NEW YORK, N.Y. - The shooting in the second half was even worse than the first. Marquette shot 11/32 in the second half, which is the same as they shot in the first half, but Seton Hall droped to 8/27 (29.6%). The Eagles also outrebounded the Pirates 56-37 and had 25 offensive rebounds. That is one more than Seton Hall had on defense.

Seton Hall also turned the ball over 15 times to Marquette's 10. It's a wonder the score was as close as it was.

So, the high seeds won all four games, but they were all competitive, except for the last ten minutes of Syracuse-Villanova. It's those ten minutes that will likely be the final nail on the coffin of the Orange NCAA tournament hopes. The Wildcats probably have more work to do as well.

West Virginia may need to do a little more to cement a spot. The Mountaineers weren't particularly sharp and remain a home court hero.

Marquette and Pitt were already in and are playing to improve their seeds tomorrow in the quarterfinals.

They are turning out the lights, which is my cue to go. My day started at 3 AM Chicago time. If I don't get a nap soon, I may fall asleep face first on my aoghspfdigp.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Marquette pulled away in the end for a 67-54 win over Seton Hall in a game that was much closer than the score would indicate. The Eagles tightened the defensive screws and made a couple of shots to extend the score.

Marquette will face long-time rival Notre Dame tomorrow.

Back with stats and a wrap in a bit.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Marquette is up by five at the final media timeout. The Eagles are absolutely killing the Hall on the boards. The led 28-17 in rebounding margin at the half, and this half has been no better. Of course, the Pirate big men have been in foul trouble all night, and now two of them are gone, so that doesn't help.

Not that fouling has hurt the Hall any. Marquette can't hit the freebies.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - With seven minutes left, two Seton Hall big men have already fouled out. Augustine Okosun fouled out about a minute ago, and John Garcia just joined him on the bench.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Seton Hall is still hanging in there against Marquette. The Eagles lead by 3 at the 8-minute timeout. The last sequence was like several tonight. A Seton Hall player was dribbling the ball when he got slapped loud enough for everyone to hear. He passed the ball, then shot the ref an exasperated grin. Then, another Pirate drove the lane and James reached in and thought he stole the ball, but he got called for the foul. Another frustrated look.

Oh, and all that stuff I said before about the shooting getting better. Forget that. It's bricks for everyone. If these guys had a free throw shooting contest, nobody would win.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - We're just over halfway through the second half, and the Seton Hall cheerleaders are really getting into it now. They've been dogging the refs, trash talking, even getting on their own guys some ("GET THE REBOUND!!!"). The longer the Hall stays in the game, the more rowdy they get.. I'm getting a little concerned about what might happen if it's still tight at the end.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Both teams came out firing in the second half, scoring seven points each by the first timeout. That's a contrast to the first half, where neither team shot better than 37.5% (SHU).

The teams were a total of 4-20 from three point range and a combined 13-22 from the line.

I guess I'm not the only one who is cold.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Marquette scored the last six points of the half to take a 34-29 lead into the break. Jerel McNeal has 12 and Dominic James has 10 at the break. The Hall is led by the eight points of Jeremy Hazell, four of which came on one play.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The teams are going back and forth, but Seton Hall is still up one at the last media timeout of the first half. Both teams have been going after each other pretty hard, and it's been a little sloppy at times because of it.

Marquette will be going to the line to try to get the lead after the timeout.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Jeremy Hazell banked in a three pointer to give Seton Hall a 21-20 lead at the 8-minute timeout. He was also fouled on the play, so he'll shoot a free throw after the break. If he hits it, it will be the first made by the Pirates in four tries.

Marquette is already in the bonus and has been since just under 10 minutes left. This officiating crew (I recognize Tim Higgins) is calling a lot more fouls than we saw in the other three games today.

Seton Hall's Brian Laing went down hard a couple of minutes ago and has been flexing his wrist ever since. He hasn't come out of the game though.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Seton Hall has a 16-13 lead at the second media timeout because they have been able to break down the Marquette defense and get inside for some high-percentage shots.

All eight teams today brought full cheer squads. I remember last year that some schools only brought a few, or none at all, but all hands were on deck today.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - It seems both Marquette and Seton Hall want to run, even though we can here Tom Crean (from way across the other end of the floor) yelling to get it in the post.

The Warrior Eagles are up 8-6 at the first timeout.

Seton Hall's cheerleaders aren't just sitting there looking pretty (even though they have ribbons in their hair that look like the ones given to state fair prize-winning animals). They're into the game. On one possession, the Pirates were taking the ball out under their offensive basket with seven seconds left on the shot clock and a couple of the cheerleaders were yelling "Shot Clock!" The problem is, the play was at the other end of the floor, so there was no chance they could be heard, but they were into it.

