4 Thoughts: Seton Hall comes up short against Oklahoma State

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — Seton Hall came into Sunday afternoon needing a home victory to give the Big East the win in the Big East-Big 12 Battle, with each home team having held serve in the annual challenge.

But it was Oklahoma State that knocked The Hall back on its heels early, so much so that it made a furious second-half comeback by the Pirates moot in an 85-76 defeat at Prudential Center in Newark.

Here are the Thoughts from the Rock:

1. Shipwrecked

Coming into this game, Seton Hall was on shaky footing, having already suffered losses to three local mid-major teams, and putting forth an effort that head coach Shaheen Holloway was “disappointed” in despite a win on Wednesday night against NJIT.

Oklahoma State was a team whose identity was to play fast, forcing the action with its own defense, excelling at getting out in transition off opposing team turnovers. The Cowboys are not an overly prolific team from deep, averaging just seven made triples per game.

The first half was eye-opening, and not in a good way. The visitors shot 60 percent in the first 20 minutes, and that was actually down from where it was earlier in the half. They completely shredded Seton Hall’s calling-card end of the floor, making seven threes in just the opening half, while the Pirates turned it over 10 times, leading to 17 Oklahoma State points, with 16 points total coming on the fast break. 

“It’s super disappointing and frustrating to keep coming out like this in games,” Holloway said after the loss. “I thought we were well-prepared, as much as we can (be). We don’t really have guards like that on our team like they have to kind of simulate, imitate what they do, but we knew they were gonna push the ball. The game plan was to just get back and load up, and (in) the first half, they just scored all their points in transition, whether it was layups or threes.”

All told, the damage was a 45-26 deficit for the home team, and boos from the crowd at the Rock. It was a shame that it happened in the way it did, as had Seton Hall kept the game even a couple possessions closer, things might have turned out differently.

2. Too Little, Too Late

In the second half, basically everything that doomed the Pirates in the first half got better. They stopped turning the ball over (just five giveaways after halftime), didn’t let the Cowboys run hog wild from three (3-for-11 after a 7-for-12 first stanza), and did a pretty good job hitting shots themselves. 

But Oklahoma State was still equaling its scoring output, and it wasn’t until the 8:43 mark of the second half that Seton Hall got the deficit under 17 points. From there, the Pirates only allowed three Cowboy baskets down the stretch (although two of them were back-breakers at the end of the shot clock to help stem the tide), and amped up their pressure defense, forcing the visitors into six turnovers.

Eventually, they sliced what had been a 25-point lead early in the second half down to just seven, but ran out of steam. One sticking point: Free throw shooting again hurt the Pirates, as they went just 9-for-16 at the line after halftime. It just goes to show you that it doesn’t matter what the game situation is, as missed free throws will eventually come back to haunt you.

3. Beam Me Up, Scotty

Isaiah Coleman led the Pirates with another strong scoring game, pouring in a team-high 18 points, with 12 of those coming in the final 13 and-a-half minutes. 

But the biggest catalyst in their comeback was Scotty Middleton. The Ohio State transfer came in with a reputation as a deadeye three-point shooter (45 percent last year in Columbus), but this season was just 4-for-18 despite averaging about the same scoring output (4.4 points per game). 

He had seven points in the first half which went under the radar with the team-wide struggles, but his nine points and three made three-pointers in the second half were a huge factor.

“I think it’s just confidence that (my teammates) have in me,” Middleton said after the game of his breakout performance. “They’ve been telling me to shoot even though I feel sometimes like some shots might not be as open. They have confidence in me and they’re always looking for me, so as long as they’re looking for me and I’m open, I’m going to shoot it.”

There's a popular saying around basketball that teams really value 3-and-D wings, that is, guys whose role is to make shots from the outside to space the floor on offense and be pesky on defense.

Middleton seems like a classic version of a 3-and-D wing. At 6-foot-7 with long arms, he can elevate and get his shot off against most defenders, and adds a quick release. His length on defense helped to pester the Cowboys into mistakes as well today, and I for one hope that his performance today can turn into some increased production as Big East play comes around.

In that vein....

4. Completing the Puzzle

Holloway has said in the past that his preferred style to play involves going deep into his bench, rotating about 10 players in and out on a regular basis to be able to keep up his pressure defense. But he said something after the game that I thought was illuminating as well.

“This ain’t AAU basketball, where everybody has to play,” Holloway said. “Guys that earn it are gonna play, and that’s just how it is. I was kind of trying to find matchups and stuff, but I’m over that. I’m just playing guys that are gonna play the way I want them to play. That’s it.”

“We’re very inconsistent,” the skipper added. “You’ve got some guys playing really well and then they don’t play that well, then they play real well. We just gotta get them consistent, keep them confident and keep building. There are some things in the second half that I could build on as a coach, and I’m gonna build on those things. I’m gonna go back and watch film, and guys that played the way I want them to play are gonna keep playing, other guys are not gonna play. It’s just that simple.”

Being deep is a good thing. No team can survive on just its starters for too long (although, ironically, Seton Hall pretty much did last year en route to an NIT championship). But being too deep can also hurt, as players can struggle to build consistency and confidence from one game to the next when they're not getting the required time on the floor.

Now, like Holloway said, time on the floor has to be earned, but I think the Pirates might benefit from a shortening of the rotation a little bit. Holloway mentioned that Garwey Dual (nine points, nine assists) has rounded into form, and that Coleman has also started to realize what his role is. After missing a week, Dylan Addae-Wusu is back to being his usual self, and while Chaunce Jenkins tweaked his knee in practice this week, Prince Aligbe and Middleton have had their moments this year.

That’s a pretty solid core of wings and guards to be able to rotate on a regular basis. What the Pirates probably need to figure out the most is the rotation of their bigs. Pretty much everyone struggled for Seton Hall inside today. Emmanuel Okorafor was yanked after the first three minutes and didn’t play the rest of the game, and neither Godswill Ehrehriene nor Yacine Toumi stood out. The best post on paper was fan-favorite Gus Yalden, who had eight points and three boards while he was also on the floor for the Pirates’ comeback down the stretch. Does David Tubek fit into that group somewhere? Do they go with more of a smaller lineup that worked for stretches against Oklahoma State today?

It will remain to be seen what the answer is for the Pirates to get what Holloway wants on both ends of the floor. But if there’s a coach that can figure it out this jigsaw of a club, it’s Holloway. And the Pirates’ next game in the rivalry pressure cooker that is their next game at Rutgers might provide some early answers.