NEWARK, N.J. — Kevin Willard issued a direct challenge to his Seton Hall players after Saturday’s collapse against No. 6 UConn.
“We have six seniors who are either going to to mail it in or see what they’re made of,” Willard said after his team blew a 14-point second-half lead and fell to the Huskes, 61-59, at The Prudential Center.
This is surely not how Willard imagined things unfolding in his first year in the Big East after leaving Iona.
First, Herb Pope nearly died after collapsing in April and had to undergo heart surgery from which he is still working his way back.
Then Jeremy Hazell broke his left wrist in November, sidelining the team’s top scorer for nearly two months.
Instead of challenging for the upper division of the loaded Big East with an experienced and talented team, Seton Hall (10-14, 4-8 Big East) finds itself near the bottom of the conference standing.
Still, ask any coach or player if they would want to run into a Seton Hall team feeling good about itself in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
This same team drilled Syracuse by 22 points Jan 25 in the Carrier dome .
And they appeared well on their way to another huge upset of the Huskies before allowing a 15-3 game-ending UConn run that took all the air out of The Rock.
They are “dangerous,” Kemba Walker told SNY.tv after the game.
“They can beat anybody on any given night, any given night,” he added. “I don’t think a lot of people want to see them early on in that Big East tournament.”
UConn coach Jim Calhoun talked about how his team displayed character in gutting out the win on a night when Walker struggled in the first half.
But he also praised Willard for what he’s doing in South Orange.
“He’s going to do everything the right way,” Calhoun said. “He has his team running their offense. When I come down here now it’s just so much different. I’m not casting aspersions on anyone else. Coach Willard is going to be an absolutely terrific coach. I talk to him at length about the things that he’s doing for this program. I have tremendous respect for him.
“We came out with a great, great win for us, and I’m sure that it’s deflating for them.”
Seton Hall now has a week off before the rematch at Rutgers on Saturday, the same team that came into The Rock Jan. 22 and handed the Pirates a humbling 66-60 loss.
And Willard said the rest couldn’t come at a better time.
“I’m just glad we have a bye,” he said. “We’ve played 12 games, more than anyone else in the league. We have not had a bye. St. John’s is playing two non-league games, we’ve played 12 games, and haven’t had a bye. I’m just glad to have a couple days off and so are the guys.”
Those same guys must now look themselves hard in the mirror, try to make the most of the rest of the season and then look to do some damage at the Garden in March — where they still have the potential to be very dangerous.
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