Seton Hall not taking Big East underachievers lightly

On paper, the game was already difficult. Factor in Providence’s 0-3 start in the league and the degree of difficulty has shot up. Seton Hall will be facing an angry team Tuesday night in Rhode Island.

“That’s the tough thing about being on the road so much early. Everybody is desperate,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in a phone interview.

Not this desperate.

The Friars, picked to finish third in the league, are coming off a double-overtime defeat at Georgetown in which they twice blew three-point leads in the final three seconds of regulation and overtime.

“I know Ed [Cooley] will have those guys ready to play, that’s for sure,” Willard said. “I think they’re a lot like us. They’re tough, they defend, they’re physical. I’m really impressed with how good Nate Watson has gotten and Alpha Diallo is as good as anybody in the conference.”

The Pirates (12-5, 3-2 Big East) are coming off a difficult defeat of their own, a 70-66 setback at No. 15 Marquette. They trailed by as many as 13 points, rallied to take the lead, but couldn’t finish off the victory. It was the fourth time in five league games Seton Hall has fallen into a big first-half hole.
“We’ve had times during the first half to build leads and we haven’t taken advantage of those opportunities, and that has let teams get out in transition against us,” Willard said. “Teams are getting too many easy buckets against us [in the first half].”

Still, Willard is pleased with where his young team is, with a chance to move two games over .500 in the league a third of the way through the conference season. After graduating its senior core, Seton Hall was picked eighth in the Big East and was considered at best an NIT team. Instead, led by Big East Player of the Year candidate Myles Powell, it is very much in the NCAA Tournament mix, arguably the biggest overachiever in the league.

“We definitely have gotten better,” Willard said. “I like the fact we’re giving ourselves opportunities to win. We just have to take advantage of our opportunities.”