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Still shaking off rust
Seton Hall struggled to score in a loss to Hofstra. But it was far from the only college team that dealt with offensive issues (hello Minnesota!) or got pushed on Wednesday night. We run down all the results to know. Plus: Wake Forest loses frontcourt depth, Villanova won't have a freshman, and Kansas adds another 2025 commit.
Mike Miller
November 14, 2024
Good morning! It was one of those strange college hoops nights where there weren’t any big upsets, but a handful of … interesting games. Let’s get into it.
1. Seton Hall can’t score. Will it be a Big East deadweight?
When it comes to success, the Big East has the two-time reigning national champs. That’s the biggest bragging right there is.
But over the last two years, the conference also dealt with deadweight in DePaul and Georgetown, which combined for 29 wins in those seasons. Most Big East observers figured that wouldn’t be a thing this season.
And maybe that’s why Shaheen Holloway sounds a little annoyed. Sure, Seton Hall is 1-2 after a surprising 49-48 loss to Hofstra on Wednesday night. But not every loss sounds an alarm.
Afterward, Holloway bristled when asked, for the second straight postgame, about his message to the fan base.
“Already, that question? I’m not sure how you guys want me to answer that question right now.” Holloway said. “It’s three games in and you guys are worried about the fan base. Why would the fan base worry right now?"
He continued: "We had two tough games. Fordham is an Atlantic 10 school, that’s a good opponent. Hofstra is a quality opponent. Should we have lost this game? I don’t think so. But these are the games you’ve got to have early on so we can have success later. What I would say to the fan base is step by step, we’re going to get it together and figure it out.”
Holloway has a point. Hofstra (3-0) has finished with at least 20 wins and no lower than 120 at KenPom in any of Speedy Claxton’s three seasons as coach. Fordham won 25 games in Keith Urgo’s first season and is headed for another top 150 KenPom finish.
But … that Pirates offense might make things awfully tough on Holloway.
Through three games, their effective FG% is 41.4 (313th in KenPom) and they’re turning the ball over on 23% of possessions (318th). That’s a brutal combo when you’re trying to score points — which is why Seton Hall has yet to score more than 56 points a game. In those two losses, the Pirates failed to get a clean look at a final shot, highlighting their issues at point guard. Garwey Dual has struggled and may be injured. Zion Harmon isn’t ready. Dylan Addae-Wusu isn’t really a point guard.
“We’ve got to figure it out and we’ve got to figure it out quick,” Holloway said. “I’m not a quitter, I’m a fighter, and my team will continue to keep fighting.”
It’s not an atypical problem to start a season.
St. John’s didn’t start Kadary Richmond on Wednesday and struggled against Wagner. But the 66-45 final didn’t reflect that because the Johnnies (3-0) figured things out about halfway through the second half. Richmond (of course) sparked an 18-0 run that turned a 2-point lead into a blowout. (He finished with just two points, but had seven assists and two blocks.)
It’s unlikely Seton Hall turns into a deadweight on the Big East this season. It’s been a Top 60 KenPom squad the last two years under Holloway, and the defense will keep it in games. DePaul also seems to have solved some things, but because of its offense.
That’ll be essential for the Big East to get 5-6 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
2. Slow start dooms Gophers vs. N. Texas + more recaps
It’s probably unfair to focus too much on Seton Hall’s offensive woes. Minnesota might’ve been worse on Wednesday night.
