It's A Celebration In South Orange
by John Fanta
By John Fanta
The celebration in the quaint village of South Orange, New Jersey started Saturday night, and for good reason, it’s still going on.
For the first time since 1994, both the Seton Hall men’s and women’s basketball teams have reached the NCAA Tournament. That’s right, both Pirates’ squads are dancing, and the university community is in a frenzy.
Saturday night provided a BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game that will never be forgotten, as Seton Hall came back from a three-point deficit with 52 seconds left to edge top-seeded Villanova in a thriller at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, 69-67.
Not even 24 hours later, a sold-out crowd at Historic Walsh Gymnasium was roaring in a standing ovation for their championship squad, one that has etched its way into the history books as one of the greatest in program history, as the Pirates found out where they were headed for their first NCAA Tournament in 10 years.
When BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year Kevin Willard began the Selection Sunday watch party with opening remarks, he did not start by talking about his team.
Rather, Willard, whose voice was still recovering from the three-day journey to a title in the BIG EAST Tournament, kicked off the night by looking over to his right and asking the coach of the Pirates’ women’s program to come up to the front.
The sixth-year head coach welcomed up Tony Bozzella, who has transformed the Seton Hall women’s basketball program into national relevance. In just three seasons, Bozzella has led the Pirates to the WNIT and back-to-back NCAA Tournaments to give the program only its third and fourth berths to the Big Dance in its history.
“Tony and his team have had another fantastic year,” said Willard. “They have always been so supportive of our program and I want to congratulate them on another NCAA Tournament.”
24 hours after Willard and his team found out they were heading to Denver, Colorado for a First Round showdown with 11-seed Gonzaga on Thursday, the Pirate faithful gathered back at Walsh Gym for the women’s selection show celebration.
The crowd echoed the roar it produced Sunday night when they saw The Hall was mentioned on national television for a second straight night, as Bozzella’s team received the news it is heading to Storrs, Connecticut to face Duquesne in an 8-9 match-up on Saturday afternoon.
It became official - Seton Hall is the first university since BIG EAST realignment to send both men’s and women’s basketball to the NCAA tournament.
“We are so proud to be going back to the NCAA Tournament, and I’m truly happy for the group of young women I have because they have worked so hard to get to this point,” said Bozzella, whose 23-8 Pirates finished third in the BIG EAST. “I can honestly say that I have not been around a more genuine group of young ladies. Their collectiveness on and off the floor has been so impressive.”
The ladies will look to build on last year when they fell just short to Rutgers in a first round match-up.
“We took a good lesson from last year,” said Bozzella. “You aren’t making a run if you don’t win that first game. Let’s make progress every year. That’s the goal.”
The men are using a trip to the Rocky Mountains as motivation. Facing what will be a challenging atmosphere at the Pepsi Center is only helping the Pirates mentally.
“It really gives us a chip on our shoulder that we’ve played with, as you’ve seen, all year round,” said Isaiah Whitehead, who took home BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after averaging 23.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 5.7 apg in the three victories at The Garden.
Collectively, what these two Pirate squads have accomplished has enhanced the profile of the university.
“I want to congratulate the athletes and coaches of these two remarkable teams,” said Seton Hall Director of Athletics Pat Lyons. “Their achievements show the success that hard work and determination, along with a great support system by our incredible university, can pay off.”
Lyons cracked a smile before he finished his remarks.
“It’s as great a time as ever to be a Pirate.”