Seton Hall Basketball: 3 takeaways from blowout loss to Creighton Bluejays
By Joe Casey
Seton Hall Basketball couldn’t overcome Creighton last night. Here are some key takeaways from the Pirates’ defeat.
The Big East has gained the reputation of being one of the toughest conferences in the country because it feels like almost every game in the conference comes down to the wire. Emphasis on almost. Seton Hall Basketball has been playing great team basketball of late and looked poised to at least challenge the No. 7 Creighton Bluejays in Omaha.
It would not take long for fans and viewers alike to know this was not the case. Instead of a closely contested game, Kevin Willard and company got boat raced, stomped out, smoked, and downright embarrassed. At no point in the night did it feel like the team was actually in the game. Doomed by injuries, a slow start, and horrible shooting it felt like the Pirates never even got off the plane.
The Health of Bryce Aiken
Bryce Aiken was supposed to help soften the blow of losing Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight, and Romaro Gil to graduation. The buzz that surrounded the initial news of Aiken finally joining the Pirates, after losing him years earlier to Harvard, seemingly drowned out the questions surrounding his ability to stay healthy for an entire season.
Yet, this was short-lived as Aiken rolled his ankle in the Pirates first game of the season and missed the rest of their out of conference games. When Aiken was finally able to return in their second Big East matchup against Marquette, he played an extremely quiet twelve minutes.
Aiken hasn’t seemed to be able to find his footing since rolling his ankle and Kevin Willard has been consistent in starting Shavar Reynolds at the point guard position. At this point in the season, Aiken has found himself in a role, and on a team, that is still unfamiliar to him.
Moving from starting over half of the games he played at Harvard to getting limited minutes off the bench has made it challenging for him to really produce. Even though this is the case he still provides the Pirates much needed guard depth on a team that is in the top ten “biggest” in the country.
Against Creighton, Aiken injured his ankle again early. Forcing the Pirates to once again play shorthanded in a game they were already outmatched in made it challenging for their ball handlers to get valuable rest.
As of right now the severity of Aiken’s injury is still unknown and while the hope is that he should be able to play before the end of the season, it is clear he did not leave his injury trouble at Harvard. If the Pirates want any chance at staying in the mix for the Big East crown or playing in March they will need Aiken to be healthy enough to give them minutes off the bench.