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Coles Leads UConn Past Seton Hall to BIG EAST Semis
Ever since their return to the BIG EAST at the start of last season, after nearly a decade away, the UConn Huskies were waiting for a night like Thursday. A night that looked and felt like it did in the old days, when UConn fans by the droves would make their way down to Madison Square Garden to watch the Huskies hunt for another BIG EAST Tournament title. And there sure were enough of them, seven to be exact, with the latest championship coming back in 2011.
Sure, UConn was back home in the BIG EAST where it belonged last year, but while the tournament went on as planned, the lack of fans, mascots and bands gave the tournament a rather hollow feel. No, this time it would be different, it would be better, it would be like old times and UConn would once again be in the hunt for some championship hardware.
All that stood in the way of the Huskies and their grandiose plans was Seton Hall. The PIrates came into the tournament as the conference’s hottest team, winners of their last five regular-season games and 8-of-10, before dispatching Georgetown Wednesday in their tournament opener.
The two regular-season matchups between the Huskies and Pirates? They were typical down-to-the-wire affairs, with Seton Hall taking a 90-87 overtime decision on Jan. 8 in Newark before UConn evened the score with a 70-65 home victory on Feb. 16. So what was going to be the difference in Thursday night’s late quarterfinal-round game? Would the Huskies make a run like the old days?
You bet they would.
R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin combined for 34 points, UConn dominated the boards all night, out rebounding the Pirates, 47-33, and the Huskies’ defense limited Seton Hall’s Jared Rhoden to just seven points on 2-for-13 shooting and it all added up to a 62-52 victory for UConn. The third-seeded Huskies (23-8) move on to Friday’s semifinals where they will face No. 2 seed Villanova. THe Huskies and Wildcats split their season series this year.
Seton Hall (22-9), which was led by Myles Cale’s 17 points, will wait until Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show to see who their next opponent will be.
After the victory, Huskies’ head coach Dan Hurley said it felt good for UConn to be “home.”
“This was our first BIG EAST Tournament, like legitimate, authentic,” Hurley said. “With the crowd I was a little worried today on how they would handle it. I think our last conference tournament in front of people, pre-Covid in Memphis, there was nobody at the game. And that was pre-Covid in the AAC quarters. So this was our first real, live conference tournament in a couple of years in front of fans. So it was just electric. That’s why you come to a place like UConn to play. The big dogs play in the quarters and the semis. We’re just excited. The place was rocking with so many UConn fans. (Friday) is going to be insanity in here.
After building a 29-18 advantage at intermission, the Huskies didn’t let up much in the second half. The Closest the Pirates would get would be seven points twice, the last coming when they trailed, 38-31, with 11:55 to play. But UConn quickly boosted their lead back to 16 points (47-31) after a pair of free throws by Martin with 10:14 to go and the Huskies’ lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
“I think we made just everything hard on them,” Hurley said. “At the rim we made everything really challenging on them.”
Outside of Cale and Kadary Richmond (14 points), the PIrates got few offensive contributions from the rest of the roster and it was a tough way to see their 9-2 run to end the regular season (and begin the BIG EAST Tournament) come to a close.
“I’m proud of these guys, proud of the way they battled,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I love the way they battled, the way they came through February. I think we’re a little tired to be honest with you. It’s been a long February and then March with four games already. So a couple of days off, Selection Sunday, and then kind of get refocused. That is not going to be a bad thing.”
Villanova rallies past St. John's 66-65
It was there for the taking for St. John’s.
Somehow, the Red Storm looked to have reduced mighty Villanova to mere mortal status. After limiting the Wildcats to just 23 first-half points - let that sink in for a bit. 23 points - before building a 17-point advantage in the second half, it looked for all 19,812 fans in a sold out Madison Square Garden that St. John’s was about to not only slay a BIG EAST giant, but also lift a tremendous weight off their collective shoulders. You see, since the BIG EAST realigned to start the 2013-14 season, the Johnnies have made it a habit of reaching the tournament quarterfinals before taking their final bows and exiting stage left.
In the previous eight conference tournaments since 2014, the Johnnies were bounced out in the quarterfinals seven times with the other early exit coming in the opening round in 2016.
But this time looked like it was going to be different. This time they were playing fast, playing poised and playing with an air of confidence. They were playing like, well, like Villanova. But if you dared to count the Wildcats out when they dug their deep hole, well you haven’t been watching this Villanova team at all now have you?
Since realignment, they have been BIG EAST kingpins, having won four tournament titles. A 17-point hole? Yeah, it was steep. It was also the largest deficit the Wildcats would have to overcome this season if they planned on making a run at Title No. 5. And overcome it they did.
Trailing 44-27 with 15:38 to play, the Wildcats snapped out of their collective funk and got back to doing Villanova-type things as they embarked on a 24-6 run over a span of 7:00 to take a 51-50 lead with 8:11 to go. Then they did just enough down the stretch to stay close, and when Brandon Slater sank a pair of clutch free throws with 2.8 seconds to play, and Steff Smith’s desperation three-ball missed its mark at the buzzer for St. John’s, the Wildcats had escaped with a scintillating 66-65 victory.
As the Wildcats celebrated their Houdini-like escape, one that lifts them into Friday’s semifinals against either Seton Hall or UConn, Red Storm players looked on in disbelief, hands on their heads, wondering how they let it all get away.
“A lot of credit to St. John’s. I mean, it’s no surprise to us,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. “We knew coming into this game it was going to be this kind of game. And they were really good and we just toughed it out.”
Slater, who had just seven points in the game, said he didn’t feel much pressure to sink the game-winning free throws. It was just business as usual.
“We work on free throws every day in practice,” Slater said. “So when I step to the line, my teammates and coaches were telling me we do this every single day. They gave me that confidence and I was able to knock it down.”
Villanova’s long comeback began innocently enough when Justin Moore delivered a three-pointer. But it all picked up steam in a hurry. After a layup by Caleb Daniels, Collin Gillespie knocked down a three-pointer, Moore added a layup and when Daniels bagged a three-pointer, suddenly the St. John’s lead was just 46-40 with 11:38 to play and it was game on from there.
After Villanova took the lead at 51-50 on a pair of Daniels’ free throws at the 8:11 mark, the largest lead either team could muster the rest of the way was two points. But St. John’s had a golden opportunity in the waning moments to perhaps put the game out of reach when, up 65-64, Julian Champagnie had an open look at a three-pointer from the corner with 29 seconds to play. But his shot came up short and led to Villanova’s final possession and the game-clinching free throws by Slater.
It was the kind of finish that could age coaches in dog years. But that's just life in the BIG EAST Tournament, according to Wright.
“None of us are surprised by this,” Wright said. “That’s what’s great about this tournament this year. I think if you look at the tournaments across the country, you can see the crowds here. You can see the intensity here. It’s on a whole other level. This conference is as good as it’s ever been this year.”
For St. John’s there were no consolation prizes. The win was there for the taking and with it a long awaited trip to the semifinals. It would have been the Red Storm’s first semifinal appearance since they won it all in 2000. But now it is gone and the NIT beckons.
“I thought our guys left their heart, guts and everything on the floor,” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “Just came up a little short. Congrats to Villanova. They just hung in there, hung in there and I guess their experience kicked into gear at the end.”