NEW YORK – The Seton Hall basketball team’s in-your-face, relentless, physical play wore down a number of opponents during this surprising season.
But against St. John’s, the Pirates ran into a bigger version of themselves.
Again.
The Hall fell to the Johnnies for the third time, this one on the biggest stage yet – a 78-68 decision in the Big East Tournament semifinals before a sold-out and surprisingly pro-Hall crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Junior guard Budd Clark tallied 17 points and 10 assists to pace fourth-seeded Seton Hall (21-12), which is now locked into the College Basketball Crown, a consolation tournament for high-majors in its second year. The Pirates were seeking their first Big East final appearance since 2019 and needed to win this year’s tournament to earn the program’s first Big Dance berth since 2022.
St. John’s (27-6), the top seed and regular-season champion, will play for a second straight Big East Tourney title Saturday night. Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor led the Johnnies with 20 points.
The Johnnies won the first two meetings with the Hall by a combined 12 points, but both were one-possession affairs inside the final minute. This was not as close, although the Pirates whittled a 19-point deficit to seven down the stretch.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. The issue at center
St. John’s jumped out to an 8-0 lead by squeezing the matchup’s pressure point – their bigs steamrolled Hall center Stephon Payne.
It was so bad, Shaheen Holloway went for an unusually quick hook, pulling Payne for freshman Najai Hines less than three minutes into the action. That stabilized things, but the damage was done. St. John’s led 38-30 at the half, and when Payne started the second stanza the Johnnies scored the first four points and held a double-digit lead from then on.
Hines clearly has been better than Payne throughout the latter half of the season, but his ability to play big minutes are limited by his propensity for fouling and simple fitness.
It doesn’t help that the Pirates lack a Big East-sized power forward to help their centers out. Senior forward Jacob Dar delivered again off the bench, notching 13 points and four boards in 19 minutes, though he didn't check in until late in the first half.
2. St. John’s is legit
It’s tough to beat a good team three times, and the Red Storm completed the trifecta Friday. As physical as the Pirates play, the Johnnies can dish it back, and then some. Plus they have the size that the Hall doesn’t.
Throw in a Hall of Fame coach who keeps his team focused, and the Johnnies are capable of going deep into March.
3. Matt Potter stepped out of line
Potter, who was part of the crew that bungled the Hall’s game at UConn earlier this season and called an infamous foul against Bryce Aiken for getting whacked in the face (and concussed), stepped to Holloway and got within an inch of the coach’s face after blowing a first-half call (that was subsequently reversed on review).
Holloway is typically fairly restrained with the officials compared to his peers, so it was a shocking sight.
It’s also shocking that the Big East would put Potter on a game of this magnitude after what happened just recently in Storrs. Another tone-deaf, ill-advised move by Big East chief of officials John Cahill.
Worth noting: St. John's attempted 30 free throws in this game compared to 12 by Seton Hall. The Johnnies were whistled for 16 fouls compared to 25 called against the Pirates. They outscored the Hall 24-9 from the line. The disparity was padded some because the Pirates fouled intentionally three times in the final minute, leading to six St. John's free throws.
4. Surprisingly pro-Hall crowd
The Garden was packed of course, and St. John’s fans made up a solid majority of the crowd at the start. Seton Hall supporters turned out in decent numbers, and then late-arriving UConn fans got squarely behind the underdog Pirates, turning the tables. In the final 10 minutes, as the Hall made its charge, the crowd was at least 50/50, possibly 60/40 in favor of Seton Hall. It was a wild development and the Pirates clearly fed off of it.
5. What’s next
The Pirates will participate in the College Basketball Crown, a consolation tournament in Las Vegas for select high majors. The Crowd debuted last year as a 16-team field and has been narrowed to eight teams this time around.
The Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 are obligated to send their top two teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament. The “top two” are determined by NET ranking, which easily makes the Hall the No. 1 Big East rep. The final two spots are wild cards determined by a committee.
The Crown takes place April 1-5, with the quarterfinals April 1-2 at MGM Grand Arena, the semis Saturday, April 4 at T-Mobile Arena and the final Sunday, April 5 at T-Mobile Arena.
There is prize money. Last year champion Nebraska received $300,000, runner-up Central Florida $100,000 and the semifinal losers $50,000 apiece.
The Crown bracket will be announced Monday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall falls to St. John's in Big East tournament semifinals