NEW YORK — From where Rick Pitino sat courtside at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, Seton Hall is now safely in the NCAA Tournament and should take it easy on Louisville in Wednesday’s Big East second round.
“I was very excited because I think tonight’s win got them in the tournament, officially off the bubble,” Pitino told SNY.tv exclusively following No. 10 Seton Hall’s 79-47 rout of No. 15 Providence.
“And now what [Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard] should do is rest his starters and play his subs and not worry about the next game.”
Coming off a 28-point drilling Saturday at DePaul, Seton Hall (20-11) avoided the bad loss it needed to avoid and has now joined the 20-win club. According to a stat circulating Tuesday, 147 of 152 Big East Teams who have finished with 20 wins have made the NCAA Tournament.
“As far as the NCAA Tournament, I’ve been saying it to these guys all year long,” Willard said of his players. “Our total body of work is pretty darned good.”
Given all that, Pitino said he would have no qualms about beating Seton Hall in a rematch of a Jan. 28 game Louisville won, 60-51, at The Prudential Center.
“No, they’re in the tournament so that was amazing tonight to get this victory and not only get the victory but a 32-point victory,” Pitino said after five Seton Hall players, including four starters, scored in double-figures. “It’s very impressive.”
Pitino and Willard, of course, have a long history dating to their time together with the Boston Celtics and at Louisville.
“I’m very lucky to have him not only as a mentor but as a father figure,” Willard said.
Pitino initially advised Willard against leaving Iona for the Seton Hall job because he thought it would simply be too messy trying to clean up after Bobby Gonzalez (who, sources say, is now interested in the Rhode Island vacancy.)
Pitino then told SNY.tv it might take Willard four or five years to turn things around.
But now it looks like Willard could take the Pirates dancing in Year 2.
“I really mean this,” Pitino said. “You know I’m extremely biased. I thought his coaching this year was brilliant.
“I thought he did a fabulous job of coaching, changing defenses, doing a lot of great things,” he added. “We had our Providence game, he had his DePaul game. And it happens once a year where you have that game that you can’t explain. But take that game away I think his coaching’s been brilliant.”
Once again, Willard had his ups and downs this season — a 15-2 start, followed by a six-game losing streak, followed by three straight wins and then a regular season that ended with back-to-back bad losses to Rutgers and DePaul.
Through it all, Willard used Pitino — and Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin — as touchstones.
“I probably talk to Coach Pitino once a week and I probably talked to Mick twice a week,” Willard said. “The great thing about Coach Pitino is it doesn’t matter what time you call, he’ll pick up your phone. He has been tremendous.”
Willard’s recruiting class did not receive the accolades that Rutgers and St. John’s classes did, but now some of his recruits are playing very well.
Freshman forward Brandon Mobley was huge despite playing his first game at the Garden, going for 16 points and nine boards off the bench. Fellow freshman Aaron Cosby added six points during a game-changing 21-3 first-half run after Seton Hall trailed 9-0.
“It’s funny how that it is,” Pitino said. “It’s funny how sometimes Cosby and Mobley, it’s a good class and it’s much better than people anticipate.”
So Pitino would be fine if Willard went ahead and started those guys…and rested his starters in the quarterfinals.
After all, from where he sits, Seton Hall is already in.
