At one point, Xavier had as many turnovers as they had shot attempts, let alone points. Quincy Olivari, the Big East's leading scorer coming into tonight, had just four points, and really didn't get any open looks with Dylan Addae-Wusu all over him. All of that defense was certainly part of the game plan after a rough weekend in Philadelphia.

“Like I said (on Sunday), I felt we got punched in the mouth and ran away,” head coach Shaheen Holloway said. “Tonight, we came out and set the tone from a physicality standpoint. Rather than let guys play, we had to come out and establish ourselves early. We had two good days of practice, and I thought we came out and we were ready to go.”

On the other end, literally nothing Xavier tried on defense worked. Thanks in large part to Kadary Richmond being Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall beat Sean Miller's man-to-man defense, and then shredded a 2-3 zone when the Musketeers were forced to switch to that. All told, the Hall shot 55 percent overall, 5-for-11 from deep, and Richmond had nine assists without a single turnover. 

Essentially, it was a perfect half of basketball, and a total 180-degree turn from both Sunday's loss as well as the first meeting of the season between the two Big East rivals in December.

“Over the last week or so, our preparation wasn't where it needed to be,” Al-Amir Dawes, who finished with 18 points, said after the game. “So we just dialed in to focus on what we know, and preparing well every chance we're (in practice).”

“(Sunday) was like a wake-up call for us,” Richmond added. “We can't coast. We have to bring it every night, and that's what we did with our preparation the last two days.”

The loss to the Wildcats that preceded tonight's turnaround performance did not sit well with the Pirates' head coach most of all, and it bled down to the team, a sure sign of a good culture.

“If you thought my team was gonna come out and play like they did on Sunday again, that’s never gonna happen,” Holloway said. “We might lose a game and we might lose by X amount of points, but just playing hard and playing with energy, we didn’t do that at all (on Sunday). So that was something I preached, that’s something my teams always do, and we came out and did it tonight.”

2. I Heart Kooks

Circling back to Richmond, he was phenomenal tonight. We talked about the nine-assist, no-turnover first half, but in the second half, when Xavier was making a push to make it interesting, he took matters into his own hands and took over the game, scoring 11 points out of 14 that Seton Hall put up at one point, putting any faint hopes the Musketeers had of a comeback to bed. Never one to beat his chest, the senior guard was calm and confident after the game.

“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” Richmond said of his scoring output in the second stanza. “That was to score after setting everybody up, and that's what I did to get us the win.”

Richmond ended up finishing with 20 points, a career-best 13 assists, eight rebounds, and only one turnover. It was an absolute master class in point guard play, another feather in the cap for the Pirates' leader in a season full of them.

I'll put it out there right now: If he's not a first team all-Big East, then there's something wrong with the system, the voters, or both. When he's at his best like he was tonight, he's one of the better guards in the nation.

3. Apple Of My Isaiah

It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns tonight for the Pirates. Dre Davis got off to a great start with nine first-half points before coming up a little gimpy on a transition opportunity in the first half, and he sat out the entire second half after his ankle swelled up a little bit at the break.

That meant extended minutes for Isaiah Coleman, and just like he stepped in when Richmond was sidelined, the freshman wing continued to show an all-around improvement in his game with 14 points on 4-for-6 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. 

Those minutes earlier this season, while the Pirates obviously would have preferred Richmond not have to miss time, have been a net positive for Seton Hall now that Richmond is back, as Coleman's become a true sixth man.

“I feel like those games where I was out and he started, those were big for him,” Richmond affirmed. “I feel like that's what you're seeing right now, the continuation of that, him getting those reps, and being able to help us down the stretch.”

The skipper agrees, and wants more from the athletic frosh.

“He played big for us tonight, and we need him to continue that,” Holloway said. “It can’t just be this game, so the message to him was, ‘why are you taking a step back because Kooks is back?’ He came back and you just kind of said, ‘alright, let me go back.’ No, keep playing that same way you were playing when (Richmond) wasn’t playing.”

4. Be My Metrics Valentine

Local bracketologist Brad Wachtel had this to say after the game, tweeting the following with regard to Seton Hall’s performance:

Couldn’t have asked for a better response from Seton Hall after Sunday’s debacle at Villanova.

The Pirates steamroll Xavier 88-70 and move to 6-7 vs Q1/2 opponents. I feel confident in saying that this win offsets the Pirates loss to Nova. An important metric win.

— Brad Wachtel (@Brad_Wachtel) February 15, 2024

Indeed it was. Seton Hall winning tonight was huge, but the WAY that the Pirates won might mean even more when all is said and done. A few years ago, the end result (win or loss, home or away) was all that really mattered when it came to the NCAA Tournament. Nowadays, the margin is taken into account as well, and today was big in that regard.

The victory moves the Pirates to 16-9 on the season and 9-5 in the Big East as well, putting them four victories away from the magic number of 20 that would be a near-invitation to the Dance in and of itself. Seton Hall has a road game at backsliding St. John's next at UBS Arena on Long Island, which will be a Quad 1 opportunity, plus home games remaining against Butler, Villanova, and DePaul, and other road games at powerhouses Creighton and UConn. 

All of that is to say that with tonight's win, the Pirates have gotten themselves back on track in a big way. We'll see if that enhanced preparation carries over to Sunday's matchup against the Red Storm as the Hall looks to sweep the season series from its local rivals.