NCAA Basketball: Dayton, Oklahoma State excel and more weekly takeaways
By Brian Rauf
5) Seton Hall’s late-game offense has cost them two games
The Pirates are 6-2 through the season’s first four weeks, which is a very respectable mark for anyone. Considering the fact their top losses have been to two teams ranked in the top 11 and come by a combined five points, they should feel even better about their play.
Yet there’s still a bit of an uneasy air surrounding this team.
Why? Seton Hall led late in the second half against both Michigan State and Oregon before completely stalling on offense. They didn’t score a field goal in the final 2:37 against the Spartans and didn’t in the final 6:30 against the Ducks, who overcame a 19-point second-half deficit to beat the Pirates.
In those situations, Seton Hall essentially ran the shot clock down until there were only a few seconds left, at which point they’ve rely on Myles Powell to go one-on-whoever and get a bucket. That hasn’t worked and, as good as Powell is, the lack of ball movement makes them extremely easy to guard.
Head coach Kevin Willard told Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin on AM970 radio after the Oregon loss that the lack of a secondary scoring option is why the Pirates have relied on Powell for everything late.
"“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.”"
It will certainly help if a second player steps up as a reliable scoring option –Sandro Mamukelashvili is the most likely to do so – but the Pirates can’t solely run isolation plays late in close games if they’re going to beat high-level competition.