#7 Notre Dame v #10 Seton Hall, 7:00PM
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Television: ESPN
Radio: 770 WABC, WSOU 89.5 FM

Twitter @GonzoBall @thecycle

Projected Starting Five: G-Harvey, G-Theodore, G-Hazell, F-Robinson, F/C-Pope

As mentioned throughout the day on ESPN, tonight's game between ND and Seton Hall could very well serve as a play in game for the Big Dance.  With USF and UConn focusing on an NIT berth and Cincinnati relegated to winning the BET, a final BE bid could come down to ND or SHU.  While Seton Hall has already beaten the Irish at The Rock on February 11, 90-87, they could complete a sweep tonight, making it very difficult for the committee to select the Irish over the blue-and-white.  Their contest in February turned out to be quite a close game before it was decided by Notre Dame missing two open 3PT attempts as time expired. 

While Seton Hall shot relatively well against Providence for the first 30 minutes of the game, the last ten were a different story.  Shot attempts clinked, clunked, short armed, finished long, rolled off the rim, and banked off the glass, as the Seton Hall faithful could only muster a nervous chuckle as they held their breath in fear.  The doubt even started to creep into the better FT shooters on the team as they often (2-of-6 in final 42 seconds) came up short during critical attempts.

The Pirates won't have the opportunity to play with another 29 point lead in the BET, but if they don't make their FTs and continue to play poor defense, they may very well find themselves the squad down 29.  Notre Dame is playing exceptionally well with four straight wins ( vs. Pitt, at Georgetown, vs. UCONN, at Marquette [in OT]), but their improved play goes even further back than that.  They beat USF by three, lost to the Hall by 3, lost to St. John's by one, and UL by two (in double OT).  Save Marquette, Notre Dame has played in some of the closest games in the conference, finding themselves on both sides of the W-L tally.  If we remember correctly, SHU has played in some close games too (SU, WVU, USF, MU), but in the extremely tight contests, they've more often than not wound up on the wrong side of the box score.  This game should come down to which team has not only learned to play with a lead, but to close out their opponent when things go array.  Last night when faced with adversity, the Pirates panicked.  Gonzo called on Billy Wagner in the bottom of the 9th nursing a 5-0 lead and the Pirates escaped with a 5-4 victory after they walked the bases loaded.  If Seton Hall can go Mariano Rivera on Notre Dame, they may find themselves with the pretty girl at the dance, while ND goes home with the ugly duckling. 

A look at tonight's game:

SHU Athletics preview:

Sophomore Herb Pope became the first Seton Hall player in history to finish the regular season as the BIG EAST leader in rebounds per game.  The Aliquippa, Pa. native pulled down 11.1 rebounds per game, which was more than a full rebound ahead of the second place individual (Harangody, 10.0 rpg).

A few good articles from Brendan Prunty of NJ.com:

The second round review of the BET:

For the Pirates, they’ll have the bonus of knowing that they were able to have their way with the Irish with and without Luke Harangody, since the All-American went down in that game. Getting the ball inside to Herb Pope will be the key.

How Keon Lawrence has been affected this year by his auto incident:

"At one point, I had to ask myself, ‘What’s really wrong with me?’" Lawrence said. "I had to get myself so focused on playing good basketball. The way that everybody is playing now, we’re jelling together and I’m not playing my best."

And finally by Mr. Prunty, a look at the NCAA Tournament picture:

To this point, Seton Hall has dodged bullets in the mid-major championships and now comes time for the Pirates to take care of its own business.

Tonight's preview from SBNation:

SHU exerted a lot energy to hold off Providence last night, so go with the Irish and expect them to wear down the Pirates in the end.

Notre Dame 81, Seton Hall 73

And we wonder why Bobby G has an "us against the world mentality". 

A look from our friends (but more foe tonight) Rakes of Mallow:

A Seton Hall win would make them 2-0 against the Irish and force ND closer to the bubble. The Fighting Irish would still probably be in, but we'd be sweating a little come early Sunday morning.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Seton Hall as one of the first four out:

First Four Out: Washington, Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Rhode Island

As Always, Let's Go Hall!

