Three positives and three lessons from Seton Hall’s three-overtime loss
Plus: Princeton continues to dominate its biggest women’s basketball rivalry.
In the years to come, basketball fans will remember plenty about No. 18 Creighton’s triple-overtime win at Seton Hall – Kadary Richmond’s triple-double (the second in Hall history), Trey Alexander’s dagger at the end, the officials’ calls that swung the game.
One detail that will stick in my brain is Shaheen Holloway’s especially animated reaction on the sideline when Richmond’s go-ahead basket was wiped due to a Creighton foul called on the floor.
Holloway’s comments postgame were almost as notable. Normally scant with his praise, especially in defeat, the second-year Pirates coach had to admit his players gave their absolute all.
“You gotta give credit to both teams, man,” he said. “I’m sour, like, I’m very sour right now, but that was a hell of a basketball game. Both teams fought to the end. You can’t ask for much more. You’ve got guys on both sides playing 50-plus minutes, right? It’s unfortunate somebody had to lose. Like I said, I’m sour, but it was a tremendous basketball game.
“I like the way we played. We lost and I’m super disappointed, anybody who knows me knows I’m a competitor, but we’re walking out of here with our heads high. It’s a tough loss, but we gotta bounce back. We’ve got a good Providence team on Wednesday.”
In honor of the first Big East game since February 2022 to need three overtimes, let’s break this down into three positives and three lessons for Seton Hall at the end of its five-game winning streak.
Three positives
1. Dre Davis is a true go-to guy
Can we talk about Dre Davis, please? I’ve been dying to talk about Dre Davis with you.
This putback was the play that forced a second overtime, but much, much earlier in the game, Davis came out on fire. His ridiculous 6-for-6 shooting start was almost entirely conducted in the mid-range.
Before he hit his sixth shot, I wondered aloud on Twitter if Davis was the most underappreciated of Seton Hall’s starting five. That lack of appreciation, imagined by me or real, didn’t last long. Davis finished 10-for-12 for 21 points with nine rebounds and zero turnovers.
The terrific account @SOrangeJuice suggested, “Run the offense through Dre Davis. Unstoppable mid-range game.” It isn’t a bad idea with the heater he’s been on. Truly, his last rough outing was against Monmouth. He’s almost guaranteed to shoot 45% or better from the field and he has the size to make an impact both on the wing and in the middle of the floor. Richmond may be the Pirates’ best player and the offense’s operator, but more plays should be ending with the ball in Davis’ hands.
2. Jaden Bediako (and Elijah Hutchins-Everett) can hang in the Big East
It’s time for an official verdict. I’ve been monitoring Seton Hall’s top two transfer centers throughout the season, and sprinkling praise here and there. Bediako, in New Jersey from Canada by way of Santa Clara, has now gone toe to toe with Donovan Clingan, Oso Ighodaro, Joel Soriano and Ryan Kalkbrenner. He hasn’t dominated every matchup but he’s held his own, giving Seton Hall a true starting five to put up against the biggest (in the literal sense) players in the league.
Bediako had 15 points (13 in regulation), 10 rebounds and five blocks Saturday. That game doesn’t go to overtime without some of his plays at both ends. And his backup, Elijah Hutchins-Everett? He’s out here hitting threes now! Not just garbage time, why-don’t-I-try-this threes. He calmly knocked down a crucial triple from the top of the key when Hall was down four late in regulation. Not shabby after his breakout 14-point, seven-board game against St. John’s.
3. The whistle won’t always be that unpredictable
…or maybe it will. Who knows? It’s the Big East, and James Breeding wasn’t even on Saturday’s game. The referee trio of Pat Driscoll, Evon Burroughs and Greg Evans made some absolutely head-scratching decisions in this game, and against both sides. Kalkbrenner got smacked in the face and they ruled it a block instead of an offensive foul.
Jerry Carino and Jaden Daly each have written good accountings of the multiple controversial calls that hurt Seton Hall, so I won’t rehash them here. In the micro, it must sting for the Pirates to lose by three in a game with so many of these breaks not going their way. In the macro, I think this is why Holloway (who wouldn’t touch a question about the refs) talked about holding their heads high – because this game utterly and truly could have pivoted either way based on a whistle out of their control. Next time, they may be luckier.
Three lessons
1. Close out on the perimeter
For as well as Seton Hall played on the whole, it was tough to watch Creighton take that many open 3-pointers. The scouting report on the Bluejays is pretty clear. They have a 7-footer in Kalkbrenner who does quite a lot, and they have four guards on the floor who can hit threes at any time; 48.5% of Creighton’s attempts from the floor are threes, a top-10 rate in the country, per KenPom.
Seton Hall ranks 214th nationally in 3-point defense, giving up 34.3%. The Pirates have allowed nine or more 3-pointers in five of their last seven games. It could continue to be a sore spot for them.
2. Time for more first-half subs?
Al-Amir Dawes (52 minutes played), Richmond (51) and company are going to be feeling the effects of this one for the next week or so. The Pirates have three more games in the next 10 days. It’s a good opportunity for guards like Isaiah Coleman and Jaquan Sanders to step up.
