Score one for the old Big East.
Just four days after a 17-point loss to Butler, eighth-seeded Seton Hall narrowly avoided its third defeat of the season to the league newcomer, surviving Wednesday night’s opening-round game of the Big East Tournament with a 51-50 win over the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.
The Pirates (16-16) face a quick turnaround, having to face top-seeded Villanova in the quarterfinals Thursday at noon — 15 hours after leaving the floor at Madison Square Garden.
“Tonight, the guys came out focused,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said of the difference from last weekend’s rout. “If you can’t get ready for the Big East Tournament, you got something wrong with you.”
In the first game of the new-look tournament, the teams did little to dissuade skeptics who believe the league never will look the same.
The Pirates shot less than 40 percent from the field, but took a 13-point lead, 45-32, after a Brian Oliver 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining. From there, Seton Hall just scored six points, all by Eugene Teague, allowing Khlye Marshall (22 points, seven rebounds) to bring the Bulldogs (14-17) within one in the final seconds.
Having helped quiet Kellen Dunham (2-of-10, four points) after his 29-point explosion on Saturday, Fuquan Edwin nearly sealed the game by intercepting the Butler guard’s pass on the next-to-last possession, but the Bulldogs would get one more shot after Brandon Mobley missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Alex Barlow’s halfcourt heave missed off the backboard, but as the ball sailed through the air, Willard got flashbacks to the many times the unlikely became unforgettable.
“When a shot goes up like that, I’ve seen enough, the six-overtime game [between Syracuse and UConn in 2009], there’s been enough shots made in the tournament that you just sit there and say hopefully this is not one of those things that goes on “30 for 30” in 30 years,” Willard said.
There is no chance this game gets confused with one of the classics, though Teague extended the season — and his career — with a gutsy performance.
The senior had been battling the flu since Saturday, leaving Willard unsure as recently as Tuesday whether Teague would be able to play, but the big man never considered sitting.
Tweaking the attack from their two losses to Butler, the Pirates pounded the ball inside to Teague — inserting four new plays for him into the offense before the game — and he delivered with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“This is my last go-round, so I wasn’t going to sit it out,” Teague said. “I was going to battle through it.”
Though the Pirates shot just 5-of-20 on 3-pointers, Butler was even worse, hitting 2-of-18, with Marshall the only Bulldog to surpass seven points.
With several powerhouse programs no longer in the tournament, Seton Hall is now in the school’s first Big East quarterfinal since 2003 — and three wins from the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re trying to take it all the way,” Edwin said. “We believe in ourselves, so we’re going to work for it.”