More than 27 minutes had passed and Fuquan Edwin had more fouls (two) than points (one). Finally, Seton Hall’s leading scorer hit a 3-pointer, tying Louisville, and sending the Prudential Center into a preamble to pandemonium.
Fans began to envision a win they couldn’t have imagined hours earlier, shocking the third-ranked team in the nation, but the Cardinals used the next 10 minutes demonstrating the difference between the best and the rest, going on a 25-8 run to close out a 73-58 win last night in Newark.
Seton Hall (12-4, 1-2 Big East) lost its second straight game, after winning eight in a row, and the Cardinals (14-1, 2-0) captured their ninth consecutive victory.
“We were a little gassed at that point,” said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard of his injury-plagued squad, which used eight players. “That’s kind of where our injuries have hurt us and taken a toll. I’m proud of our guys. That’s a great basketball team. That’s as good as any basketball team in the country and we battled for a good 30 minutes.”
The Pirates had five opportunities to take the lead after Edwin’s shot, but they entered a cold stretch which saw them shoot 8-of-28 in the second half (28.6 percent). Louisville took advantage, going on a 10-2 run, to take a 52-44 lead with 8:09 left, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Luke Hancock.
The Cardinals then sealed the game on free throws, making 14 of 15 in the second half.
“They can beat anybody on any given night,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said of the Pirates. “They just need to shore up their defense.”
Seton Hall led 16-14 with 10 minutes left in the first half, as Brandon Mobley opened 4-of-5 from the field, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the half, but Louisville took the lead back one minute later and never trailed again, behind the inside play of Gorgui Dieng, who scored 12 of the team’s first 25 points.
Though trailing 31-22 with 3:54 left in the half, Seton Hall clawed back into the game on 21 first-half free-throw attempts, making 14, and trailed 36-34 at halftime.
“It just kind of went downhill,” said Edwin, who had 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting. “They’re a great team. They just picked up their defense a little more and started pressuring us. Our bench ain’t that strong right now. We started wearing off. We started getting tired.”
Seton Hall center Eugene Teague had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but he also had six turnovers.
Dieng had season-highs of 16 points and 14 rebounds to help make up for the struggles of Louisville’s superb backcourt, as Brooklyn’s Russ Smith shot 2-of-11 for 11 points and Peyton Siva had seven points and seven assists.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino moved to 5-0 against Willard, his longtime assistant, but the protégé said he thinks the difference has been brawn, not brains.
“He’s got that big No. 10 [Dieng],” Willard said. “That’s where I think this team is special because you have two guards that can get after you for the whole game and even if you beat them, you still got to deal with that guy and he’s turned himself into a heck of a player.”