FDU’s defense carries Knights to victory over Wagner

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

TEANECK, N.J. — After the compilation of notes, diagrams and shot charts, it all came down to these numbers that just jumped off the stat sheet and begged for recognition.

A 38 percent field goal defense and a resounding 49-29 difference in rebounding. That went a long way in deciding FDU’s 52-45 victory over Wagner Saturday at the Bogota Savings Bank Center.

“We told the kids and that was on the board, ‘defense and rebounding,’” FDU coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “That’s our culture and I think it was evident in our stats.”

Saturday’s game saw FDU improve to 19-4 (10-0 NEC), while the Seahawks are now 10-11 (6-4 NEC). Wagner had a four-game winning streak stopped. The last prior loss by the Seahawks was a 56-46 setback against these same FDU Knights. Regardless, Gaitley anticipated a battle and has the utmost respect for Wagner.

FDU led by ten following the first period. Wagner cut the difference to six at halftime. Entering the final stanza, the Knights owned a 14-point lead and the FDU faithful anticipated a victory. Wagner refused to go away.

With 42 seconds remaining, it was a two-possession game. The Knights were able to seal the verdict by virtue of two free throws each by Kailee McDonald and Leah Crosby in the final 23 seconds. Gaitley was not surprised they made that final surge.

“The last time we played them and beat them, you could see that’s a winning culture,” Gaitley said. “I said (to Wagner coach Terrell Coburn), ‘you guys are doing a great job.’”

Points of Emphasis:

The Rat award winners: Given by the FDU staff to the player(s) personifying grit and toughness, especially on the defensive end.

“(Rebecca Osei-Owusu) and Leah (Crosby), they got our rat of the game,” Gaitley said. “Our offense wasn’t clicking, they both got a double-double and did a great job.”

Crosby posted a game-high 12-point, 11-rebound

double-double. Osei-Owusu scored 10 while grabbing 12 boards, the latter a game-high. Osei-Owusu also did a nice job on Wagner’s post threat, 6-foot-3 Lijirin Doyinsola Modesayor, who finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

“Becca did a great job countering what she could do,” Gaitley praised. “Becca slowed her down.”

Kailee McDonald shot 0-for-7 from three in the first half. The Knights’ sophomore guard came out in the second half and hit her first attempt from downtown. She never wavered nor lost confidence in her shot.

McDonald epitomized the axiom of shooters needing short memories.

“I just needed to focus on what’s happening next,” McDonald said. “I needed to focus on the next shot and keep going.”

A solid all-around player, McDonald pulled down eight boards, three on the offensive end.

“She is probably one of the best offensive rebounders I ever coached,” Gaitley said. “She just plays both ends of the court.”

McDonald finished with 10 points, shooting 2-of-11 from deep. Her contributions in this win went far beyond her point total and shooting percentage.

“Obviously, I love defense,” McDonald added. “We know what to bring the second half of the season. We just have to keep our foot on the pedal.”

Pressure: Wagner was able to stay within striking distance with its pressure that forced 18 FDU turnovers.

“We got a little rattled with the press,” Gaitley admitted. “Ava (Renninger) was hurt going into this game, but she did a great job getting through it after

pulling her groin in our last game.”

Renninger scored six points and handed out four assists. She did have six turnovers, but toughed it out, playing the full 40 minutes.

Notes: In tempo-free numbers, FDU posted an 83 offensive efficiency. The number that matters most to Gaitley was the defensive efficiency of 69, 12 under Wagner’s average.

FDU struggled on the offensive end, shooting 31 percent from the floor. The Knights were just 6-of-28) from three. Wagner had difficulty at the charity stripe, shooting only 8-for-18. The Seahawks’ norm from the line is 63 percent.

Doyinsola Modesayor and Irene Fernandez de Caleya led Wagner with 10 points each. Keana Foz added eight, including six when the Seahawks were making their last-period run.

Wagner visits Le Moyne on Thursday. FDU is also on the road against Stonehill, whom the Knights defeated at home, 78-54, this past Thursday.

St. Joe’s gets crucial A-10 win at La Salle to position itself for pivotal month of February

By Kyle Morello (@Kylemorello4)

PHILADELPHIA — Saturday afternoon marked the 56th time Saint Joseph’s and La Salle have shared the court together as Big 5 foes. Despite the deep familiarity between the two programs, it seemed to be a day of firsts at John E. Glaser Arena, which ended in a 67-58 win for the visiting Hawks.

