Big East Basketball: 5 biggest questions entering 2019 NCAA Tournament

VILLANOVA, PA - FEBRUARY 27: Theo John #4, Joey Hauser #22, Sam Hauser #10, and Sacar Anim #2 of the Marquette Golden Eagles look on against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at Finneran Pavilion on February 27, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 67-61. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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WICHITA, KS – MARCH 15: Head coach Kevin Willard of the Seton Hall Pirates meets with Myles Powell #13, Ismael Sanogo #14, and Angel Delgado #31 in the second half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at INTRUST Arena on March 15, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

3. Besides Myles Powell, which Pirate is most important for the Pirates to make a run?

Brian Foley

Quincy McKnight. As we saw in the hectic semifinals game against Marquette, the Pirates play with a ton of emotion, and perhaps no one more so than McKnight. If he can maintain his composure, he will be the energizer bunny who will take on some secondary playmaking duties next to Powell and lock down the opponent’s top guard. First up: Wofford’s Fletcher Magee.

Zac Voynow

I believe Michael Nzei is the second most important guy on Seton Hall. He’s their true glue guy. Quincy McKnight is also huge for the Pirates, but Seton Hall lacks consistent frontcourt production, and when Nzei comes to play on the offensive end they’re extremely tough to beat.

Connor Hope

Sandro Mamukelashvili is the easy choice for me. He give Seton Hall a huge presence of the interior, defends well at the rim, and grabs boards at a high rate. If they hope to beat Kentucky in the second round, Mamukelashvili will have to make a major impact to deal with Reid Travis and PJ Washington.

Marcus Washington

Sophomore Sandro Mamukelashvili. You can’t believe how many possessions he keeps alive with his rebounds or hustle plays. That’s really big when you consider Seton Hall will go through stretches in almost every game where they have several no-pass or one-pass possessions.

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