Seton Hall is built to win the NCAA Tournament this year

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Seton Hall
Photo Credit: Tim Lang / Basketball Society

Seton Hall is a team that has been on the rise ever since Kevin Willard landed in South Orange. First there was Isaiah Whitehead, then Angel Delgado took over, and now we have their biggest star in Myles Powell

There are a few reasons why we believe Seton Hall is prepped to make a serious run at the title and we’re going to look into those reasons today.

The Star

There are a few things that each team needs to be able to win a national title. A star is certainly one. Virginia had Kyle Guy, Villanova had Josh Hart and DiVincenzo, and we could go on. 

Seton Hall has that star. Myles Powell is arguably the best player in the nationHe is currently 10th in the nation with an average of 21.9 points per game. That includes two games, against Stony Brook, and Rutgers, where he had to leave the game early with an injury. Those were the only two games all year where he has scored under ten points. 

Myles Powell
Photo Credit: Tim Lang / Basketball Society

Myles is one of those players who you can trust late in the shot clock. There isn’t a shot that he doesn’t like and he’ll hit even the toughest ones with absolutely no room between himself and the defender.

Myles Powell is a star that they can rely on and they will have to once Tournament time arrives.

The Defense

If you’ve watched much college basketball at all then you already knew about Myles Powell’s ability. But, what you may not know is how good the Seton Hall defense is. According to KenPom, Seton Hall currently ranks 13th in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency despite having the 8th toughest strength of schedule.

They are led by their big man Romaro Gill who is in the top 5 in the nation in blocks with 64. He is fantastic at not biting on anything in the paint and is always keeping himself vertical. To be fair, he really doesn’t have to jump given how tall he is, but the point stands that he is a fundamentally sound rim protector.

Seton Hall
Photo Credit: Tim Lang / Basketball Society

It isn’t only Gill on that end. Lead guard Quincy McKnight is a hound and occasionally they’ll bring in Shavar Reynolds Jr. who will absolutely lock you down. Just go ask Markus Howard after he couldn’t even breathe in the 2nd half of the Seton Hall win over Marquette just a few weeks ago.

Jared Rhoden is also a fantastic defensive forward who is such a good rebounder for his size. He has great instincts on both ends of the court and will certainly hold his own on the wing. He’s such a smart defender that Willard sometimes will even feel comfortable throwing out an extremely small lineup (as he did at the end of the game against Butler) with Rhoden at the 5 to be able to grab the board. 

It’s a full team effort defensively and they are equipped to defend any team in the NCAA. 

The Coach

We have to give a huge shoutout to Kevin Willard who has been one of the best tactical coaches in the country without a doubt. He makes so many adjustments during halftime that even if Seton Hall is down, they will ALWAYS come back stronger in the 2nd half. 

He has out-coached the opponent in every single Big East game to date and you should continue to expect to see that as we get deeper into the season. 

The Field

This is the most compelling point as to why Seton Hall can make a serious run at the National Title. There are no elite teams this year. Ohio State had aimed to make that claim early on after their dismantling of Villanova, but they have been a whole different team in Big Ten play. 

Seton Hall is one of three power conference teams (prior to Saturday night’s games) that are still undefeated in conference play. LSU and Baylor are the others. 

Every team in the nation must have certain qualities to win a title. These are them:

  1. A formidable defense
  2. A star player that can take over when needed
  3. An intelligent coach
  4. A hot streak going into the NCAA Tournament

Seton Hall has those first three qualities and are one of the hottest teams in the nation at this point. Keep in mind, they still don’t even have Sandro Mamukelashvili healthy yet. One team with these qualities will win the NCAA Tournament…

Why can’t it be Seton Hall?

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