It started off before the ball was even tipped. The two men on the sidelines, St. Joe’s head coach Steve Donahue and Darris Nichols for La Salle, had never coached against each other before. Not only that, but it was the first time either had coached in this double entendre version of a league game, where the two schools faced off as both Atlantic 10 opponents and Big 5 rivals. 

For Donahue in particular, who has coached in numerous Big 5 games as both an assistant and head coach at Penn, he knows how special these games are. 

“I’ve been through a lot of these in different ways,” he said. “Never thought I’d be involved in the St. Joe’s-La Salle one, and I was thrilled to be a part of it. I hope we can keep this going in this crazy era of NIL and what needs to be done for us to promote ourselves in our own league, because we do have something special. And I know this was an A-10 game, (but) I felt it was a Big 5 game. That’s just how I’m wired.” 

It was also a first of this instance for Nichols, who unlike Donahue, is in his first year coaching in the Big 5. Still, it’s easy to pick up on the energy this rivalry brings out in the fans.

“I felt some more energy than it’s been,” Nichols said. “Especially when you’re trying to build something and trying to create energy. You want it to feel like that every game.”

For the micro perspective of the game, it was another first for St. Joe’s Dasear Haskins. The redshirt sophomore forward tied a career-high with 20 points, and set a personal best with six threes made, all in the first half, too. Despite the team’s struggles shooting the ball from deep this season (St. Joe’s shoots 30 percent from beyond the arc), it doesn’t affect how Haskins or the rest of the team stays ready to make an impact.

“We believe in our work,” he said. “We work very hard. Our coaches trust in us a lot. All of us after practice were shooting and just bonding and stuff like that, so that little slump of us shooting wasn’t nothing for us. We stayed confident in each other and believe in our work.”

The Hawks are among the hottest teams in the A-10 right now. They’ve won six of their last seven games, and now sit at 6-3 through the first half of conference play. It’s the first time St. Joe’s has started league play 6-3 since the 2015-16 season, where the Hawks wound up winning the A-10 tournament and punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

There’s no telling on how this season will end up for St. Joe’s. To say they’re destined for the same ending as that season would be quite a reach, especially with the prowess at the top of the conference (Saint Louis is pretty, pretty good if you haven’t heard). But there’s no denying that the Hawks are playing their best basketball in a long, long time. 

If the Hawks keep playing the way they have over the last few weeks, it could end up being another first (in quite some time) for St. Joe’s fans: A team that is defying expectations and has battled through adversity to become the best version of itself, as it enters the most critical time of the season. 

Kevin Willard quote book: Providence

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

On Devin Askew’s 17-point first half:

“I’m trying to get Devin to play off of his strengths ever since he’s now full strength. He had a great week of practice, I think that was the big thing…I think everybody did. We had three really good days of practice, and that’s the way that he played the last three days.”

On Askew’s shooting and scoring ability:

“He can shoot, he can score. He had a really bad injury, then missed two months. I think when you miss two months of basketball and you try to come in and play high-level basketball, kids are kids. They’re going to try and come back and do what they always do. What I’m trying to get Devin to do is play off of his strengths more to start, and just go off that. I think he’s starting to realize how good of a shooter and a scorer he is, how much pressure he can put on defenses, and then he can play off of that. Two months of not playing or practicing, especially in September and October, he missed the two most important months as you’re trying to learn a new system, new offense, then get thrown into the fire. It’s just taken a little bit of time.”

On Askew’s importance to the team:

“Huge. That’s why I brought him here. This is the type of player he is. When you go into the portal, you have to really evaluate, watch film and see what he has. When he was on his visit, I think the best part about it is I just loved his maturity. He’s a terrific, terrific person. I think he’s getting rewarded for being a hard worker and a terrific person.”

On Askew and Tyler Perkins’ veteran presence:

“Perkins and Devin have been great. I think Perkins is even getting a little bit more confidence and a little bit more comfortable with a totally different style than he played (previously). Some of the early mistakes that we made, I think we’re learning from them. I think we’re doing some better things offensively. I think these guys are getting more comfortable offensively.”

On getting momentum in the second half after Providence cut into their lead:

“(Stefan) Vaaks is good. He’s a pro with his size and the way he shoots. We left him twice to start the second half. We kind of gave them nine points and let them back into the game. I thought we did a much better job of just sitting down and defending.”

