The Pirates got the fast paced, high energy affair they needed if they wanted to defeat Notre Dame on Saturday – and still fell short, falling 88-79.

In a game with 14 lead changes, the Hall gave the Irish everything it could. Playmakers, though, would mark the difference.

With the game tied late, it was Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney that stole the show. Despite early game struggles (including Harangody’s worst shooting performance of the year), both came up huge in the waning minutes, propelling Notre Dame to an emotional victory.

Eugene Harvey paced the Pirates with 21 points, while Robert Mitchell kicked in 15. Jeremy Hazell, who didn’t start, turned in a rough 3-12 mark from the floor.

John Garcia, meanwhile, left the game in the first half with back spasms.

Now at 0-4 in the conference, Seton Hall has a week off before traveling north to face Connecticut next Sunday.

That’s all for now, folks.

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At 0-3 in the Big East, the Pirates have to think their time is coming.

Well they would, anyway, if their next two games weren’t against Notre Dame and Connecticut.

Last year, the Fighting Irish beat the Hall 95-69. Two years ago, Note Dame prevailed 88-76. The year before that: 102-91. And the one before that: 66-65. The list goes on and on against the Irish, currently No. 13 in the country, who’ve had the Pirates’ number for years.

Worse, the Irish are on a 44-game home winning streak, which make things even worse for the Hall, which has bumbled its way to an 0-3 start in conference.

Notre Dame is led by forward Luke Harangody, who feels like he’s been a part of the Fighting Irish lineup for a decade. Harangody averages 24 points and 12 rebounds a game, and has historically made Seton Hall big men look like children on the floor.

Trust that he’ll get his, regardless. The test will be whether or not the Hall can respond.

The Pirates will counter with Jeremy Hazell’s 23 points a game, which may not be enough at the Joyce Center. Last year the sharpshooter dropped 26 on Notre Dame, and the Pirates were still embarrassed. Without massive help from Robert Mitchell and Eugene Harvey, things will be ugly yet again.

I’ll have more tomorrow, when I hit the arena.

That’s all for now, folks.

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Everyone knew that Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham would get theirs – but I can’t imagine that anyone expected that they’d be all Villanova needed.

In a high-flying affair that took an extra five minutes to settle, the Wildcats escaped the Prudential Center with an 89-85 win over Seton Hall Tuesday night.

Reynolds dropped an astounding 40 points on the Pirates, and Cunningham kicked in another 21. Reggie Redding added 10, but was more notable for his near lockdown defense on Jeremy Hazell in the waning minutes of the game.

Hazell had 26 points, but nearly all of them came in the first half, which ended with the Pirates leading by two. He did hit a ridiculous bank shot three point bucket to tie the game with nine seconds remaining, but was largely a ghost after the break.

Robert Mitchell, who has largely been the second leading offensive force after Hazell, pulled a disappearing act of his own, going MIA until the final few minutes. His 13 points and nine boards look good on paper, but he was a non-factor for most of the contest.

Eugene Harvey had 19, but twice went down with apparently knee related issues. He finished the game.

The loss is one that the Hall will have little time to regret with Notre Dame and UCONN next the schedule. The Pirates will need a huge upset to avoid an 0-5 start in the conference.

Before I go, some food for thought from the game: Walk on Matt Cajuste was the Pirates first big man off the bench – not Mike Davis (who’s still on pace to match last year’s crowning achievement: more fouls than shots attempted).

That’s all for now, folks.

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If there was one game during the Hall’s five game gauntlet of death, its tonight’s.

Nothing against the Villanova Wildcats, who are a very legitimate team, but Seton Hall can at the very least match up with them – something the Pirates can’t claim to do with their next two opponents in Notre Dame and Connecticut.

‘Nova rolls into the game off their Big East opener loss to Marquette, and still sits in the AP Top 20. Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds are still the leaders there, and will both get theirs tonight regardless of how the Hall decides to defend them.

The one saving grace is that the Pirates match up alright size wise. John Garcia didn’t look anywhere near healthy against West Virginia, but if he’s better tonight he could play a pivotal role.

As we’ve seen, just Jeremy Hazell going nuts has not been enough for the Pirates. He dropped 23 on Syracuse, and the team lost. He dropped 29 on West Virginia, and the team lost. He’ll need help from Robert Mitchell, Eugene Harvey, and hopefully Garcia, to pull this one off.

