Seton Hall Basketball: Biggest takeaways from 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis

2) Pirates must improve late-game offense

For as well as Seton Hall played in the final two games, that opening loss to Oregon still stings because of the 19-point lead they were unable to preserve. Even after the Ducks cut it to three, the Pirates pushed the lead back out to 10 with 6:30 to play thanks to a pair of free throws from Powell.

From there, however, Seton Hall only managed two points and didn’t make another shot.

It was eerily similar to the end of the Michigan State loss, too. Once the Pirates got a lead late, they spaced the floor, ran clock, and relied on Powell to create a shot for himself off the bounce. No real offensive sets were run. Both games ended in losses for the Pirates because of those stretches they went without a basket (Seton Hall didn’t make a field goal in the final 2:43 against the Spartans).

When speaking to Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin on AM970 radio after the Oregon loss, head coach Kevin Willard discussed the lack of late-game execution and said the Pirates really need a consistent secondary scoring option to step up.

"“It’s only still November. This team is going to get better. We’ve had opportunities. We have to get better on [protecting] leads and running offense. As we round into form, these games are going to help us later on.” “MP left it all out there like he always does, but someone else has to step up. That’s where we have to get better. You can ride him as much as you want but someone has to make a play toward the end. Their small lineup really hurt us.”"

Sandro Mamukelashvili looks like he may be that guy after scoring 14 and 18 points against Southern Miss and Iowa State, respectively, but he combined for just 19 points in their two losses. Getting consistent play from him (or someone else) will help Seton Hall’s over-reliance on Powell’s offense, but avoiding iso-ball in late game situations will help avoid these late game collapses, too.