On defensive improvements that forced 14 Providence turnovers:

“These guys are working hard at it. Our secondary defense still needs a lot of work. There’s times that we have to protect Duke with the amount of minutes that he’s getting. I still think we’re getting confused on some simple things, that’s more my fault. Sometimes I get a little more complicated than I should be with these guys, but these guys are working hard at it and trying to figure it out. Sometimes in the game, the game is going so fast, and what I think these guys should be able to do is not realistic.”

On what changed from the last meeting with Providence:

“We went through a battle with UConn and lost in overtime, and had six days off. They just went through a battle and lost at the buzzer pretty much, then they had three days to come here. Kim’s doing a great job. I love his team, I love the way that they play. They've had some really, really tough losses, man. For them to keep coming out and playing as hard as they’re doing just lets you know how committed they are to Kim and how much they want to win. It’s just that sometimes the schedule dictates how you play. We came off a bye week, which we needed, and they’re coming off two really, really hard losses. The Georgetown loss was obviously really tough, I’m sure, but then they came back and played great against UConn. To me, that’s a sign of great coaching, when you’re up 20 and you lose, and then you come back against the No. 2 team in the country on campus and have a chance to win in the last two minutes. We had three great days of practice and we’re ready for them, but sometimes that’s a big difference is the schedule.”

“That’s a lot of questions for four people.”

LIU vs. Le Moyne Photo Gallery

Photos from LIU’s 83-61 win over Le Moyne on January 29, 2026:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

UConn embracing its position while looking for its finishing gear, but also cognizant of what must be found

Dan Hurley, shown here leaving floor after UConn’s win at Creighton last season, leads Huskies back into Omaha Saturday at 20-1 and No. 2 in country. (Photo by ESPN)

OMAHA, Neb. — UConn’s annual trip to Creighton has, somehow or another, usually ended up being far more eventful upon its conclusion.

Two years ago, the Huskies came to Omaha as the number-one team in the country, only for Creighton to walk away with a 19-point win amid a court stormed following the program’s first win over a top-ranked opponent in school history. Last February, Liam McNeeley’s career night and 38 points led to UConn’s first-ever road win over the Bluejays, made all the more memorable by Dan Hurley’s now-famous “two rings, baldy” interaction with an overzealous Creighton fan.

Saturday evening, UConn returns to the westernmost outpost in the Big East ranked second in the nation and 20-1 on the year, but still trying to evolve as the second half of conference play beckons.

“As a coach and as a staff, and for me in particular as a head coach, it’s to always not look at where you are, but where you need to get to,” Hurley said in a pregame Zoom call Friday. “The improvements that your team has to make to play championship-level basketball, we’re clearly not there.”

“In the end, we gotta make more shots. We’re missing a lot of shots at the rim, we’re getting pretty good looks from three that we’ve gotta make. Those teams that were great, championship-level teams — Jordan Hawkins, Joey (Calcaterra) off the bench, Nahiem (Alleyne) off the bench, Cam Spencer, Tristen Newton, (Alex Karaban) — these guys are shot makers. And I think it comes down to making more shots.”

The availability of Braylon Mullins, who missed Tuesday’s win over Providence while recovering from a concussion suffered in the second half last Saturday against Villanova, would go a long way toward bridging the gap the Huskies currently face with their offensive efficiency. Mullins did travel with UConn, but his status for Saturday remains uncertain.

“He’s progressing through all the protocols,” Hurley said, offering as concise an update as possible. “He’s taken all the steps to be able to get out on the court, he was able to get in practice. I guess now he’s healing from here, but he’s feeling good, he’s returned to practice. We’ll see how he does on the flight, on the overnight, but I think he feels pretty good.”

“We’ve struggled with shot making. We’re getting a lot of the same types of shots that we’ve been getting over the last couple of years when we’ve been a highly efficient offense. I think more shot making is better for us because we’ve struggled with shot making this year at the rim and from the perimeter, and he’s another player that’s a two-way player. He’s a guy that can guard people and could make shots, and can make plays on offense.”

Hurley also addressed the comparisons of this UConn team to both of his two national champion outfits, something he did at earlier stages of the season when attempting to draw a parallel with the 2023-24 Huskies. The coach later correlated his current group to the 2022-23 team after the Villanova game, citing the improvement later in the year, but has now pivoted from that standpoint as well.

