March Madness: SJU, SHU, ‘Cuse headline locals at the dance
By Ed Stein
Seton Hall (20-13) – 10th seed, Midwest Region
How they got here: Third place in the Big East regular season and a trip to the conference tournament finals.
Opening round opponent: #7 seed Wofford 3/21
Anyone fortunate enough to watch SHU play in the Big East Tournament bore witness to the Myles Powell show. He dropped 31 on Georgetown in the quarters. Powell followed that up with 22 against Marquette in the semis, which included dagger after dagger baskets to MU in clutch situations. Finally, he led the Hall with 25 points in a 74-72 loss to Villanova in the championship game.
Coach Kevin Willard is lucky he still has hair on his head after this season. The team went through a 5-8 stretch at the end of the season, before back to back wins over Marquette and Villanova to end the Pirates regular season in third place.
As mentioned, Powell is the heart and soul of SJU, but it’s a talented team, just not very deep. The Starting five played every game and all averaged over 28 minutes. The rest of SJU’s offense could come from anywhere. The other four starters averaged between 8.9 and 10.3 PPG. Soph Myles Cale hit 38.1 percent of his treys and 6-10 Sandro Mamukelashvili is a force inside.
The Pirates can’t afford to sleep on Southern Conference Champion, Wofford, they are a very good squad. A win, however, sets up a likely showdown with Kentucky. A perfect stage for more Myles Powell heroics.