5 Thoughts: St. John’s wallops Seton Hall at Walsh Gym

Jared Rhoden (14) was visibly frustrated against St. John’s pressure as Seton Hall fell to Red Storm Monday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — In the first Big East men's game played at historic Walsh Gymnasium since March 2, 1985, the St. John's Red Storm came out and played like its season depended on it, throwing 40 minutes of hell defensively at the Seton Hall Pirates, holding them to 31 percent shooting and never taking their foot off the gas in an 84-63 victory. The stunning blowout loss snapped Seton Hall's 26-game win streak on campus in regular season play dating back to 1989.

Here are the 5 Thoughts:

- Throwback

First things first, the atmosphere to start the game and during the first half was electric. The entirety of the balcony and both courtside sections of seats were filled with students an hour before tipoff, and eventually, it was near capacity at the old gym. I have seen a lot of basketball at Walsh, and I have never heard the place as loud as it got tonight at times. The students, who have been fantastic all year long, showed out tonight, and they should be commended.

It was honestly so cool as an alum to see the atmosphere for an honest-to-goodness Big East men's basketball game on campus. I was glad to be there to witness the historical aspect of it all. Which makes it all the more disappointing for the students who packed the place that the game turned out the way it did.

- Red Hurricane

Give St. John's a lot of credit, they were desperate for a win, with no Quad 1 victories on the season, and it certainly played like it. Right off the jump ball, the Red Storm pressed Seton Hall to death, and frustrated the Pirates with its length and pressure. The home team couldn't find many good looks on offense, let alone easy baskets. The Pirates shot just 29 percent in the first half, falling behind by as many as 21 points before a 15-4 spurt got them within 10 at the break.

Head coach Kevin Willard said after the game that St. John's pace surprised Seton Hall, and knocked his team back on its heels. He also decried the effort on the glass, something you almost never hear him say. After dominating the glass 40-27 in Saturday’s win over the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden, it was St. John's outrebounding Seton Hall tonight, 48-43, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, and outscoring the Pirates 42-18 (!) in the paint. 

As Myles Cale said after the game: "They just wanted it more."

- Aching for Aiken

Earlier this year, when Ike Obiagu missed time with an injury, you could plainly see how much his presence on defense meant to the Pirates. You could also see its improvement upon his return.

Tonight, in a similar fashion, Seton Hall missed Bryce Aiken's presence dearly. With only one primary ball handler available to the Pirates, St. John's went all-out on Kadary Richmond, often face-guarding him in the backcourt and forcing less-skilled ball handlers to try and navigate the full court press. Richmond finished with only three points on 0-for-8 shooting from the floor, and had only four assists along with four turnovers as the Pirates were battling from behind all night long.

Combine that with how much Seton Hall missed Aiken last season, with Shavar Reynolds forced to punch above his weight, so to speak, in his stead, and you could make the case that on a team with a lot of talent and experience that the sixth-year man from Randolph is the most indispensable player on the roster. The Pirates need his return to the court, and tonight showed why.

- Turnovers, Turnovers

At the half, Seton Hall had just seven turnovers, and St. John's had not really done a lot off those giveaways, which was one of the reasons the Pirates were within an arm's length after 20 minutes. But the second half was disastrous in this regard, as Seton Hall turned it over 13 times, leading to a snowballing effect that allowed St. John's to run away with the game. 

I'd like to point to one sequence in particular that turned the tide of the game. After Jamir Harris converted an and-1 layup to cut the St. John's lead to eight points at the 13:10 mark, Montez Mathis hit a corner 3-pointer to get it right back, and then picked off an errant pass leading to a dunk on the other end. All of a sudden, the lead was 13 points with under 12 minutes remaining, and things got way out of hand for the Pirates from there.

While St. John's still had only 14 points off the 20 Seton Hall turnovers tonight, it was the volume that hurt the Hall more than the immediate damage off each one.

- No Rest For The Weary

Perhaps it's a good thing that Seton Hall has no time to really feel bad about itself, as the Pirates turn around quickly and welcome Marquette to the Prudential Center Wednesday night. Mind you, it was the controversial finish to the game last week in Milwaukee that concussed Aiken and led to his current absence, so Seton Hall would have had a definite edge to them coming into the game anyway. 

After being blown out in South Orange Monday night, I would expect them to come out with a heightened sense of urgency against the Golden Eagles, perhaps akin to St. John’s tonight. After this loss, the fans will certainly crave it.