The Pirates went into the final ten minutes of last night's game looking forward to playing Notre Dame.  The problem was that they still had to play Providence first.  It is the little things that get in the way!  After leading by 29 points the Hall was kind enough to allow the Friars to end their season on a quasi-high note.  It was a combination of the Pirates shotty (that is the nice word) defense, poor passing, and turnover after turnover while playing out of control to go along with the Friars (more notable just Jamine Peterson) pouring in points like they were filling Seton Hall's champagne glass that made this laugher a game. 

Let us go around the horn and hear from everyone about last night's "it ain't over 'till it's over" game:

GB's Post Game Thoughts:

 Had the Pirates attempted to take 25 seconds off the shot clock on each possession over the last 13 minutes, Providence would have never had a chance to score 59 points in 13 minutes. Never. This is basic strategy, yet the lack of execution nearly cost us the game.  .

SHU Athletics Recap:

Five players scored in double-figures for the Pirates.  In addition to Pope's 27 points, sophomore Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) scored 21 points and dished out a team-high six assists.

PC Athletics looks at the valiant effort:

The furious Friar comeback continued, as a steal and floater in the lane by Council cut the Seton Hall lead to seven (104-97). Two free throws by Mondy moved the Friars within four at 108-104 and a jumper by Council pulled the Friars to within three at 109-106 with eight seconds left.

Jerry Carino looks at BET record 215 points scored:

Take an eraser to the tourney record book. This set the mark for most points in a BET tilt (non-overtime game), and both clubs broke the single-team scoring record (non-overtime). The previous single-team mark was 103 by Seton Hall in the 1993 championship rout of Syracuse.

SNY points out that SHU Tournament hopes are still alive:

There are seven Big East teams that figure to make the NCAA Tournament, and Notre Dame could be the eighth after a strong finish in which it beat Pittsburgh, Georgetown, UConn and Marquette. Notre Dame does not need to win this game to make the Tournament, but Seton Hall needs to win in order to have any kind of shot.

Beat ND and play Pitt close and you are squarely on the bubble, while holding your breath on selection Sunday.  Beat Pitt and you can sleep well on Saturday night. 

The AP looks at the game (via ESPN):

Seton Hall and Providence raced up and down the court, playing little defense in a one-sided game that felt like a school-yard mismatch most of the night. That is, until Providence nearly pulled off a colossal comeback.

Colossal comeback or colossal collapse?  I guess it depends if you were the one bouncing the ball or having the ball bounced off your head. 

Michael Fensom of NJ.com on how quickly fortunes can change:

Against the Friars, the Pirates showcased their capabilities when firing on all cylinders. They also demonstrated how quickly fortunes change in this conference.

NY Post:

The Pirates saw their huge cushion shrivel to five with a minute left, but held on for dear life at the line in the waning moments.

The best thing to take away from last night's game is the result.  With the win the Pirates face Notre Dame tonight at MSG.  Tip is set for 7PM.

GonzoBall vs. The East Coast Bias Part 2

GonzoBall:  What's the deal with Carnesecca Arena, why aren't the Johnnie's playing this one at MSG? Two NYC-area schools with fan bases that could easily fill MSG, is St. John's trying to capitalize on the home court advantage?

East Coast Bias:  Personally, I love that St. John's plays Seton Hall in Carnesecca Arena. MSG is big, relatively cavernous, and frankly, a lot more easily accessible for the Pirate fans - taking away the home-court advantage.  It has to cost a lot more to put on a game there than it does on-campus... and I have my doubts that two struggling programs would make it worthwhile. MSG is expensive - why pay the money to have an arena half-filled with blue?  Additionally, Carnesecca is close to the actual St. John's students, is close and intimate, and obviously bothers Bobby Gonzalez.  Despite the best efforts of security, the younger student fans can get a little exuberant - which is something St. John's needs to build on, that homecourt frenzy.  Every game doesn't have to be a polite tea party.

GB:  The Pirates have struggled mightily in recent years at Carnesecca, none more frustrating than 07-08 when Anthony Mason Jr. drove a knife through the hearts of Seton Hall with his game winning 3PT attempt.   Do we have another classic in store, or do you see one team having a significant advantage over the other?

