Jeremy Hazell’s deep cut suffered during Seton Hall’s win against St. John’s Wednesday might mean the same to his team’s chances to appear in the NCAA Tournament: a cut out of the competition, a burst off the bubble of teams hopeful to be in the Big Dance.
Hazell, who needed eight stitches to close the cut on his shooting hand, was a miserable 2-for-10 from the field and scored only nine points in 33 minutes as the Pirates (15-10) lost a game they had to have on Saturday, 75-63 at West Virginia (21-5).
Numbers like that are almost unheard of from the Big East Conference’s second-leading scorer. Coming into Saturday, Hazell, who averages 21.9 points per game, had been held to less than 10 points in only three occasions.
“It’s a lot different,” center Herb Pope, Hazell’s teammate, said following the loss. “Guys have to come in and play unfamiliar roles. Different players have to step up and take Jeremy’s shots and try to win the game.”
Hazell’s injury couldn’t have been more untimely for a team hoping to get recognition in what’s arguably the toughest conference in college basketball. The Big East features five top 25 teams — tied with the Big 12 for the most in a single conference — and a second win against one of those squads was indispensable for fading Seton Hall.
The Pirates, whose best win of the season was a 64-61 downing of No. 21 Pittsburgh (20-6) Jan. 24, will now have to win their four remaining Big East games and hope inconsistent Louisville (18-9) and the rest of the monster-conference bubble teams, including the Cardinals, Cincinnati, Marquette and Connecticut, don’t strengthen their own cases too emphatically.
But with Hazell ‘s play clearly affected by the hand injury and Seton Hall still missing starting point guard Eugene Harvey with a bruised wrist, it’s questionable that the Pirates can even finish the regular season without anymore setbacks. And even with that, Seton Hall will need a deep run in the Big East Tournament to be offered an at-large bid. It’s either that or the NIT.
Seton Hall better hope it has some fast healers in Hazell and Harvey. They’re essential to make the cut.
