Thursday, March 10
New York City, N.Y.
8:30 PM
Creighton University
18-14
73
vs
81
Seton Hall
23-8
1
2
F
Creighton
30
43
73
Seton Hall
39
42
81
James Milliken
Photo by: Porter Binks
Huff's Career-Night Not Enough In BIG EAST Tourney Loss To Seton Hall
3/10/2016 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Huff pours in 35 points as comeback falls short.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Cole Huff had a career-high 35 points but it wasn't enough as the Creighton men's basketball team fell to Seton Hall, 81-73, on Thursday night in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals. The Pirates scored the game's last eight points after a valiant Creighton rally capped a 14-point comeback and tied the score with 1:07 left.
Third-seeded Seton Hall improved to 23-8 with the win, while sixth-seeded Creighton fell to 18-14 with the setback. The Pirates will advance to the league semifinals, where it will meet fifth-ranked and second-seeded Xavier at 8 pm Central. It marks the first time since 2007 that the league's top four seeds will all play in the semifinals.
Seton Hall led nearly the entire first half to build a 39-30 lead at the break. The Pirates got 11 points and eight rebounds from Isaiah Whitehead in the first 20 minutes and led on the backboards 27-12 at intermission. Huff supplied much of Creighton's first half attack, draining 5-of-7 three-pointers to score 15 points before the break.
The teams were tied with 2:59 to play after Huff's seventh trey of the game, but Seton Hall responded with a Khadeen Carrington pull-up jumper. Huff would miss his next shot amid contact before Derrick Gordon's corner three-pointer with 2:06 to play gave Seton Hall a five-point margin.
James Milliken drained three free throws with 1:41 left to bring CU within two and Geoffrey Groselle tied it with 1:07 left on a bank shot in the paint. Carrington answered with a jumper with 50.6 left to put Seton Hall up 75-73. That ignited the game-ending 8-0 run for the victors.
The Jays had the ball with a chance to tie, only to turn it over on an inbounds pass and be forced to foul with 26.6 left. Gordon was fouled with 26.6 to play and missed both, but an offensive rebound by Whitehead fouled out Groselle with 25.5 left. Whitehead sank both to make it a four-point game, and he then would block a Watson lay-up attempt. CU got the rebound but Huff missed a three-pointer, and CU fouled Whitehead with 12.2 left. He again made both, and Carrington added two more eight seconds later, to seal the Pirate victory.
Huff had 35 points in 35 minutes, eclipsing his career-high by four points. He sank 11-of-16 field goal attempts, including 7-of-11 three-point tries, and was also perfect in six free throw attempts. Huff also led CU with nine rebounds. Milliken had 18 points and five assists for CU, while Groselle added 12 points and two blocked shots. Creighton shot 41.1 percent for the game and hit 8-of-24 three-point tries.
Carrington led Seton Hall with 27 points, five more than his previous career-high. His five three-pointers were also a season-best for the sophomore from Brooklyn. Whitehead had 24 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and six assists for Seton Hall. The Pirates won the glass battle 45-25 and shot 50.9 percent for the game and 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Creighton will learn of its potential postseason fate on Sunday night when bids to the postseason are announced.
NOTES: Cole Huff's 35 points tied Doug McDermott's school-record for points in a BIG EAST Tournament game. McDermott had 35 in a 2014 quarterfinal win vs. DePaul. That was also the last time a Bluejay had 35 points in a game ... Creighton fell to 3-3 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, and 1-2 in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton had won at least one league tournament game in five straight seasons ... Nine of the previous 10 No. 6 seeds in the BIG EAST Tournament have gone on to reach the NCAA Tournament ... Maurice Watson Jr. dished six assists and now has 210 this season. That's tied with Grant Gibbs (2012-13) for second-most in Creighton history for a season and trails only the 252 by Ralph Bobik in 1973-74 ... Cole Huff has scored 10 or more points in eight of his last nine games ... Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 745 straight games ... Creighton fell to 2-1 on neutral floors this season, though Cole Huff has averaged 24.3 points per game in those outings ... Malik Albert had three steals off the bench for CU after entering the game with eight all season ... Creighton had won 29 straight games dating to Dec. 31, 2002 when an individual scored 31 points or more prior to the streak ending tonight ... Cole Huff's seven three-pointers were the most since Isaiah Zierden drained eight on Jan. 17, 2016 at DePaul, and tied for seventh-most in Creighton single-game history ... Thursday marked the first day in BIG EAST Tournament history that multiple players scored 35 points or more, as Huff (35) and Providence's Ben Bentil (38) both did so.