The Pirate mascot though is busy flirting with the reporter sitting next to me. She didn't seem too interested. I guess fiberglass marauders aren't her type.

One note left over from the last game. Deonta Vaugh of Cincinnati scored 22 of his team's final 24 points.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

NEWARK, N.J. -- After seeing Marquette completely dismantle Seton Hall with a 89-64 victory here at the Prudential Center tonight, it was four scorers in double digits that got it done for Tom Crean's Golden Eagles.

Forward Lazar Hayward led everyone with 23 points (8-of-16 shooting) and nine rebounds in 30 minutes, and Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal each dropped in 14 and grabbed four boards.

David Cubillan was the Marquette fourth scorer in double figures at 10, and point guard Dominic James had a quiet game with nine points and a game-high six assists.

For Seton Hall, guard Jeremy Hazell led the Pirates with 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting and Brian Laing added 17 to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Eugene Harvey was the third double-digit scorer for the Pirates with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor in addition to collecting six rebounds.

Looking at the shooting percentages of both teams, Marquette led the way with 42.3 percent overall (30-for-71) and 47.6 from three (10-for-21). SHU, on the other hand, shot 38 percent overall (19-for-50) and 27.8 (5-for-18) from three.

On the glass, the Golden Eagles held a commanding 43-29 edge, and UM also won the turnover battle with the Pirates committing 17 to Marquette's 11.

I'll have more on the game in Hang Time in a little bit, so with that said, we say goodnight from Newark, N.J.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- With the final seconds ticking off the clock, it's Marquette defeating Seton Hall, 89-64, in Big East play.

The Golden Eagles move to 17-6 overall and 7-5 in the Big East, while the Pirates fall to 15-10 and 5-7.

SHU never really seemed to be in the game with UM taking control early and often, and with the lack of energy that the Pirates seemed to show, it will be interesting to see what head coach Bobby Gonzalez has to say in his press conference.

That will come rather soon as we head back to the press room to wrap things up here from the Prudential Center with some stats and quick notes.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Things are getting a little chippy here at The Rock after Marquette forward Ousmane Barro just drove to the basket and took a hard foul from Seton Hall's Mike Davis. Barro had some words for Davis as he walked back to the free throw line, and the referees quickly T'd up both of them before much more could be said or done.

With less than five minutes remaining, it's Marquette holding a commanding 81-57 lead now on the Pirates.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Marquette junior guard Jerel McNeal is one of the big-time offensive threats for Tom Crean's Golden Eagles and the Chicago native has just back-to-back threes on the left side of the arc.

Seton Hall, in the meantime, is trying to put together a run of its own with less than 10 minutes remaining, but after a pair of free throws from Maurice Acker, it's Marquette still leading, 69-44.

It's now or never for the Pirates.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Seton Hall senior guard Jamar Nutter has just been ejected from the game after committing a flagrant foul on Marquette's Dominic James. The call happened on the offensive end of the floor for SHU, but the foul came underneath the basket.

With an already short bench, the Pirates are looking to be in a lot of trouble now as they trail, 59-35, with 12 minutes to go in the second half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- With 15 minutes left in the second half, this one is sadly all but over already, as Marquette leads Seton Hall, 51-30.

Lazar Hayward, who paced the Golden Eagles in the first half with 12 points, has just canned a three from the left wing and Seton Hall can't seem to answer with free throws at the other end.

I know there are some real clunkers at the bottom of the Big East -- USF, Rutgers, Providence and St. John's of course -- but I'm surprised that Seton Hall has even been able to win five games in the Big East so far this season.

The crowd here at The Rock has started to get on the officials after a couple of calls, and Bobby Gonzalez is hoping that the referees can let these guys play a little before it's all over.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Some halftime stats from the first half of our Big East contest here at the Prudential Center...

Lazar Hayward leads all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor and has also tallied a game-best seven rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Ousmane Barro has added seven points in the frontcourt for the Golden Eagles while Dominic James and Jerel McNeal have combined for just seven points (James, five points; McNeal, two points). The diminutive James has also dished out a team-high four assists and snatched three steals in his 18 minutes of work.

Wesley Matthews has also dropped in six points for Marquette, which dominated Seton Hall on the glass, 26-14, and outshot the Pirates, 36.8 percent to just 29.2. Seton Hall, meanwhile, was 0-for-6 from three with Marquette shooting 4-for-10.

