Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard’s strategy against Marquette was pretty simple on Saturday: Let Markus Howard shoot to his heart’s content but deny his teammates.
On Senior Day at Marquette, Howard went for 37 points in his final home game but Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili combined for 54 as No. 13 Seton Hall dominated in an 88-79 victory that only got close at the very end. The Pirates dished out 23 assists in one of their most complete performances of the season.
“We knew [Howard] was going to come out and be aggressive but we’re doing a great job on the rest of the guys,” Willard said on Fox at halftime.
Seton Hall is 8-3 on the road this season with all eight wins coming against Quad 1 opponents.
The Pirates (21-7, 13-3 Big East) have won three straight after a two-game skid and lead Creighton by 1 1/2 games and Villanova by 2 atop the Big East Conference with two games to play. Seton Hall is seeking its first Big East regular-season crown since the 1992-93 season.
Providence boosted its NCAA Tournament résumé by winning at No. 12 Villanova, 58-54, earlier Saturday. No. 10 Creighton (22-6, 11-4) plays at St. John’s (14-14, 3-12) on Sunday.
Powell aided his candidacy for Big East Player of the Year by going for 28 points on 9-of-22 shooting with five assists. He and Howard, both born in New Jersey, are the leading contenders for the award.
“Yeah, of course [I hope it’s me],” said the 6-foot-2 Powell, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. “He got one under his belt last year so hopefully I can get one this year.”
Steve Lavin, the Fox analyst and former head coach at St. John’s and UCLA, believes Powell deserves the award.
“Myles Powell has Seton Hall in first place and a chance to be a high seed,” he said on air. “I think they’ll end up being a 2 seed if they win out and win the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden; we’re looking at a Pirate team that has a chance to be a 2 seed and a chance for a national championship.
“And to me the winning is a key piece to a Player of the Year. Nothing against Markus Howard, what a prolific scorer, what a career he’s had, but they’re 8-7 vs. 12-3 and that’s a big difference.”
Mamukelashvili continued his stellar play for the Pirates by going for a career-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting with nine rebounds and three assists, the fifth time in six games he has reached double-figures in scoring. He is really rounding into form after missing seven weeks earlier this season with a fractured right (non-shooting) wrist.
Seton Hall led 44-35 at the break behind Powell’s 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Howard had 17 at the half. He notched his career-high with a 3-pointer that made it 84-68
The Pirates opened the second half on a 13-3 spurt to take a 58-38 lead, getting five from Romaro Gill (7 points, 5 rebounds) and five straight from Mamukelashvili.
Sacar Anim scored eight of his 13 points during an 11-0 Marquette run that cut the lead to 84-79 with 34.6 seconds left.
Shavar Reynolds hit two foul shots to push the lead back to 86-79.
As for spoiling Howard’s Senior Day, Powell said on Fox: “We’ve been in this league for four years. The things that we do, I feel like when it’s all said and done we’re going to look back and we’re going to be proud of it. We represented our families well, we represented our universities well and most importantly, we represented the last name on the back of our jerseys very well so Markus knows that that’s my guy, I love him.”
The Pirates come home to face Villanova on Senior Night on Wednesday in what will be the last game ever at Prudential Center for Powell, Gill and Quincy McKnight.
The Pirates conclude the regular season at Creighton on March 7 before the Big East Tournament runs March 11-14 at Madison Square Garden.
Selection Sunday is March 15 and the Pirates are expected to be a top seed.
Entering Saturday, both ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Mike DeCourcy of Fox had them as a 3 seed in the East, opening in Albany with a possible path to the East Regional at Madison Square Garden.
Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.