ECB:  That was an awesome ending.  I think the teams are similar in that they're not that good.  Seton Hall is a much better offensive team.  But St. John's is a far better defensive team.  Last year it was evident that when one team gets to impose its style on the other, that's the recipe for a win.  If I see Malik Boothe taking 12 shots again, and the team catching up in a fast-paced game, I'll expect the Hall to win.  If I see long possessions and Jeremy Hazell held to under 15 shots, I'll expect a St. John's win.  I do think the Red Storm have a decent ability to make runs when they are confident, and Seton Hall can get hot - it has become a good, solid rivalry game.

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Today, GonzoBall sat down with the boys from The East Coast Bias.com to talk about tonight's upcoming game with some interesting takes from both sides.  

TheEastCoastBias:  At 5-7 in conference, what's the feeling about Seton Hall now - is this what the staff expected?  What the fans expected?  How has the team disappointed you?  How have they exceeded expectations?

GonzoBall:  Obviously it's been a roller-coaster of a season.  They dropped their first 3, were a bleak 1-4 before impressive victories (UL & PITT) at home restored faith in the fan base as the Pirates sat at 3-4 ready to embark on a three game road trip.  At that point, I expected the Pirates to make a mid-season push by making a bit of noise on the road, possibly winning 2-of-3.  I envisioned Seton Hall defeating USF and winning one of Nova or Pitt.  Obviously, things didn't work out the way we would've hoped as the Pirates were swept by USF, 'Nova and Pitt.  At 3-7 and 4 road games remaining for a team that has yet to win their first, Hall fans were left thinking, "NIT? More like CBI, CIT." 

As far as expectations, let's put things in perspective.  The Big East media and coaches ranked the Pirates 10th in pre-season rankings, stirring up many of the players and coaches.  Well, twelve games into the season and here we are, tied for 10th place with USF.   Before the season started, Bobby Gonzalez stated the team goal was to make the NCAA Tournament and you can't fault him for saying it.  However, the offseason hype machine was pumping and Seton Hall fans were angered when the preseason rankings didn't align.  At this point, you'd have to say the prediction of finishing in the bottom half of the conference was a dead accurate assessment. 

ECB:  I notice the team gets a lot of steals but not a lot of non-steal turnovers - the traps and forcing teams to toss the ball out of bounds that other teams sometimes work on.  In fact, the team's allowing opponents to shoot quite efficiently from the floor, especially in Big East play (1.12 points per possession).  What are the big problems on D?  Do they happen every game, or only against better teams?  What does a good defensive game from the Pirates look like, and who is the ace defender?

GB:  It's true, the Pirates average 7.7STL per game and have shown strong ball hawking tendencies through much of the season.  That said, their full court press hasn't been the reason behind many of the turnovers.  In fact, Seton Hall's full court defense is about one trap away from being extremely effective.  It seems as if the opposition has trouble when they're first pressed and sometimes after the first pass, but once they get the second pass off towards half court or the front court, they're in the clear.  Look at their game against Villanova for example, I tweeted and wrote after the game that Villanova was able to score in 7 seconds or less on the majority of their possessions.  They broke the press early and often and launched quick shots that kept falling, keeping the Pirates at a distance. 

There's been games where the defense has had multiple breakdowns, with defenders not particularly aware of where their man is, allowing them to streak free for an easy lay in.  I spoke a little on Seton Hall's perimeter defense in last week's Q&A with Notre Dame that they've been wildly inconsistent.  Sometimes, they'll step up, cut out a team's inside game and other games it's the complete opposite as they've struggled against the BIG EAST elite.  Let's look at the evidence: Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks of West Virginia combined for 41PTS/32REB, Wesley Johnson 20PTS/19REB, Jarrid Famous 15PTS/14REB and Gary McGhee 12PTS/11REB during the second Pit game. On the other hand, they were able to limit Greg Monroe to 8PTS/9REB and Gary McGhee to 6PTS/4REB in the first contest.

