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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Talk about worst possible outcomes.

In the aftermath of a 92-66 drubbing at the hands of the Mountaineers, it’s hard to believe that the Pirates were within eight points during the second half.

West Virginia had six players in double digits – the Hall only had six different players score, for the record – shot better than 50 percent from the floor, and simply overwhelmed the flailing Pirates.

Jeremy Hazell gave the Hall everything he could, with 29 points, but received little to no help. Robert Mitchell, coming off an impressive performance against Syracuse, was neutralized. His 2-11 mark from the floor hurt.

John Garcia came back, but wasn’t even close to 100 percent. That can be evidenced by his zero points and five fouls in 16 minutes on the floor.

It all leads into what will be another tough one for Seton Hall when Villanova rolls into town on Tuesday. The Wildcats lost their Big East opener against Marquette two days ago, and will come to South Orange hungry.

I’ll have more on that as it approaches.

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It’s about an hour from Gametime at The Rock, and the Pirates are gearing up to host the Mountaineers.

West Virginia hasn’t played a Big East game yet this season, so you can expect them to come out ready to roll. They’re winners of four straight, and destroyed Ohio State last weekend.

The Mountaineers are 10-2 on the season, only falling to Kentucky and Davidson. They aren’t as hyped as an upper echelon team this season, but have plenty of talent – and certainly come packing with enough to be heavy favorites today.

Local kid Da’Sean Butler killed the Hall last year, and will likely do so again today. He’s a step ahead of what the Pirates can throw at him. Alex Ruoff and Darryl Bryant are talented enough to run with the Pirates’ guard heavy attack and, like everyone else in the Big East, West Virginia has a deeper bench than the Hall.

For Seton Hall to come out of this with a win, they’ll need Jeremy Hazell to be lights out, and Robert Mitchell will have to play like a man that’s five or six inches taller. Otherwise, it could get ugly.

Every team wants to get its first conference win, but todays really represent something for the Hall. The Pirates next three games are against Villanova, Notre Dame, and Connecticut – which means a loss today makes an 0-5 start all that more likely.

I’ll be back throughout, or after, the game.

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Oh what a difference conference play makes.

Bobby Gonzalez’s one game suspension for the Big East opener or no, the Pirates got whacked by Syracuse on Tuesday night. The 7 percent mark from three point range was a nice kick in the rear too, especially considering the Hall’s general success from long distance this season.

In the end, a loss really could have been anticipated. Syracuse is an elite team, Seton Hall is not – pretty simple math. It’s, as usual with the Hall, the how that really grinds things home. The Pirates were never in this basketball game, and looked entirely overmatched in every aspect.

Worse, in Mike Davis’ first chance to really impress he looked like… well, Mike Davis. It seems quite apparent to me that until John Garcia returns, the Hall will need a minor miracle to beat the Big East teams with legit big men.

Fortunately for the Hall, they won’t be outsized all that much by West Virginia in tomorrow night’s contest. The Mountaineers are good, but sheer size isn’t their game.  That said, Da’Sean Butler could still eat the Hall up in his homecoming (he hails from Newark, so I’m envisioning quite a following for him at the Prudential Center).

I’ll have more on the game itself tomorrow, now that I’m back from my unfortunate hiatus.

That’s all for now, y’all.

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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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24 hours later, I still have no idea what to make of the Cal Baptist Lancers.

They were ranked No. 1 for awhile in the NAIA, but lost to the league’s No. 18 over the weekend. None of the players, conferences or even schools in the NAIA ring any bells, which is going to lead me to believe that not many folks have scouting reports on these kids.

I can tell you that they rely on three players to do most of their heavy lifting, however. Seniors Omar Krayem and Mark Roussin average 18.2 and 17.8 points a game, respectively, while sophomore Davey Hopkins chips in 14. Yes, his name is Davey.

The Lancers have okay depth on the bench, including a 6-foot-three-inch FORWARD (that’s what he’s listed as, anyway) that averages just over 10 points a game.

Regardless, tonight’s matchup should be a runaway win for the Pirates. The Lancers have no real size outside of Roussin, which will allow John Garcia, Robert Mitchell and maybe even Mike Davis dominate the small Cal Baptist team. I could see Garcia popping for 20-plus points and 15-plus rebounds easy, if they even need him on the floor that long.

Cal Baptist is a great team for their league, but shouldn’t be butting heads with a Big East school, especially right before getting into their own conference schedule. Cal Baptist seems to know this, though, and officially list the game as an exhibition.

If anything I’d say that gives them a few points… they have legitimately nothing to lose in this game, and can play without any regrets. Seton Hall, meanwhile, would be torn to pieces if they lose.

I’m still calling a massive win for the Pirates, though I could see Cal Baptist giving them a good 15 minutes.

If you need somewhere to listen to the game tonight, check out www.wsou.net, where the call’s free.

That’s all for now, folks.

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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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