5 Thoughts: Seton Hall keeps season alive, downs St. John’s in Big East tournament

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

With both teams desperately needing a win to keep alive their hopes of getting to the NCAA Tournament, Seton Hall and St. John's tangled at MSG in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. This time, unlike Saturday's matchup, where there were huge swings of momentum, it was close throughout, turning into an old-fashioned rock fight after the halftime break.

And it was Seton Hall, behind huge contributions from their star players, that survived the Red Storm in overtime, 77-69, to advance to the semifinals on Friday night.

It's been a while because of scheduling conflicts for your favorite Thought-meister, so here we go:

1. Big Mamu on Campus

Sandro Mamukelashvili had a lot on his plate today. With St. John's pressuring Shavar Reynolds all over the court with Defensive Player of the Year Posh Alexander, Mamu not only had to do his usual work on the scoreboard and the glass, he also had to be a point forward the entire game for the Pirates to have a chance.

And he did, for almost literally the entire game. Playing 44 minutes and 16 seconds out of a possible 45 minutes, Sandro went for 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists to lead the Pirates to victory.

"Sandro was phenomenal," teammate Jared Rhoden said (more on him in a bit). "We always preach to Sandro, 'you're one of our best ball-handlers.' We trust him at the end of the game to handle the ball under pressure. He does it all the time in practice, (and) we have a ton of confidence in him."

At this time of year, you need your stars to, first and foremost, be stars. Mamu was that guy tonight. I can't recall a possession in the last 15 minutes of the game where the Pirates didn't look to get Mamukelashvili the ball on the wings, which led to either him going to score, or passing out of double-teams. But even if St. John's did force the ball out of his hands, Seton Hall was not deterred in its game plan.

"I thought he played extraordinary," head coach Kevin Willard said. "And I thought what he did better than anything tonight (was that) he kicked the ball out of the post and made simple plays. We were able to get some drives on the weak side."

2. Block Man on Campus

Despite having a slim lead at the break, Seton Hall didn't look right down the stretch in the first half and also the first couple minutes of the second half. The Pirates needed a spark.

Enter the biggest man on campus. Ike Obiagu's fantastic play on both ends changed the complexion of the game in the second half. He looked like the old Georgetown bigs, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, et. al. with the way he just seemed to swat every wayward shot that came in his general direction. On offense, he was his normal self, with a couple of offensive rebounds and a couple of big dunks, but it was his seven blocked shots (one shy of tying a Big East Tournament record) that caused the Pirates to, at least momentarily, get some momentum going.

"We have to come out better in the second half, that was my only message," Willard said. "And I thought the way Ike played in the second half, the blocks he had, it gave us so much energy, which he hadn't been doing."

Unfortunately, foul trouble bit him around the midway point of the second stanza, and his coming out of the game also changed things. Seton Hall needed another spark down the stretch, and that player was....

3. Taking The Hard Rhod

Jared Rhoden struggled big-time in the Pirates' Saturday loss to St. John's in Queens, shooting only 2-for-11 from the field, although he still managed 10 points and seven boards. After looking a tad shaky on defense early in this game against Julian Champagnie, he turned it on in a big way on both ends down the stretch, putting up a monster double-double of 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. 

In fact, he had a double-double just in the second half and overtime combined (12 points, 11 boards), and nailed six of his eight free throw attempts in the overtime to take the lead in helping Seton Hall salt it away.

Willard said afterward that since Rhoden struggled against St. John's this past weekend, he had a little extra motivation to play well today, and he certainly did.

"I love Jared," Mamukelashvili said after the game. "How hard he plays is off the charts. Today, I really saw that Jared that's just a dog. Before the game, we helped each other out, telling each other to stay active. I felt he did an incredible job, definitely the player of the (game)."

They need him to be that guy again against the surprising Hoyas tomorrow.

4. Defense Wins Championships... and Games, Too

The common thread for the Pirates in their four-game losing streak that was snapped with this victory over St. John's was that their defense was just not up to par. Willard had told the TV commentators that Seton Hall was letting its offense affect its defense, and it showed up most notably in slow starts to second halves (see his point earlier about Obiagu).

Well, today, the Pirates cranked up the defense, holding St. John's to just 11-for-41 shooting (27 percent) in the second half and overtime combined. They also got the Red Storm in foul trouble, and got themselves in the bonus quickly after halftime. Because they missed six free throws in the second stanza, they weren't able to properly take advantage, but today's effort represented a defense that was much more Pirate-like in its communication and execution. 

That's also something that has to carry over into the semifinals against a Georgetown team playing its best basketball of the season.

5. The Power of The Garden

After the game, Kevin Willard was asked about coming back to MSG for the Big East Tournament nearly one year to the day after it was cancelled for a Pirates team that had Final Four aspirations, and the 10th-year skipper didn't hold back in talking about his feelings.

“This year’s been hard,” Willard said. It’s been a mental grind, it’s been a physical grind, the sacrifices that we’ve all made to be able to play, the sacrifices that schools have made, our universities, our leagues, what these players have done, really going back since last March, when we got punched in the stomach with all this as it started. Man, I walked into this building, I got on the elevator, and I haven’t felt that good in years.”

"Seeing the same security guards that were here two years ago when we made a run, it’s made everything — it’s hard to explain," Willard added. "It’s very emotional for the fact that I love this tournament, I love this league. We’ve had some great games in this building, and to be back was just an absolutely energizing feeling.”

Seton Hall will look to keep that feeling going against the Hoyas in the semifinals on Friday. It's a game that Seton Hall also needs to win to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, as after today's win, Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Pirates as the fourth team in his "Last Four Out" category. Win that game, and you have a shot at a bid to the dance for the fifth straight year.