Seton Hall Survives Wild Night as Notre Dame Looms

FanHouse Big East senior writer Brett McMurphy is in New York breaking down every game of the Big East tournament.

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NCAA TOURNAMENT WORTHY? HALL YES

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NEW YORK -- Before one of his players could answer the question following Seton Hall's wild 109-106 victory against Providence Tuesday night, Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez interrupted and provided the response.

"I'll take that question," Gonzalez said. "Our kids are not going to discuss that."

The off-limit subject? Seton Hall's NCAA tournament chances.

If Tuesday night's shootout with Providence would have gone a few seconds longer, Gonzalez wouldn't have to worry about discussing the NCAA tournament.

The 10th-seeded Pirates (19-11) raced to a 55-39 halftime lead and built their cushion to 29 points before the bottom nearly fell out. Fifteen-seeded Providence (12-19) made up all but three points in the final 13 minutes only to watch Duke Mondy's game-tying 3-pointer miss at the buzzer.

When the game concluded, Providence's Vincent Council and Mondy collapsed to the floor. In the locker room afterward, Council needed an IV.

Gonzalez probably would have needed a defibrillator had Mondy's shot gone in. But it didn't and the Pirates remained alive for an NCAA at-large bid -- even if Gonzalez didn't want to talk about it.

"Let me just say this: we have 19 wins, we have no bad losses," Gonzalez said. "We beat Notre Dame at our place. A lot of people are saying they're in. We know it's a big game [against Notre Dame Wednesday]. If we win, now all of a sudden we swept Notre Dame, we have 20 wins. We'll leave it up to the people to make the decision."

The Seton Hall-Providence game set four Big East tournament records. All 10 starters finished in double figures. Seton Hall's Herb Pope had 27 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Theodore had 21 points and six assists. Providence's Jamine Peterson had 38 points and 16 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end.

"Believe it or not and I know this is kind of a funny statement, you would rather be up 29 than down 29, but sometimes when you get up like that, it's not easy to stay ahead in a game that long," Gonzalez said. "There's a different strategy. You try to use the clock.

"With the 3-point line and the 35-second shot clock, you know, the game is never safe today. The game is never over until that clock runs down."

The loss by Providence (12-19) was the second time this season the Friars had scored 100 points in a game -- and lost.

STAR POWER

Brooklyn's Jamine Peterson (pictured right) had quite a homecoming Tuesday night. The sophomore forward from Providence had the game of his lifetime -- 38 points and 16 rebounds. Yet, it wasn't quite enough. The only thing that could stop Peterson was picking up his fifth foul in the last minute. Peterson, who broke Billy Donovan's school record for most points scored in a Big East tournament game, nearly carried the Friars back from a 29-point deficit in the final 13 minutes. Providence coach Keno Davis said there weren't any adjustments to make at that point. "I motivated our guys not to end the season like that," Providence coach Keno Davis said.

BIG DANCE PLANS

Win and they're in. That's probably the reality for the Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday. Even if Gonzalez doesn't want to discuss it publicly, he's probably letting his club know it's this simple: beat Notre Dame Wednesday and the Hall will be dancing for the first time since 2006.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Providence had every reason to leave New York quietly. The Friars entered the Big East tournament on a 10-game losing streak and an 11th consecutive loss was a foregone conclusion when the Friars fell down by 29 before what would have been the greatest comeback in school history fell three points short. "We had a lot of adversity this year," Providence freshman Bilal Dixon said.

STAT OF THE GAME

67: Number of points Providence scored in the second half against Seton Hall. It was only four points fewer than the Friars scored in the entire game at Pittsburgh on March 4.

SOUNDBITE

"We're not going to be up 29 points [Wednesday] night. That's probably pretty certain." -- Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez about Wednesday's game with Notre Dame.

NEXT UP

Seton Hall plays No. 7 Notre Dame (21-10) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) in the second round. Seton Hall won the first meeting at home against Notre Dame, 90-87, on Feb. 11.

Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com.