Q. You talked a lot about the need of the pass that kind of gets overlooked because of what great year Isaiah had. Career-high 27 tonight and really was your rock.
KEVIN WILLARD: Yeah, he's done this all year. He was the 12th-leading scorer in conference play this year. So nothing he does surprises me. This is what he's done all year long. This is who he's been. We've just been working with him a little bit just to be a little bit more aggressive without being too fancy. Sometimes he likes to get a little loose with the basketball. I thought tonight he was great. I thought he was aggressive. I thought he was efficient. And he made some big shots for us.
Q. Just talk about that lay-up you made like a bunny step, lefty lay-up in the paint. Kind of describe that.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: They were taking away Zeke the whole game basically. So I just tried to get in the lane. Tried to jump-stop. I jump-stopped a couple of times the first half, they called it traveling. I tried to jump-stop get set and go to my left hand, strong hand.
Q. New York City guy out there, what did it feel like?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I'm home playing in front of my friends and my family. I think I did a great job tonight. Team did a great job. They came back. They made their runs. We made our runs. It just happened that we made the last run at the end. Got the W.
Q. (Inaudible) gets a little overlooked at times. What was it like to have that big performance at home?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I don't really care about the overlooking part. We were having a great season. Everybody has been doing well. Once everybody is doing well, the team gets accolades. Coach got an accolade. Isaiah got an accolade. Angel. As long as everybody wins that's all that matters to me.
Q. On a night where Angel wasn't able to do much in the first half, how important was it to get 12 rebounds out of Zeke?
KEVIN WILLARD: Desi and Isaiah both had 6 and 8 in the first half, which really kind of got us going in the first half. And the second half I thought Ish and Angel playing the minutes he did, did a really good job. And Derrick was fantastic tonight. He got two huge deflections on the defensive end, which really helped us.
Q. Khadeen, how much did this feel like a home court tonight?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: It felt a lot like home. We're right over the bridge. Right next to New Jersey. A lot of us are from New York. So there was a lot of Pirates fans here. A lot of friends and a lot of family.
Q. Khadeen, speaking of the home court, you played St. John's a couple of weeks ago, that familiarity, did that help you tonight?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: Did it help us what?
Q. Previously playing St. John's just a short while ago, you've been on this court before. Did that familiarity help you guys?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: It helped a little bit. I would say getting used to the rims and getting used to the courts. The balls were bouncy. We played with Under Armour balls last time. Tonight we played with Nike balls. It helped a lot.
KEVIN WILLARD: That's why you turned it over.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: A little bit.
Q. You play Xavier next. You just played them and beat them a week ago. Talk about that matchup in light of what you just did against them.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I thought we played a great game that game. The first time we played them we didn't give them our best punch. Second time we played them I think everybody played well. We just got to focus on beating the 1-3-1 they play. Getting out and go. Once we get out and go I think we can beat anybody. That's when we're playing our best.
Q. Desi played just four minutes in the second half, was there any particular reason?
KEVIN WILLARD: We're still young at times, and sometimes we get a little emotional. And let's just say we have all learned the variety of emotions of our guys. His emotions was going one way. We needed to focus on something. As they get older they'll learn certain times they have to learn. It's all part of the process of growing as a team.
Q. Last year at this time you guys lost by 20 (Inaudible) ?
KEVIN WILLARD: I've answered a lot of last-year questions. We're a different basketball team. We have different personnel. These guys -- we're still young. These guys are old. Khadeen, Isaiah, Angel, Ish, we're such a different team. Every night I go out with these guys and I expect because they're such a great group, they care about winning, they want to win. It's a much different -- I can't explain it.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I can't either.
Q. Coach, you mentioned you're still young at times. You have one senior on the roster. How big was that shot that Derrick hit down the stretch?
KEVIN WILLARD: It's great. I think he's 3 for his last 3.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I think so.
KEVIN WILLARD: We might throw a party when we get back to the hotel.
We all have a lot of confidence in Derrick. Derrick has been trained just to catch and drive. And that's always his first instinct. It was great. He was in the corner. Isaiah -- I think it was Z threw a great pass to him. We all have confidence in him. He stepped in and knock it down.
Q. You got good minutes from Myles Carter tonight.
KEVIN WILLARD: Yes, we did.
Q. He was in foul trouble. What made you go to Myles?
KEVIN WILLARD: Braeden had to go to class today. Part of being a law student is you can't miss that many classes. We've been on the road for Tuesday, Thursdays a lot because we play. So it was important that he -- it's amazing, I've become an academic coach. I feel like I should be at Princeton. It was very important for me -- for him and for me that he didn't miss another class. He wasn't at walk-through and Myles was. So I have total confidence in Myles.