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Last night, GonzoBall editor, Bob Yelenak, answered a few questions from Ken over at USFBullsBlogs.com in advance of tonight's game. The transcript is below:

I’d like to thank Bob over at GonzoBall.com for doing a little Q&A for tonight’s game. Check out his site when you all get the chance, its another great one over at SBNation.

1. I know this one will be easy, but what matchup are you looking forward to for tonight’s game?

The easy answer would be Jeremy Hazell and Dominque Jones as they are #2 (22.2ppg) and #3 (21ppg) in the Big East in scoring.  If it weren’t for the 5 point game Jones had at Louisville, he’d most likely be #1 in the conference at this point.  That said, the matchup I’m most looking forward to would be Herb Pope and Jarrid Famous.  Sure, I expect Fitzpatrick to help a bit, but I see Famous and Pope battling it out on the glass all night.  I figure Hazell and Jones will each get theirs, but the game will ultimately be decided by a combination of rebounding and ball security.

2. How much of a surprise has Herb Pope been for you guys this season?

Saying there was a lot of hype around Pope before the season began would be an understatement.  For that reason, I’d say Pope is doing a great job at living up to the expectations.  Keep in mind, coming out of high school Pope was the 9th rated PF in the 2007 class.  In terms of talent alone, he was widely regarded throughout basketball circles as being a top 10 player in the nation, but had several question marks surrounding his character.  When Pope transferred out of NMSU and came to Seton Hall University, it was really a gift that fell into our laps.  He’s the dominant inside force that the team has been lacking since the Kelly Whitney era.  He’s also the best future NBA talent the Pirates have had since the Dalembert/Griffin days.

3. How has Gonzalez done with recruiting this season? Do you think that the program is finally turning the corner?
The Pirates had two players sign letters of intent this season, in Jesse Morgan and Fuquan Edwin.  Gonzo has had a reputation of recruiting what I’ll call, “academically-risky” players out of high school.  Recently, we’ve heard that Gonzalez would stray away from recruiting these types as he was burned in the past by high profile recruit Michael Glover.  Well it happened again, just last week Jesse Morgan enrolled early… at UMass.  The Big East doesn’t accept non-qualifying SAT scores and Morgan couldn’t get his score up so he chose to enroll at UMass and play for the A-10, a conference that will accept non-qualifiers.  At this point, we’re stuck with one recruit for next year.  If Pope and/or Hazell decide they’re going to test waters at the next level? There will be big trouble brewing for the Pirates, stay in school boys.

4. Who scores more, Hazell or Jones?

Coming off of 46 points, you’d have to think Jones is out of gas.  Or maybe, it’s just me hoping that he’s out of gas.  In all reality, Hazell has shown glimpses of changing his game over the last couple of games, taking smarter shots and playing a style more beneficial to his team.  The Pirates are most dangerous when Hazell distributes and gets his teammates involved opposed to when he takes 25 shots in an attempt to notch 30 points.  I’d prefer he limit his attempts to 10-15 per game and focus on penetration and getting the the big men involved.  So Jones will score more.  However, not only will Pope outscore Famous, but so will the 6′6 forward, Jeff Robinson.

5. Random 5th Question: Can you watch the 1989 Title Game, or do you throw the remote when it is on ESPN Classic?

I’d watch it, the P.J. Carlesimo story is legendary.  The man led a Pirates team (that was previously shut out of the dance) to an at-large bid in 1988.  They even won their first round game.  The following year? The national championship, despite losing in overtime, it was still quite remarkable what Carlesimo accomplished at Seton Hall.

Thanks again to GonzoBall for helping out. I’ll have a preview up today on the game.

What does the upcoming basketball game between the Seton Hall Pirates and the Louisville Cardinals mean to each other?

Seton Hall:

Well...quite simply...This is it.  The pirates can't afford many more losses, especially to teams they are fighting with for postseason bids (regardless of the tournament).  The record, isn't impressive, the out of conference, isn't impressive, the quality wins are non-existent.  The Seton Hall Pirates are just not impressive this year.  The big transfers, aren't impressive as a whole, and are lacking the play making ability that we all thought would make this a banner year.  I don't think anyone will deny that this team is talented, but probably not as talented as other teams in the conference.  That doesn't mean they can't beat the other teams.  It comes down to actually winning.  Just because you can beat them or you should beat a team doesn't put the W in the win column.  This game can start a run for the Hall, when you start a winning streak-- the first win is the hardest. 