“I think the mistake I’ve made is even comparing this team to the ’23 or the ’24 team,” he admitted. “It’s a mistake. I shouldn’t be comparing this team to any teams that won the national championship. Going to a Final Four is hard, then winning two more games after getting to the Final Four is the ultimate, so I’m done just comparing this team to ’23 or ’24. We have a lot of improving to do, but going back to ’23 to where we are now, we’re in the midst of probably the most successful run that we’ve had on the men’s side, just in terms of winning games and championships.”

Hurley is now content with living in the moment, a mindset he has embraced more strongly this season as his team has navigated the season. Once questioned for an apparent inability to win close games, UConn’s identity this year has been most prevalent in scratching out wins of that nature. Nine of the Huskies’ victories have come by eight points or less, with a tenth by seven in October’s exhibition win over Michigan State. Included in that sample size, however, are wins on neutral floors against BYU and Florida, as well as December’s road win at Kansas, so it is not like UConn is hanging on against lesser competition. 

“I don’t want to lose sight of being 20-1,” Hurley reiterated. “Obviously, the metrics are what the metrics are. We’ve dropped since the Providence game, because, partially, the teams we’re beating obviously don’t have great KenPoms or NET ratings, or things of that nature, so we’re getting nicked even when we’re winning hard conference games. But in the end, we’ve got four Top 15 KenPom wins on our ledger. We’re not good at blowing out bad to average teams, but we’ve proven that we can beat the best teams.”

Still, the overall product despite being a projected No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed leaves more to be desired for the coaching staff. Hurley has been adamant about the lack of a killer instinct among this year’s unit, and continues to emphasize the necessity of salting games away in crunch time. On the contrary, he believes the experience in nail-biters will allow the Huskies to become more acclimated to recognizing the sense of urgency even if the line being straddled is a precarious one.

“We have the will to win,” he said. “I don’t think that the team is soft. I think that if this team was soft, we wouldn’t win close games. The team has been very tough-minded, but we haven’t proven a killer instinct, a nastiness, a violence about us on the backboard. Our ball security, at times, has been shaky, and we don’t have the killer instinct. We have the will to win because we’ve won close games versus some really good teams. I think playing close games is eventually going to put us in position to be comfortable in those situations, but we’re also playing with fire.”

Furman survives Samford to score key home win

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

GREENVILLE, S.C. – As the southeast braces for a second wave of winter weather, the Samford Bulldogs made the pilgrimage to Timmons Arena for a nationally-televised Southern Conference tilt Thursday with Furman.

 

This contest came down to the waning moments, but the host Paladins weathered the storm for a 78-73 victory over Samford.

 

Ben Vander Wal broke the seal in the scoring column with an old-fashioned three-point play 20 seconds into the game, sparking a 10-4 burst for Furman (15-7, 6-3 SoCon). That run featured an Alex Wilkins three and Tom House layup.

 

“That was a heck of a win tonight for our group,” said Furman head coach Bob Richey. “We’re just continuing to learn, and learning is a lot more fun when you’re winning. We have a lot of guys who are young and have been in some huge games against really good teams.” 

 

Jadin Booth drilled a three-pointer and two free throws with a Keaton Norris triple sandwiched in-between, tying the game at 12 near the 14-minute mark of the first half. A couple of moments later, Cade Norris and Dylan Faulkner each hit shots in the paint for a two-point Bulldog lead.

 

Eddrin Bronson and House each drained three-pointers for the Paladins for a three-point cushion, but Samford (10-12, 3-6 SoCon) surged ahead, 32-30 m, on a Faulkner bucket and Will Shaver layup. With under a minute left in the half, Charles Johnston notched a layup and subsequently swatted away a shot in a 10-second span. Vander Wal cashed in the extra possession with another three-point play for a 35-33 Paladin halftime lead.

 

Wilkins rattled off a personal 7-0 run that pushed the Furman cushion to 44-36 less than four minutes into the second stanza before a Norris triple sliced it back down to five. Johnston, Wilkins, and House combined for the next seven points that pushed the advantage to 57-43 with 11:24 to play. 

 

However, Samford battled back as Shaver finished strong at the rim, Booth drilled two jumpers, followed by layups from Martin and Faulkner that cut the deficit to 63-58 with 5:28 remaining. Just over a minute later, Wilkins was whistled for his fifth personal foul on a charge.

