Newark, N.J. – The Seton Hall Pirates did it again, this time taking down the #7-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles 78-75, marking their third straight win as an underdog against AP ranked opponents.
Guard Al-Amir Dawes carried the Pirates in the first half despite stud guard Kadary Richmond watching from the sidelines with two early fouls. Dawes caught fire from deep going 4-of-5 on 3s. He’d score 15 first half points and 23 total to lead all scorers. They weathered their turnover woes (22 total) by absolutely dominating on the glass, 43-25, and being highly efficient from the field with splits of 52/40/87 as an entire team. The second half belonged to Richmond, making his presence felt with 14 of his 21 points scoring off relentless paint attacks.
Although the scoring responsibility was mostly a 2-man crew, it took an entire team to take down this highly touted Marquette crew. Coach Shaheen Holloway had his team ready on the defensive side. They were locked in on their pick-and-roll coverages, being synchronized on all their rotations. Seton Hall had great length advantages with their perimeter players. Most importantly, they finished a lot of possessions, getting 29 defensive rebounds. That’s more than Marquette had on both sides of the floor.
Marquette coach Shaka Smart’s emphasis for deflections proved successful early, forcing 12 turnovers for 17 points in the first half. Top prospect center Oso Ighodaro played a part in forcing turnovers with incredible length to disrupt passes, in addition to running the floor for easy slams. The offense was flowing and feeding off the energy their defense created for an early 23-13 lead, then they began to stifle.
Marquette had their own turnover woes in the first half. All-American point guard Tyler Kolek carelessly turned it over three times, with backup point guard Sean Jones having three of his own. Marquette didn’t look comfortable on offense unless they played out in transition or got early offense scoring opportunities with Seton Hall’s defense not set. Kolek couldn’t get into much of a rhythm throughout the game going 1-of-6 for a mere five points with three turnovers. Their second leading scorer Kam Jones went ice cold almost the entire second half, shooting 5-of-15 total and at one point missing seven straight. Ighodaro was the only player who found consistent success with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Seton Hall (10-5, 3-1) have now racked up impressive wins against #4 UConn, #7 Marquette, and at #23 Providence in just the last few weeks. Notable aces for both UConn and Providence got injured while playing Seton Hall in Donovan Clingan and Bryce Hopkins, but injury luck played no factor in the Pirates taking this one. They’ve now held ranked opponents in their wins to 43% or less shooting from the field. Coach Holloway is solidifying this squad as a team worthy of consideration to be in the national tournament. They attempt to maintain their position in the Big East table and continue building their reputation on the road against Georgetown Tuesday.
Marquette (11-4, 2-2) came into this game off a quality win against a ranked Creighton squad, but now fall to sixth in the Big East having lost to Providence earlier last month. Marquette has national championship ambitions but are having early struggles taking care of business within their own conference. They look to get back into championship mode in a home matchup against Butler Wednesday.
This article was written by Justin Maldonado, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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