Delgado Dishes in Seton Hall’s Title Defense Opener
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
NEW YORK - Last year, when there were doubts about whether Seton Hall would reach the NCAA Tournament, the Pirates eliminated all doubts by winning five of their last six regular season games before running the table in the BIG EAST Tournament, capped by a title game victory over Villanova.
This year, when there were doubts about whether Seton Hall would reach the NCAA Tournament, the Pirates again went about doing all they could to eliminate those doubts again by winning their last four regular-season games, including a season-changing road win at Butler in the final game of the regular season.
So does Kevin Willard see any Groundhog Day scenarios playing out again this season?
“No. I mean I think both years are a little bit different,” said Willard, Seton Hall’s head coach. “Each opponent is a little bit different. We’ve been battling for the month of February and it feels good. I think the biggest thing in the feeling this year is I think these guys understand the excitement and the importance of the BIG EAST Tournament. So I just think we’ve been battling for a good month and (I’m) proud of the way they’re playing.”
The Pirates continued their pillaging ways again Thursday afternoon as five different players scored in double figures and the normally shaky foul shooting – Seton Hall is ranked last in the BIG EAST in the free throw percentage at 63.5% - suddenly becoming a strength as The Hall sank 14 straight free throws in the final 1:20 as the fifth-seeded Pirates took out No. 4 Marquette, 82-76, in a quarterfinal-round game at Madison Square Garden.
The victory moves Seton Hall into the semifinals where it will meet top-seeded Villanova in a rematch of last season’s BIG EAST Championship Game which the Pirates won, 69-67.
“I think we had a six-minute stretch where they didn’t score in the second half,” Willard said. “I thought both teams were a little sloppy the beginning of the second half. But we were really able to defend. I thought the big fellow was tremendous in making extra passes and just getting everyone involved in the offense.
That big fellow, of course, is Angel Delgado, the Human Double-Double. He was at it again Thursday when he fell just short of a triple-double by logging 12 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. It was Delgado’s 13th straight double-double and his 26th of the season.
So did he want to get back in the game after Willard took him out in order to record the rare triple-double?
“I told coach, ‘Put me back in,’” Delgado said. “But he was like, ‘Nah, you might get hurt.’ So I was like, ‘All right, I’m just staying here then.’”
After the two teams played to a 35-35 tie at the intermission, the Pirates (21-10) finally put some daylight between them and the Golden Eagles when they went on a 12-0 run early in the second half. The surge turned a 42-39 Pirates’ deficit into a 51-42 lead with 12:12 to play after Desi Rodriguez (11 points, 7 rebounds) capped the run with a layup. Time and again Marquette (19-12) tried to get back in the game with Andrew Rowsey (game-high 23 points) and Markus Howard (16 points) drilling threes down the stretch. But they never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way, especially when the Pirates suddenly became a free throw-shooting machine by nailing those 14 straight in the final 1:20 with 10 of them coming from Khadeen Carrington (19 points, 11-for-11 on free throws). For the game Seton Hall sank 22-of-23 from the line.
Freshman Myles Powell added 17 points in his first BIG EAST Tournament game for the Pirates while Madison Jones chipped in with 13 but the one who made a lasting impression on Marquette was definitely Delgado.
“Delgado inside is a load for everyone,” Marquette coach Steve Wojcieshowski said. “The last two games we’ve played them he’s had 35 rebounds which is pretty incredible.”
With the win the Pirates will now face mighty Villanova in Friday night’s early semifinal (7 p.m.), a team they lost to twice this season by a combined 48 points.
“It’s like waking up at Christmas. You’re all excited, you go down, you open up the present and you got a bunch of coal,” Willard said to laughter in the postgame press conference. “No, they’re a fantastic team. They really are. I think (Villanova coach) Jay (Wright), this is his best job so far. I think it’s his best team by far. I think they’re probably the best team in the country and we’re going to have to get to work and figure out a way. But we’ll come to battle.”
Willard also thinks despite their loss Thursday, Marquette should be in the NCAA Tournament field when it’s announced Sunday evening.
“Marquette’s definitely an NCAA team,” Willard said. “The way they can score. The wins they’ve had all year...and Markus Howard is as good a freshman as there is.”
So after finishing tied for third place in the BIG EAST and posting 19 victories, including one of then-No. 1 Villanova, has Marquette done enough to get an invite to the dance?
“We’re hoping so,” Rowsey said. “Nothing is guaranteed at this point. We can just hope for the best. In my opinion I believe we’ve done enough. We’ve proved ourselves multiple times. I mean nothing is guaranteed at this point in the year so we’ll just have to wait and see.”