 

Furman extended the lead back to nine with a House triple, but a pair of Booth threes cut it to 75-71 with 30 seconds left. During that stretch, Vander Wal was called for his fifth foul and the Paladins committed a five-second violation on an inbound play.

 

Martin knocked down two shots from the charity stripe that cut the margin to two, 75-73, but two Bronson free throws with 18 seconds left sealed the win for the Paladins.

 

“Our group did an unbelievable job managing foul trouble with our leading scorer (Wilkins) being out of the game the last four minutes,” Richey said. “We were feeling like the momentum was slipping at that juncture of the game. We kept trying to stay calm on the sideline. My job in those situations is just to get everybody relaxed. The bench and players were getting a little stiff. It is my fault, too (on the five second violation) – I’ve got to call timeout right there. I thought our guys did a pretty good job in the last 30 seconds once we got out of some of that. Ed (Bronson) hit two huge free throws, and we didn’t turn it over in Press-O after that. We couldn’t rest anybody or take anybody out, so we had to figure out how to get the ball in and make free throws.”

 

House posted a team-high 21 points for Furman, while Wilkins tallied 20 points and Vander Wal finished with 11. Johnston added eight points and a game-high 20 rebounds. Each team scored 32 points in the paint. Weather permitting, the Paladins are slated to host Chattanooga for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday that will air on ESPN2.

 

Booth scored a game-high 23 points for Samford, while Faulkner had 19 points with a team-high 12 rebounds, and Martin added 14. The Bulldogs outscored the Paladins 13-0 in points off turnovers, 17-12 in second chance points, and 18-11 in bench scoring. Samford faces a short turnaround as it visits Western Carolina on Saturday at 12 p.m.

5 Thoughts: Seton Hall’s explosive second half flips script as Pirates stay on bubble with resounding W over Xavier

Budd Clark exhorts crowd as Seton Hall fed off his and Tajuan Simpkins’ hot hands to overcome double-digit deficit and topple Xavier. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

NEWARK, N.J. — Seton Hall has authored multiple second-half comebacks already this season. None, however, were quite like the one the Pirates crafted Wednesday.

After spotting Xavier an 11-2 head start and eventually finding itself in a 22-9 hole, The Hall went to halftime down 11 points. What followed was a turnaround that could very go down as a season-saver if more breaks go the Pirates’ way.

Seton Hall (15-6, 5-5 Big East) outscored the visiting Musketeers by 29 points over the final 20 minutes, turning what looked to be an uninspiring effort before a crowd stymied by navigating the aftermath of last weekend’s winter storm into an 86-68 takedown of Xavier that could be, all things considered, the most impressive win of the season for a Pirate squad that needed it in the worst way after dropping four straight since a January 10 victory at Georgetown.

The late rally and even later commute back across the river gives way to a Thursday morning set of postgame thoughts. Here goes:

1) Second Helping

Seton Hall had two players stand out in particular, combining for 51 of its 86 points, and each will get his own individual takeaway. Before that, though, any mention of Wednesday’s game needs to start with the cannon from which the Pirates shot themselves out of after halftime.

A 23-3 run out of the locker room slammed the door on Xavier’s attempt to leave the Prudential Center with a road victory, as Budd Clark and Tajuan Simpkins tag teamed to lift a struggling offense out of a rut and pair it with the full-court pressure that has become a calling card of sorts under Shaheen Holloway. All told, The Hall outscored Xavier by a commanding 56-27 margin in the final stanza to erase a 41-30 deficit at the intermission, and Holloway’s plea of getting his team to commit the appropriate level of intensity was largely responsible for the reversal of fortune.

“(I’m) just trying to find guys that want to play with energy and defend,” the coach said. “We need everybody. We need a Jacob Dar, we need a Josh (Rivera), who had a good stretch, we need Trey (Parker), who had a good stretch, (Tajuan Simpkins), we need Mike (Williams), who was playing well for us. I make adjustments throughout the game, and with me, it’s not about who starts, it’s about who finishes. And if you’re a basketball player, that’s all you care about, is finishing the game.”

“We just wanted to come out with a sense of urgency, knowing the point we’re at right now,” Clark echoed. “We just wanted to come out with energy. We just gave a lot of energy on the defensive end and that just turned to offense. We honestly don’t like playing from behind, but that’s been a situation at times this month. I’d say we’re very resilient. We’ve been through tough times, we’ve been down a lot this season, but we’re very resilient and we’re gonna fight to the end, and just keep trying to claw back and find ways to win.”