I’ll have more on the game tonight, when I’m forced to catch it on television. Fortunately, tough, I’ll be traveling with the team for Notre Dame and Connecticut in the coming weeks.

Talk to you soon.

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A couple quick things as I take a momentary break from the final exams that have been breaking my back this week…

The tight wins over Cal Baptist and St. Peter’s (and I consider 12 and 14 points tight against an NAIA team and a MAAC team anyday) were good wake up calls for the Hall last week. IUPUI and James Madison, two of the tougher non-conference, non-tournament games that Bobby Gonzalez scheduled are coming up next.

IUPUI is a legit program that has a player sometimes starting for the Spurs, so the Pirates will want to look out on Saturday. A game like they played in Jersey City WILL be a loss, no questions asked.

Meanwhile, Fox Sports is reporting that JC recruit Cliff Dixon has “unverbaled,” leaving the Hall again without a recruit for next season.

I’ll have word on Keon Lawrence when I get it.

That’s all for now.

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The Cal Baptist Lancers roll into Newark tomorrow night, and I really don’t know how to project them.

Hailing from the NAIA (that’s a division of play, by the way, not a conference) Cal Baptist isn’t a team that pops up on the radar very often – even if they are currently ranked No. 1 in the NAIA.

I dug through some Cal Baptist schedules, and honestly haven’t been able to locate their last game against a “power conference” team, let alone one from the Big East. In short, Tuesday’s contest could easily be a massacre of massacres.

If Jeremy Hazell, Eugene Harvey and John Garcia do what they’ve done all season, the Cal Baptist game should be a cake walk. That’s why it really won’t count as a win (I’m being serious, here, folks) on Seton Hall’s record come tournament consideration time. Conversely, a meltdown would count as a loss.

It’s a game that really doesn’t have much going for it, and really should just function as a way to keep the team fresh and active before the approaching Big East season.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a full breakdown of the “powerhouse” Lancers.

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The Pirates got up big Tuesday night, and never looked back. The thumping of Monmouth was a resounding one – especially when you consider the fact that last year the Hall had to take the Hawks overtime before securing the victory.

Jeremy Hazell continues to dazzle. He dropped 32 points and had a ridiculous one-handed throw down off a pass from Eugene Harvey that was one of the few things that seemed to inspire a rather small and dour fandom on Tuesday.

Hazell is still flopping an awful lot, though. Yes, every now and then he does get hit with a legit foul – but the kid continues to hit the hardwood when no one is even near him. I’ve seen him fall into people, chairs and anything else that gets in his way. Short of that, though, he’s been astounding.

Robert Mitchell, though his 23 points may say different, still seems lost. He took 21 shots, which should never happen again and only knocked down seven. He chucked up eight threes, most of which were ugly. Mitchell is undersized at the No. 4 spot, yes, but against smaller non-conference foes like Monmouth he’s not at much of a disadvantage, and needs to get inside far more often.

The rest of the crew did their usual, and John Garcia (with 16 minutes) was finally able to get a break courtesy of the blowout. Brandon Walters and Mike Davis were relatively inconsequential off the bench, but that’s something fans are getting used to.

Regardless, the win is something to take to heart, especially since the Hall won’t play another semi-decent opponent until IUPUI or JMU. Cal Baptist, the NAIA “powerhouse” comes next Tuesday, and then it’s St. Peters at the Jersey City Armory. That 11-1 non-conference schedule is certainly looking attainable.

In other news, MSG is reporting that Melvyn Oliver has been cleared to practice. More on that as it develops.

Until later,
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The Pirates have to be happy to be 5-1 20 percent of the way through the year’s schedule. The wins over USC and Virginia Tech weren’t expected, and the Hall has cleaned house against lesser opponents – something that hasn’t happened consistently in the Bobby Gonzalez era.

They’ve got Monmouth and the second half of their non-conference schedule coming tomorrow night, but today I want to talk about what went right and what went wrong through the first six games.

The Right:

-Jeremy Hazell has been lights out. He’s averaging 21.8 points per game, and hasn’t had a dry spell from behind the three point line yet. He’s fitting into the No. 3 spot fairly well, which is good, because he’ll be there for the duration of the Big East season when Mike Davis stops getting playing time.
-The rest of the guards – Harvey, Gause, Theodore – have come together too, and are keeping the team straight
-John Garcia is averaging a double-double a night, finally becoming the big man the team needs. Better, his knees are good enough to give him 33 minutes a game and keep him on the floor.