Coleman is still acclimating to Big East play as a freshman, and I admit he hasn’t done a ton with the minutes he’s had. Sanders didn’t even see the floor in the first half Saturday. The Seton Hall staff couldn’t have known a triple-OT game was going to break out, but still, could a few more minutes for each of these reserves have helped lighten the load?
It’s ironic for me to be saying this of a team coached by Holloway, who used 10-man rotations both at Saint Peter’s and in his first year at Seton Hall. With Femi Odukale, Tray Jackson and Tae Davis transferring out after last season, Holloway can only roll with what he has. Right now, that’s a well-defined starting five, Hutchins-Everett, Coleman and Sanders. Use those guards in the first half, before it’s make-or-break time. It’s a long season.
3. You aren’t sneaking up on people anymore
Davis was asked postgame if the team now feels that they’re one of the best in the Big East.
“I feel like we’ve felt that from Day 1,” he said. “I feel like each and every game we go out there, there’s something we gotta prove to the world. … We feel as though we are one of the best teams in the Big East, one of the best teams in the country.”’
They have proved it now. Add the national attention from the game of the weekend to previous upsets of UConn and Marquette, and the Pirates will have targets on their backs going forward.
The underdog mindset has revealed itself to be endemic to the entire sports landscape. Georgia football cried “everyone doubted us” when they were No. 1 the entire 2022 season and won their second straight football championship. No, guys, everyone very much believed in you. Seton Hall, to be clear, is absolutely an underdog in the narrative of this basketball season and probably will continue to be an underdog in the betting markets, too. But upcoming opponents Providence, Marquette and even Georgetown have already seen what they’re about. This is about to get a whole lot harder.
Tigers roar
I missed an instant classic not making the trip to Newark, but it is probably better for my heart health that I was elsewhere. I stayed local instead and covered Princeton women’s basketball beating rival Columbia for the Trentonian; you can check out my story here.
Chet Nweke had a strong game in her first career start, Madison St. Rose was her usual self on offense and freshman Skye Belker dropped 21 points and helped contain Columbia leading scorer Abbey Hsu. Ellie Mitchell grabbed her 1,000th career rebound and scored 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to demoralize the Lions, who had entered on a 10-game winning streak.
Princeton (14-3, 4-0 Ivy), unsurprisingly, is a deep team again. They ran away in the second half despite a four-point halftime deficit, and despite Kaitlyn Chen not having her best night.
“I just don’t think we strung together stops at all in this game,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith said postgame. “We track something, we call them turkeys, three stops in a row, in our program. We had one of those tonight. You’re not going to beat anybody, let alone a team like this, with (only) one three-stops-in-a-row series.”
This makes 29 wins for Princeton in the past 30 meetings with Columbia, a data set that goes back to 2007-08. Neither team was a juggernaut in the way they are now for that whole time, but the Tigers’ one-sided ownership of the series is indicative of some absolutely fantastic basketball. And it was clear Saturday night they wanted revenge after letting the Lions beat them at Jadwin a year ago.
I’m planning more Princeton women’s coverage before the regular season is up, but for now, let’s clean the glass and round up what else is going on around New Jersey:
The Princeton men (15-1, 3-0) also remained undefeated in Ivy play with a 70-62 road win over an improved Columbia team. Blake Peters’ 3-point stroke, wherever it had gone during late November and December, is back! He’s made multiple threes in five straight games now, but his 5-of-9 showing Saturday was by far his best of the year (and crucial to the Tigers’ win).
Monmouth had to travel to UNC Wilmington and Charleston last week, and a drive out to Drexel on Thursday meant three straight road games against the three best teams in the CAA. The Hawks measured up against Drexel (7-0 in league play) and held some second-half leads before a 78-74 loss. Xander Rice continues to do the bulk of the scoring, but there are about six other guys, including freshmen Abdi Bashir Jr. and Cornelius Robinson Jr., they’re able to rely on for some juice on offense. Monmouth bounced back by beating Hampton 85-77 Saturday.
FDU has won three in a row in the Northeast Conference. Granted, two came against Stonehill, rated No. 358 of 362 in KenPom this morning, but the Knights nonetheless have a good streak going after a six-game losing spell. If you want to catch them on TV, a nice new development for the program this year, Thursday’s home game against Central Connecticut is on ESPNU at 5 p.m.
When Rutgers visits Illinois later today, Terrence Shannon Jr. is expected to make his return for the Fighting Illini. Shannon, Illinois’ best player, was suspended in December after being arrested on a rape charge brought against him in Lawrence, Kan. Shannon’s attorney argued that the player was treated unfairly in Illinois’ Title IX process and he had a right to play basketball given the presumption of innocence before the case goes to trial. A judge granted a temporary restraining order and Illinois reinstated Shannon. Brad Underwood told reporters Shannon would not start against Rutgers, but figure he will be on the court finishing it. Shannon, who tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds at Rutgers Dec. 2, is likely to get a raucous welcome back from Illinois fans. Uphill fight ahead for RU.
Over in the MAAC, Saint Peter’s took its first loss in conference play Friday, 76-67 at Fairfield. The Peacocks, now tied for first place with Quinnipiac, host Canisius (2-5) this afternoon.