Louisville:

If you look to your right and left on a sinking ship you will see a lot of cardinal red.  This team lost its first two games against ranked opponents, one in overtime, after having a lead in the second half.  Sound familiar?  The only difference between the Cardinals and the Pirates is that the Cardinals were blessed with a few lesser teams earlier in their schedule.  With wins over St. John's, Providence, and USF, the streets of Louisville were getting rowdier than the streets of South Orange!  The Cardinals have chances left, five ranked teams (as UCONN just fell out), to get their dancing shoe sizes out to the selection committee.  If they upset a few down the stretch, and the Pirates can do the same, it could very well come down to the tie breaker.  While the Cardinals are in better shape, they need this win as badly as the Pirates.  This goes for the same with the games against Notre Dame, Cincinnati, and St. John's.  No one likes ties, but for the Cardinals to go dancing, they need a tuxedo...without a tie.

Knee Jerk Reactions: Eric SoHayda's Post-Game Thoughts:

• Last night's game was one of the worst to watch as a Pirate fan in a long time. Everything the Pirates did, especially in the first half, was wrong. Whether it was turnovers by Herb Pope, Jeremy Hazell playing hide and seek (apparently no one found him until under a minute left in the game), the three headed Point Guard being beheaded-one after another, or the fact that Georgetown was literally laughing, or they should have been, at the shooting percentage they shot, nothing was going right for the Hall, and the best place to start the blame is in the mirror.
  
  
• It was safe to say that one person was playing well in the first half. However, that person was one that rotated. At points it was Robert "Stix" Mitchell, at other times it was Jeff Robinson or for moments Ferrakohn Hall. The problem was that no one was playing well at the same time. One possession it was Stix. Three possessions later it was Hall. Three minutes later it was JRob. There may have been Five Guys on the court but it looked like they were more interested in going to eat at Five Guys than playing ball.
  
  
• The second half was more of the same for the first five minutes. Finally the Hall made a run, which was countered, then made another run, which was (shock) countered, and then just ran out of time to continue. After cutting the lead to single digits, and giving the Pirate faithful hope, Georgetown, like a bloodhound smelling a scent (a win?), snuffed out the rally led by Jason Clark-Bar.
  
  
• A Fictional Story and Event: Bobby G looked to the right and sitting right behind the SHU bench was former Seton Hall law professor and current Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He told Bobby that he had held Hazell in contempt of court, but thankfully Bobby was able to use his sales car pitch to get him out of the cell and onto the court. Too little too late, draining long distance 3s to pad his stat line and make the score differential at least somewhat respectable was in the end, a sustained objection.

Follow the jump for: Things Seton Hall has & Things Seton Hall needs

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Comment added from Gonzo Ball Editor, Bob Yelenak: Please welcome Gonzo Ball's newest contributor, Eric SoHayda, currently a student at Seton Hall.  We're really excited to have Eric on board and looking forward to his contributions this season.  

** This was the most complete game the Pirates have played against a quality opponent this year.  The offense played well, the defense played well, and if there was a special teams, they would have played well too.  From (almost) the start the Pirates played like they should have, had to, needed to, etc.  Minus the first five minutes of the game, the Hall played with an intensity that we have seen many times this year.  The difference? That intensity was translated into productivity, on both sides of the ball.

** Jeremy Hazell put on his dancing shoes tonight and put on a display scoring 33 points on 10-22 shooting (45%) including 5-10 from three (50%) while making 8-9 from the charity stripe.  His best performance may well have come on the other end against the heralded Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson.  Much critized for his defense or lack of,  he took Stephenson out of the game for large chunks of time while holding him to 15 points (a few baskets late in the game that were "gimmies") and made his quasi homecoming one where the was no dazzle.

** The Point Guards did a tremendous job of playing the pass first point.  Eugene Harvey had a bounce back game and Jordan Theodore stifled Cincinnati PG Deonta Vaughn (20 points) for large parts of the game.  Other than Vaughn's 3's early (9 points) and 3's late (9 points) the Theodore/Harvey defensive sandwich silenced Vaughn for the other 30 minutes of the game.

