Thanks to a heroic performance from Myles Powell -- you know, the guy who was supposed to be out for a “prolonged absence,” according to coach Kevin Willard -- No. 12 Seton Hall and its fans got an early taste of March Madness in November.
Powell’s 37-point effort on a miraculously healed bum ankle wasn’t quite enough to overcome No. 3 Michigan State in a 76-73 loss on Thursday night in the Gavitt Games that was marred by several controversial no-calls by the referees down the stretch.
Still, everyone associated with the game knew they had witnessed an instant classic in perhaps the best atmosphere ever for a college basketball game at Prudential Center.
“That was a March game in November,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “College basketball needs games like that.”
Now with Michigan State behind them, there is no time for the Pirates to relax. Their schedule includes seven games against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. And they face a slew of tough games coming up, beginning with Sunday’s trip to Saint Louis (3-0).
If Seton Hall wins that game, their No. 12 ranking probably won’t change that much. If they lose back-to-back games, they could fall significantly in the AP poll.
“We don’t have an easy game coming up,” Willard said. “We’re going to have to bounce back, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys. We lost a tough one last year to Saint Louis, we lost a tough one to Louisville at home last year, and we got better and better as the year went on. I think that’s what I’m really excited about with this team, that this team’s going to get much better as the year goes on. I don’t think we’re close to where we’re going to be in another month.”
After Saint Louis, the Pirates have a home tilt with Florida A&M on Nov. 23 before departing for the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. There they open with No. 14 Oregon, and could face No. 8 Gonzaga if they win.
In December, Seton Hall visits Iowa State and in-state rival Rutgers before hosting No. 7 Maryland Dec. 19.
Willard intentionally built a brutal non-conference schedule with the dual intentions of preparing his team for the Big East Conference portion of the schedule and helping his team get as high a seed as possible in the NCAA Tournament.
Ideally, he wants his team to be a No. 3, 4 or 5 seed to minimize the chance of another first- or second-round exit. Willard has won just one NCAA Tournament game despite taking the Pirates to four straight appearances.
The Pirates have big goals this season that includes competing for Big East regular-season and tournament titles, and going deep in March.
Given what Powell and the Pirates did against Michigan State – nearly knocking off the preseason No. 1 team in the land – there is no reason they can’t achieve those goals.
Powell’s performance -- after he injured his ankle on Saturday -- came in front of about two dozen NBA scouts, who came away impressed with his shooting ability and winning mentality. Izzo also raved about Powell’s performance and character.
“Their kid Myles is one of the great players I’ve ever seen in college basketball,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “He seems to play hard, he seems to have fun, he seems like a great kid. Didn’t talk a lot of crap. He just did it the right way and my hat off to him.”
With the Michigan State game behind him, Powell turned his attention to Sunday’s game at Saint Louis.
“I feel like we played pretty well, but I still don’t feel we played our best,” Powell said. “We got a big game coming up on the road Sunday against a very good Saint Louis team so we have no time to chill. So we gotta get back, watch film, see how we can get better as a team and start looking forward.”
Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.