Brian Laing was the one Pirate to show up for Bobby Gonzalez's team, recording 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Eugene Harvey was the next best scorer for SHU with four points. But that will certainly have to change if the Pirates want to even give Marquette a run for its money in the second half.

Speaking of which, here comes our second 20 minutes of play.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- If you're a New York basketball fan or a native of the area, this has to be downright depressing.

After 20 minutes of play here at the Prudential Center, it's Marquette leading Seton Hall by a hefty 40-22 margin as both teams head to the locker room. I'll have more halftime stats in just a bit before we get to see the second half of this yawner, but it isn't looking good if you're a Pirates fan after the way Tom Crean's team dominated at both ends of the floor in the first half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Seton Hall just hit the 10-point mark with less than five minutes to go in the first half and it's Marquette stomping all over the Pirates, 28-10, with a timeout called at 4:18.

Dominic James just hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to extend the Golden Eagles' margin to 18 and after watching St. John's put up a whopping 14 points in the first half on Georgetown the other week at the Garden, this effort from another one of the NYC metro area teams isn't looking much better across the Hudson. And down in Piscataway, Rutgers hasn't been a whole lot better -- in fact, even worse at 2-10 in the conference.

On the court, Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez has just been assessed with a technical foul, and we've hit the under four-minute timeout here, so we'll be back with the rest of the action before halftime.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Things are starting to get ugly here at The Prudential, or The Rock as the locals refer to, as it's Marquette up big on Seton Hall, 19-4, with 9:34 remaining in the first half.

And it's not like the Golden Eagles are looking that good. Marquette has missed several wide-open jump shots but it hasn't mattered with the lack of defensive rebounding that the Pirates have shown so far. Tom Crean's team, in the meantime, is also able to get to the basket pretty much any time it wants, so if I were coaching I'd certainly be telling Dominic James and Jerel McNeal to take it to the basket and kick when necessary.

With 8:45 left now, it's Marquette 21, Seton Hall 4. Quite a barn burner I'll tell ya.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Pirates are looking pretty static on offense and defensive, as Marquette seems to get any offensive rebound it wants and Seton Hall can't get much penetration against the Golden Eagles' defense.

Marquette leads, 13-4, at the 12-minute mark and it will be up to SHU coach Bobby Gonzalez to energize his team against an opponent that looks motivated to get snap a two-game losing streak and head back home with some momentum to face Pittsburgh Friday.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Three minutes into this game, and not much has gone on to be honest. Dominic James got fouled on a three-point attempt in the left corner and hit 2-of-3 free throws to give Marquette a 6-4 lead over Seton Hall.

Looking over at SHU coach Bobby Gonzalez, it's pretty clear from the five players on the bench that the Pirates don't have a lot of depth. That means a lot of minutes for Gonzalez's starters and ultimately a more fatigued team in the second half, so we'll keep an eye on that toward the end of the game.

Anyway, we've just hit the first media timeout, so we'll take a break and be back with more in a little bit.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWARK, N.J. -- Good evening everyone from the Prudential Center in downtown Newark, N.J., as tonight we'll witness host Seton Hall taking on Marquette, who fell out of this week's AP Top 25 after suffering losses to Louisville (home) and Notre Dame (away) last week.

Tom Crean's club comes into tonight's matchup against a Pirate team that has had its own bit of struggles of late in losing its last three. So with that in mind, we'll surely get to see tonight who needs a win more than the other.

Seton Hall is coming off a heartbreaking loss over the weekend to Villanova, who suffered its own bit of heartbreak last night in that wacky Big East showdown at Georgetown. And sure it's already been said by many earlier today and last night, but a call 70 feet away from the basket with no shot attempt and 0.1 of a second left on the clock can not and should not be made. In the Pirates' loss to 'Nova, though, it was Dwayne Anderson who did the damage, drilling a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to give the Wildcats the victory.

Anyhow, this is the second meeting between SHU and Marquette this season. The Golden Eagles won, 61-56, the first time around in Milwaukee on Jan. 8 and lead the all-time lead series, 3-1, having won the last three meetings with the Pirates.

Seton Hall, however, won't have Paul Gause this time around, as the junior guard will miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season after tearing his ACL and MCL in his left knee against Notre Dame last Wednesday. Freshman Jeremy Hazell did step up in Gause's absence in turning in a game-high 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting along with a career-high five steals, so we'll see if he can keep that up against a Marquette team that should be making its way back to the NCAA Tournament this March.

But after losing two straight games, tonight's game against Seton Hall becomes that much more important for Crean's team to win, so we'll see how the Golden Eagles respond.

We'll be back with the action with the tip to come at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Seton Hall Game Notes

Marquette Game Notes

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)