2) RoseBudd

Usually, as Clark goes, so too do the Pirates. And on Wednesday, the Merrimack transfer went at a speed not seen since his tour de force performance in December’s blowout of in-state rival Rutgers.

Clark ended the night with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. The Philadelphian also kick-started a game-ending 12-0 run after Seton Hall started the second half with a 14-0 spurt to pull ahead for the first time Thursday. Per Adam Zielonka of Guarden State, Seton Hall has had 15 runs of 10-0 or more to date this season, while yielding only five to its opposition.

“I want to give a shoutout to my coaches,” Clark said. “They’ve been talking to me all week, they’ve been believing in me, telling me to be myself. And a special shoutout to (assistant coach Rasheen Davis). He just kept telling me, ‘just be myself and have fun doing it.’ I had fun on the defensive end and offensive end, and we came out with the win.”

“I’ve been on Budd Clark and Trey about pushing the basketball,” Holloway added. “(Clark) pushed the basketball and we got a lot of easy baskets because of that. He has to do that. God gave him a gift to be really quick and really fast. Use that to your ability, because if you don’t, we don’t have a dominant big man where you just slow the game down and throw the ball down low. We gotta play quick, we gotta play fast. (Clark’s) gotta push it, he’s gotta get guys running.”

3) Tajuan-derful

The biggest beneficiary of Clark’s all-around game Wednesday was Simpkins. The Elon transfer tied a career-high with 27 points, connecting on five of eight 3-point attempts on a night where he was the only Pirate to convert a long distance call.

“We’ve got a lot of unselfish guys on the team,” Simpkins said of his teammates finding him to ride his hot hand. “If somebody’s hot, they’re just looking for him.”

“I like seeing all my guys make shots and have fun, and just finding ways to win,” Clark proclaimed. “(Simpkins) was the hot hand, so we tried to find him when we were down.”

When the ball goes through the hoop the way it did for Seton Hall Wednesday, the potential is limitless.

“We could be great,” Simpkins elaborated. “We were just nationally recognized a week ago, Top 25, and we just went into this rough stretch. So I just feel like that just shows who we are.”

4) Jacob’s Ladder

One of Holloway’s trademarks wherever he has been has been finding a diamond in the rough and getting him to play above his size and proverbial weight class. At Saint Peter’s, it was the Drame twins, Fousseyni and Hassan. In his first two years at Seton Hall, it became Dre Davis. This season, it could eventually be Jacob Dar in the X-factor role.

The senior wing posted ten points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, and even if Clark and Simpkins commanded most of the attention from those watching Wednesday, it was Dar who was arguably most integral at the end of the first half when the Pirates began to chip away at Xavier’s double-digit lead. Holloway left the Rice transfer on the floor with A.J. Staton-McCray on the bench, and continued to trust him even after missing assignments on defense. Dar responded by setting the table for the second-half spurt that won Seton Hall the game.

“He’s just gotta find his way,” Holloway said. “I keep telling him, just go out there and play with energy. Don’t worry about making mistakes, don’t worry about messing up. Just play with energy, play hard, and hit the offensive glass and slash. You’re a 6’7 slasher, slash and use your size and length to defend. I thought he did that in the second half for us.”

“It was much-needed,” Simpkins said of Dar’s effort. “He was ready when his number was called, played the right way, crashed the glass and did what he was supposed to do. He had a good game.”

5) Ice Tre

Xavier’s Tre Carroll entered Wednesday’s contest averaging 18 points per game. The Florida Atlantic transfer took a streak of three straight 20-point games into battle against Seton Hall, including a 31-point masterpiece in a losing effort against St. John’s. Carroll furthered that string Wednesday, doing so before halftime with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting. But he would finish with that same amount, as Seton Hall shut his water off in the final 20 minutes, allowing the 6-foot-8 mountain of a man to take just three field goal attempts after the intermission, missing each one.

After a quick film study during the break and a reminder to follow the scouting report, the tide turned.

“He’s a hard drive left, and the first couple guys (guarding him), they didn’t listen to the scouting report,” Holloway reflected. “They let him go left and they let him get out there and shoot some threes, and he just was too comfortable. I thought in the second half, we made him play a little faster than he wanted to play, and then we closed the lanes up.”

“The first half, everything was so wide because (Xavier) could shoot. Guys were too wide, they weren’t in the lanes. The second half, we kept it kind of tight and I think that was the difference.”