The Wrong:

-John Garcia is playing 33 minutes a contest. Yes, I know I’m contradicting myself, but this is both good and bad. Good because it’s helping the Pirates win now, bad because there’s no way Garcia holds up throughout the season at this rate. He’ll be done for mid-way through the Big East schedule if he doesn’t get some breaks, and that’s a bad, bad thing.
-Brandon Walters and Mike Davis still look lost. This is the problem that keys Garcia’s 33 minutes. Walters and Davis have not stepped up, and are only getting more playing time because the bench is so short. It’s not good, and they’ll have to turn things around fast.

I’m still undecided on Robert Mitchell, though he has boosted the offense.

Again, the team goes for 6-1 when they play Monmouth tomorrow night. I’ll be back in the morning for a breakdown of that.

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It’s amazing how four days can change a season’s perspective.

The Pirates entered the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff Class as one of the second-tier teams – a power conference club, yeah, but no Memphis, Xavier, or USC. Grabbing a win would be great, two phenomenal, and then it would be back to life as one of the Big East’s bottom dwellers.

Instead, the Hall left 2-1, with third place honors and wins over a ranked Southern California and a very talented Virginia Tech. Oh, and they scored a couple votes in the AP Top 25.

How’d they do it? First, Jeremy Hazell was phenomenal. He had 15 points in the win over USC, an astounding 32 in the loss to Memphis, and 23 against the Hokies. John Garcia had two more double-doubles. Eugene Harvey returned to form, and the rest of the team fell into line behind him.

It was a great weekend to be a Pirates fan, but it sets up an even better month. The Hall has Delaware, Monmouth, Cal Baptist (still don’t know why), St. Peter’s, IUPUI, James Madison and Fairleigh Dickinson left before they start the Big East schedule. Those are seven winnable games.

Heck, Delaware, Monmouth, Cal Baptist, Fairleigh and St. Peter’s should be guaranteed wins. IUPUI isn’t what they were last year (not easy when your best player bolts for the San Antonio Spurs) and James Madison took this team to the last second in 2007 before ultimately falling.

So, if I’m right, we’re looking at a Hall team that could be anywhere between 9-3 and 11-1 going into the Big East opener against Syracuse. That’s scary, and nowhere near what most folks were projecting

I’ll break the team’s performance down a bit more in the coming weeks, because games are going to get sparse for awhile. But for now, know that Seton Hall could well be one of the earliest surprise stories in this still young college basketball season.

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Coming off commanding victories over St. Francis and Columbia, the Pirates will get their first shot at a fellow power conference opponent when they hit the floor at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. USC enters the game ranked No. 19 in the nation by the AP, making them the second highest touted program in the tournament – trailing only No. 12 Memphis, last year’s national title runner-up.

The Trojans have matched the Hall’s 2-0 start to the season, thank to wins over UC Irvine and New Mexico State.

USC is led by a pair of juniors – forward Taj Gibson and guard Dwight Lewis. Gibson has been a mainstay in the Trojan’s rotation since joining the program, and is shouldering the load of their inside-game this season.

A Brooklyn product, Gibson racked up 17 points against UC Irvine and 22 against New Mexico State and has little trouble grabbing boards. He stands at six-feet-nine-inches, and will be a challenge for the Hall’s John Garcia and Mike Davis underneath. He also comes with a good eye for blocks, already knocking 10 shots away this season – which is good for six more than the Pirates’ four as a team.

Meanwhile, Anthony Fuccilli of MSG.com is reporting that Junior College recruit Cliff Dixon has verballed to Seton Hall. I haven’t seen this pop up anywhere else yet, so read into it what it’s worth. Dixon doesn’t seem like an easy player to project, but his size (he lists at six-feet-nine-inches) will be quite welcome for the Hall. Here’s MSG’s initial report, posted earlier today.

That’s all I’ve got for now. More to come tomorrow. I won’t be doing regular game updates for tomorrow’s game, because I don’t really have the funds to go to Puerto Rico. Instead, I’ll be at Madison Square Garden for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. But I’ll pop in at the end of the night for reactions.

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