4 Thoughts: Seton Hall bows out to St. John’s in Big East tournament quarters

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK — It was an intriguing contest coming into the Big East tournament, a third meeting of the season between Seton Hall and St. John’s, with both teams on the bubble (although the Pirates were much better off in that regard), and a packed Madison Square Garden crowd.

That crowd fed St. John’s, however, and in turn, the Red Storm’s play energized its fans and exorcised some regular season demons in an 91-72 quarterfinal victory Thursday afternoon. 

Here are the quick reaction Thoughts: 

1. Three-ton Hall

The Pirates ranked at the very bottom of the Big East in three-pointers made and percentage from three all season. This past week at home, however, they hit nine threes in a win over Villanova, and a season-high 12 in a rout of DePaul. 

That carried over into the first half today, with Seton Hall nailing its first three threes and building an early lead as a result of the hot shooting. Again, the wealth was spread, as Al-Amir Dawes had three and scored 13 points to lead all scorers in the first stanza. The maligned former Red Storm player, Dylan Addae-Wusu, also was hot on the familiar MSG rims, knocking down three of his own. The Pirates finished 7-for-13 from deep in the first 20 minutes, and a solid 8-for-22 for the game overall despite a cold second half.

Given that Seton Hall tends to also do good work inside, if it wants to survive in the postseason, the upward outside shooting trend (the second half notwithstanding) is encouraging since opponents this time of year will usually do a good job of scouting what you do well and trying to take that away. 

2. Storming the Basket

That being said, I am pretty sure that Shaheen Holloway wasn’t happy with what transpired for St. John’s inside the arc, as the Red Storm shot a whopping 15-for-20 from two-point range in the opening 20 minutes, controlled the glass for the most part (with five offensive boards leading to eight second-chance points), and scored 26 points in the paint, far outpacing Seton Hall’s eight.

That trend continued into the second half, and when all was said and done, the Red Storm finished the game plus-10 on the boards, outscored Seton Hall 15-3 in 2nd chance points, and was plus-16 (42-26) in the paint. 

It wasn't something we were accustomed to seeing in this matchup this year, as the Pirates were plus-4 in paint points in their blowout win at Prudential Center, and plus-14 inside at UBS Arena in the game that preceded Rick Pitino’s now-legendary comments about his team lacking toughness. Since then, though, the Red Storm hasn’t lost, and tonight, was the tougher team overall. You add turnover issues into that equation (14 for Seton Hall that led to a whopping 22 St. John’s points), and it was the recipe for a long day for the Pirates. The 91 points allowed tied their most allowed in a game that finished in regulation this season.

3. Guard

When Al-Amir Dawes is locked in, it shows. The Pirate senior finished with 22 on 9-for-15 shooting and 4-for-10 from three, topping all players in the game on both sides. On a night where St. John’s made it really difficult for Kadary Richmond as well as Dre Davis, Dawes really kept the Hall from a lopsided result, continuing a strong season against the Red Storm.

Ditto for Addae-Wusu. He didn’t have big scoring numbers at UBS Arena in the road meeting against his former team, but he brought big points at the Rock and also today at MSG, scoring 15 points while also hitting his threes. You need your guards to play well to win in March, and Seton Hall’s guards played well. Heck, even Richmond, who wasn’t at his best, ended up with 13 points, nine assists, and five boards. 

4. Bracketology

Heading into this game, while both Seton Hall and St. John’s were on the bubble of the Big Dance, it was St. John’s who was worse off, and needed this game more. Had Seton Hall won it, it would have definitely felt good about avoiding the First Four in Dayton. Now, although the Pirates will still very likely be in the Dance, their bracket fate will be very interesting to watch.

As for St. John’s, the Red Storm came out playing desperate. While a win might not totally solidify their place in the NCAA Tournament, the Johnnies earned an opportunity to play UConn in the semifinals in what should be a madhouse at Madison Square Garden. Give the Red Storm credit, as it appears to have turned a corner late in this season after a loss to Seton Hall where it blew a 19-point lead and most critics left St. John’s for dead. 

Back to the Pirates, there were two previous points this season where Holloway circled the wagons, after getting blown out by Xavier in late December, and after getting blown out at Villanova. Seton Hall responded both times with big performances. The way that the Pirates lost this game, getting out-toughed in a season where they’ve been the tougher unit most of the time, I would not be surprised if the head coach again refocuses his veteran team to the task at hand, and gets the Pirates ready to go for postseason ball.