Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez took over an NCAA tournament team when he replaced Louis Orr four years ago, and openly embraced the expectations of getting back to the Big Dance this season. Now comes the acid test.
The tempestuous Gonzalez readily admits he’s been a lightning rod for attention and the Big East has been even tougher than he imagined.
Now, with the Hall (18-11) opening the Big East tournament tonight in the Garden, he knows it’ll probably have to beat Providence (7:00, ESPNU) and then potential second-round foe Notre Dame tomorrow to have any shot on Selection Sunday.
“I think that’s probably fair. We can’t look past anybody, we’ve got to worry about the first round. Notre Dame is one of the hottest teams in the league, they’re playing tremendous,” said Gonzalez in his typical mile-a-minute style. “If you get to 20 wins, and would’ve beaten a team like Notre Dame twice, it’d be hard for them to keep us out.
“But you’ve got to get there first, you’ve got to get a chance to play them. And now we’re playing somebody twice in three days. It’s going to be a unique situation. This is really different.”
After a disappointing 84-83 overtime loss to Marquette — a game in which leading scorer Jeremy Hazell’s back seized up, keeping him scoreless for the first 30 minutes — the Pirates bounced back to finish off a sweep of rival Rutgers and beat Providence on Saturday. Now they play the Friars again with far more at stake.
“No question I knew the league was hard, [but] it was brutal. It’s definitely a harder job than I thought it was, tougher league,” said Gonzalez. “Trying to get into the top eight, forget it. You’ve got to knock some people off, and those people aren’t just giving up those spots. They’re not just elite teams in the league, those are elite teams in the country.”
Notre Dame — awaiting tonight’s winner — is playing like an elite team, having won four straight vs. Pitt, Georgetown, UConn and Marquette, largely without Luke Harangody. For the Hall to win, it’ll have to keep F Herb Pope in form and get Hazell (21.2 ppg) over his back and hand injuries.
If Gonzalez can reach the Big Dance, it’ll cause consternation in some parts of a coaching community he’s been known to stir up.
“I don’t think that’s fair. I’m not interested creating controversy or drama, but do I recognize I’ve been a lightning rod for attention, good and bad? Yeah, that’s a fair statement,” Gonzalez said. “But I think some of that is enthusiasm, zealousness, aggressiveness. Some are misunderstood or misconstrued. Some of it’s unfair.
“When you have success, there’s a lot of jealously. We’re the only team in the metro area with a chance to go to the NCAAs; we’re going to be talked about. That’s going to bring with it some responsibility. I’ve never backed down from a challenge; that other stuff is about personality, personal agendas, axes to grind.”