** Looking around the arena you could see some fans gasping in absolute awe at no other then...successful free throw shooting.  An eye popping 87.5% (21-24) turned a game that they could have won (WVU, Syracuse) into a game that they did win.  Most importantly was Herb Pope, who didn't have a typical Pope-like game (14PTS/7REBS(0 offensive)) but his 4 of 5 from the line, including a flawless two late in the game on a one-and-one.  Kudos also go out to Jeff Robinson who made 5-6 with under a minute to play.  Bobby can sleep easy tonight after that performance from 15 feet.

** The role players did a wonderful job of being role players.  Robert "Stix" Mitchell (13 minutes), Keon Lawrence (12 minutes), Jamel Jackson (6 minutes), and Ferrakohn "Ferro" Hall (6 minutes) didn't play much but when they did they played within themselves and did what needed to be done (play hard, cheer hard, stay within themselves) and allowed Bobby to give breathers.

** An absolute solid game from fifth year senior John Garcia.  In 20 minutes, he chipped in 8 points, including a rare dunk, with 3 rebounds.

** The Captains (Garcia, Harvery, Stix) acted and played like captains tonight.

** By The Numbers:

•    87.5 - percent the Pirates shot from the free throw line.  The highest all year
•    57% - percent of buckets that were assisted on (16-28), a credit to some nice passing
•    52.6% -- Cincinnati's FG percent, though it seemed SHU did a much better job than that
•    11 - Number of rebounds Cincinnati (32-21) had over the Hal
•    11 - Number of turnovers Cincinnati had over the Hall (18-7)
•    7 - Number of steals the Pirates had over Cincinnati (10-3)
•    2-0 - record against Cincinnati (SHU and J-E-T-S)
•    1-3 - Seton Hall's Big East Record
•    1 -- the number of former Pirate Kelly Whittney who was in the house, received a nice ovation

Ladies and Gentlemen, did you see our new addition to the Pirates?  For awhile he wasn't involved in the rotation, some were wondering, quite loudly, "Where has Stix gone?". 

Well one thing we learned from the Virginia Tech game is that Robert "Stix" Mitchell is indeed here and he can help the Pirates more when he is on the court and less when he is on the bench.  Whether it was lack of focus, being in Bobby's dog house, or something in practice that we can only speculate upon, Stix was riding the pine more than a beaver building a dam.  With his slashing to the basket, clutch three at the end of the game, or his made free throws (wait...made free throws??), Stix brings more to the game than we could imagine.  Pirate fans, picture this unlikely scenario: Stix is forced to play the power forward position against the bigger, taller, stronger front line of the Connecticut Huskies. Let us dream that Stix has a great game and scores 19 points, pulls down nine rebounds, plays all but one minute of the game with no turnovers and shoots 47% from the field. 

It is nice to dream right?

Sometimes dreams come true, because last year, Stix did just that against UCONN and the frontline of Thabeet, Adrien, and Robinson.  If only he were capable of playing like this again!  Well luckily for us, there is no Thabeet, no Adrien, and Stix is primed to play a big role against UCONN tonight.  Think of Stix as The Little Train That Could.  He may not be the biggest or fastest but you know at the end of the day he will pull his load and get his freight to where it needs to be, no matter the conditions that may try and prevent him from doing so.  He is the quintessential player and captain.  While we can no doubt believe that Stix wants more playing time, he is a captain, and the ONLY thing he puts before himself is everything.

• The team
• His teammates
• His coaches
• His School
• The fans ...

Somewhere down the list, maybe on the second or third page, you will find "me".  Like everyone else on the team there is an adjustment period especially with playing time.  With such a deep and talented roster, playing time was going to be rationed and some weren't going to get the same they may have received before.   The Virginia Tech game showed us that Stix still has plenty to offer this team, and his ration should be a little larger. 

Through all this, The Little Engine That Could kept doing the only thing he knew how to do-hope for the best, work hard, give it your all and keep chugging. 

Someone alert UCONN...

The train is comin' thru.