Seton Hall basketball failed to crack 50 points in an ugly loss to Hofstra.
For the second straight game, Seton Hall basketball fell to a mid-major opponent, this time losing to Hofstra on a neutral site court. The Pride pulled away at the end, with a 49-48 final score, resembling 1950s basketball.
The defense was on point – that’s one thing a Shaheen Holloway team will never back away from. But the offense hit a new low. 48 points was the second-fewest in the Holloway era. In his first year, the Pirates won against Rutgers by only putting up 45 in the game.
Impressively, Chaunce Jenkins found his way to 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting drilling 4 threes. Dylan Addae-Wusu was next up with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. As for the rest of the Pirates? Combined 8-of-31 from the field for 19 points. Ouch.
Hofstra got a boost from Jean Aranguren who led the way with 13 points. Former Seton Hall player Jaquan Sanders poured in a dozen, including a late three to put the Pride of four. It didn’t seal the game for Hofstra, but it did put salt in the wounds.
Takeaway #1: Start with the free-throws
Coming into the season, we had a pretty good idea this wouldn’t be an offensively talented team. Holloway always looks to create a great defensive team first and foremost, and the transfers he brought in didn’t have a whole lot of scoring backgrounds, especially at the Big East level.
But when this team gets to the line, they can’t make any excuses. Going 8-of-19 from the CHARITY stripe for FREE throws is a problem. I get it – guards are naturally better at free throws than big men. Wusu and Jenkins went 5-for-8 from the line, which isn’t good, but is steady enough. But forwards and big men only made 3-of-11. A rate that low won’t just hurt you in close games, it’ll keep you out of them.
Takeaway #2: Offense needs more movement
Teams have different identities and that includes how fast you want to run on offense. There are good and bad teams that want to play quickly and there are good and bad teams that decide to slow it down. Seton Hall likes to take advantage in transition but often opts to take their time in the halfcourt.
But there’s a difference between taking time to set up thorough plays and standing around waiting for something magical to happen. There were moments on Wednesday night – some of them in crunch time – where it seemed as if the Pirates were waiting for a magical portal to open and guide them in for an easy dunk. I hate to break it to them, but this isn’t JV basketball. And before they know it, it’ll be Big East basketball, where the Pirates could get exposed continuously.
After the Fordham game, Holloway vowed to figure it out. He admitted that the game against Hofstra wasn’t going to be easy and he was right. The Pirates weren’t able to figure anything out and through three games, are averaging a mere 53.7 PPG. They’ve got a few more buy games to try and improve the offense before tougher non-conference games and eventually, conference play opens up. But they can’t be this inept on offense for much longer.
Takeaway #3: Where is the leadership?
When Dylan Addae-Wusu returned, you had a feeling he would be the captain. While his skill won’t blow you away, he’s seen just about anything a college basketball player could see and seemed like the de facto leader of the locker room.
That’s cool and all, but after having a three-headed leadership role comprised of Kadary Richmond, Al-Amir Dawes, and Dre Davis, this Pirates team lacks tremendously in that area. Guys like Jenkins and Prince Aligbe must find a way to get to the rest of the team. They’ve slowly separated themselves as key scorers and rebounders, but as upperclassmen, need to preach the urgency of what’s at stake to the rest of their teammates. We don’t know how Hofstra and Fordham will end the season, but the best-case scenario has it as likely Quad 2 and Quad 3 losses. For a team that should have made the NCAA Tournament last season but got kept out because of bad flaws in the metrics, there’s virtually nothing they can say if it comes down to the same situation this season. Back-to-back losses like this kill any resume out there, and on Nov. 14, it’s already do-or-die mode for Seton Hall basketball to figure it out.
Shaheen Holloway, the ball is in your court.
Next up for Seton Hall (1-2): vs. Wagner (1-2) – Nov. 16 at Noon
Next up for Hofstra (3-0): at UMass (3-0) – Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.