5 Thoughts: Seton Hall game, but outlasted by Villanova

Femi Odukale (21) played all 40 minutes in Seton Hall’s valiant effort Tuesday against Villanova. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — Seton Hall-Villanova has long been the Big East's best rivalry. Ever since Sterling Gibbs hit a buzzer-beater to stun the then-third-ranked and No. 1 seed Wildcats at the 2014 Big East Tournament, the first year after the league's reformation, the series has produced countless nail-biters along with some of the conference's best games.

Tuesday's late-night affair at Prudential Center was no different, and the surging Wildcats pulled off a 76-72 win over a Seton Hall team that fought them for every inch.

Here are the five thoughts:

1. Three-Ball Barrage

Villanova's long been a team that makes full use of the 3-point line, featuring an offense that entering Tuesday's action had attempted over 25 threes per game. That's a full eight threes per game more than Seton Hall, and yet when Villanova went 7-for-15 from deep in the opening 20 minutes, the Pirates stayed right with them, and even bettered the visitors in percentage. 

The Hall's 7-for-12 showing from beyond the arc included two by Femi Odukale (a 25 percent 3-point shooter) and one from Dre Davis, who had taken only 36 threes all year. The star of the half was Al-Amir Dawes, who scorched the nets (4-for-5 overall, 3-for-3 from downtown) to lead the Pirates with 11 points, adding three assists after his worst shooting night of the year against Xavier (1-for-10, 0-for-5 from three). 

Seton Hall's known for its defense, but once in a while, it's nice to have a stretch where you shoot the lights out. 

2. Good, Clean Fun

For a head-to-head series that's also been among the most-physical in a physical Big East, the first half isn't one that anyone could have predicted. It was physical, sure, but not to the point of being hard to watch. There were a grand total of three fouls called in the opening 20 minutes. Not three per team, just three. When was the last time you saw that in a college basketball game?

Well, Jeff Anderson, Matt Potter, and Tommy Morrissey evidently got that message that the whistle-swallowing should be rectified, because they proceeded to call 12 fouls in the opening eight minutes and change of the second half. That trend continued onward so that both teams were in the double bonus with about six minutes remaining. Oh, well, you can't win them all, I guess. 

3. Execution

With so many fouls being called in the second half, however, you could tell it was going to come down to free throws, and it did. Villanova, a stellar free throw-shooting team at 82 percent for the year, outdid even itself, making its first 22 attempts at the line and only missing when the game was in hand, up four points with just seconds remaining. If the Wildcats would have shot their season percentage, they would have made four fewer attempts, the margin of victory on the scoreboard.

“That’s Villanova,” Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway said. “That’s what they’ve been like for a long time. That’s what they’ve been doing, that’s what they do. I think they’re No. 1 in the league in free throw percentage if I’m not mistaken.”

Seton Hall went 14-for-18 at the charity stripe, which is a very good night for most teams, including the Pirates, who came in about 10 percentage points below that on the season. On most nights, that's good enough. That it wasn't tonight is a credit to Villanova. After a rocky start to its season without Justin Moore (who led the way with 23 points tonight, including 9-for-9 at the line), the Wildcats seem to be rounding into form, and should be a dangerous No. 6 seed at Madison Square Garden next week.

As for the Pirates, it was just a couple details at the end of the game that felled them.

“I thought we gave everything we had,” Holloway said. “I can’t say, ‘we didn’t do this.’ Guys played extremely hard, we made our free throws. Think about it: You shoot 45 percent, which is not great but solid, you shoot 44 percent from three and 78 from the free throw line. You do stuff like that, those are winning games, right? The problem is when you make a couple of bonehead plays down the stretch and it costs you against a team like this.”

4. Fabulous Femi

While Dawes ended up leading the Hall with 23 points tonight, it was Odukale who had his best game as a Pirate. He played every second of the game, and scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists, and made six of 10 shots from the field. Though not a great outside shooter, a lot of his points came on jumpers, including two corner threes that must have surprised Villanova, as it left him wide open.

His coach was impressed.

“I thought he played (well),” Holloway said. "It’s tough asking him, Al and Jamir to come and do what Kadary has done for us the whole year. He had the ball in his hands 90 percent of the time, he kind of led us in every category at one time — scoring, rebounding, assists, steals — and now you get a week to try to prepare without him and ask other guys to step up. I thought Femi did a great job tonight of answering the house call.”

Odukale also matches up well physically with a lot of Villanova's main players, and so he was also asked to defend like he's capable of against several different opponents. He's been the Pirates' best perimeter defender all season, and he added an offensive dimension tonight that will be most welcome down the stretch.

5. Back To The Lab

The difference between Seton Hall in its first game without Kadary Richmond in the lineup (the point guard is still sidelined with a back injury) and its second was night and day. The Pirates looked lost on offense on Friday night against Xavier, and just unable to keep up with their opponents no matter what they tried on the defensive end.

Tonight, after a few days of practice, was a totally different story. Yes, the Hall got hot from three, but the intent was so much better tonight, the drive so much more purposeful. 

“I thought our effort was way better,” Holloway said. “I thought we put ourselves in position to win the game. I feel really bad for the seniors, man. I wanted to win for them more than anybody. Like I said, I thought we did everything we could do. Guys played, two guys played 40 minutes and they played their hearts out, and we just came up a little short.”

Trying to replace a talent like Richmond, particularly one who has so much playmaking responsibility, is a difficult thing, but several Pirates stepped up tonight to fill that void.

“Probably all the practice we had,” Tyrese Samuel said when asked what the difference was without Richmond in this game. “We've been without him for two games, and the more we practice, our chemistry just gets better.”

Odukale embraced the added responsibility, too.

“It was good for me just having the ball in my hands, making plays for others, and doing the things I do,” he said. “I talk to Kadary a lot, just going over reads I can use to be better.”

Heading into Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, Seton Hall could definitely use Richmond back in the lineup, but what tonight showed is that the Pirates figured out how to operate if they don't have their floor general. And under the Garden lights, anything can happen.