Last time I went with Sheed and he fouled out in the first half at St. John's. I didn't want that to happen again. Myles played great. He gave us great energy and great minutes.
Q. Especially in the Big East close games been tough for you guys. To win the way you did tonight, how big is that for you going forward?
KEVIN WILLARD: Yeah, I mean, we lost to Nova by one. And then I think we've been on the road. On the road is where we've really struggled in close games. Our fans are great. They really came out. I thought the atmosphere was tremendous. Again, I think every win this time of the year is really important. To do it when you're up nine and they came out and they really brought it to us, and to kind of fight back. I look at it that way. We lost the lead and to come back and get it, I think that was really important.
Q. Coach, how would you describe Isaiah's will to win especially down the stretch? He's pretty much not here because of that will to win.
KEVIN WILLARD: I mean, we're still up three, right? We were still up three, right? I think all these guys -- Khadeen can answer this. I think all these guys' will to win is unbelievable. It's why they are here. It's why they came as a group. It's what they're focused on. It's why I got Co-coach of the Year, not because -- you've seen my offense; not great. I got it because of him. I got it because of these players. They have a will. Isaiah, and Khadeen will tell you, Zeke doesn't like to lose. Sometimes he goes off. There's moments you look at him and you're shaking your head. He wants to win. Khadeen, I mean, that's all we talk about in huddles. We've come a long way. We used to talk about lobsters and cheerleaders. Now we're talking about what it takes to get a stop. So this is a group that's -- again, I've used the word "special". I love them. It's been a blast, man. I've had so much fun watching these guys grow. And they're still puppies, year-old puppies, but they're still great.
THE MODERATOR: Seton Hall, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Third-seeded Seton Hall improved to 23-8 with the win, while sixth-seeded Creighton fell to 18-14 with the setback. The Pirates will advance to the league semifinals, where it will meet fifth-ranked and second-seeded Xavier at 8 pm Central. It marks the first time since 2007 that the league's top four seeds will all play in the semifinals.
Seton Hall led nearly the entire first half to build a 39-30 lead at the break. The Pirates got 11 points and eight rebounds from Isaiah Whitehead in the first 20 minutes and led on the backboards 27-12 at intermission. Huff supplied much of Creighton's first half attack, draining 5-of-7 three-pointers to score 15 points before the break.
The teams were tied with 2:59 to play after Huff's seventh trey of the game, but Seton Hall responded with a Khadeen Carrington pull-up jumper. Huff would miss his next shot amid contact before Derrick Gordon's corner three-pointer with 2:06 to play gave Seton Hall a five-point margin.
James Milliken drained three free throws with 1:41 left to bring CU within two and Geoffrey Groselle tied it with 1:07 left on a bank shot in the paint. Carrington answered with a jumper with 50.6 left to put Seton Hall up 75-73. That ignited the game-ending 8-0 run for the victors.
The Jays had the ball with a chance to tie, only to turn it over on an inbounds pass and be forced to foul with 26.6 left. Gordon was fouled with 26.6 to play and missed both, but an offensive rebound by Whitehead fouled out Groselle with 25.5 left. Whitehead sank both to make it a four-point game, and he then would block a Watson lay-up attempt. CU got the rebound but Huff missed a three-pointer, and CU fouled Whitehead with 12.2 left. He again made both, and Carrington added two more eight seconds later, to seal the Pirate victory.
Huff had 35 points in 35 minutes, eclipsing his career-high by four points. He sank 11-of-16 field goal attempts, including 7-of-11 three-point tries, and was also perfect in six free throw attempts. Huff also led CU with nine rebounds. Milliken had 18 points and five assists for CU, while Groselle added 12 points and two blocked shots. Creighton shot 41.1 percent for the game and hit 8-of-24 three-point tries.
Carrington led Seton Hall with 27 points, five more than his previous career-high. His five three-pointers were also a season-best for the sophomore from Brooklyn. Whitehead had 24 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and six assists for Seton Hall. The Pirates won the glass battle 45-25 and shot 50.9 percent for the game and 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Creighton will learn of its potential postseason fate on Sunday night when bids to the postseason are announced.
NOTES: Cole Huff's 35 points tied Doug McDermott's school-record for points in a BIG EAST Tournament game. McDermott had 35 in a 2014 quarterfinal win vs. DePaul. That was also the last time a Bluejay had 35 points in a game ... Creighton fell to 3-3 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, and 1-2 in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton had won at least one league tournament game in five straight seasons ... Nine of the previous 10 No. 6 seeds in the BIG EAST Tournament have gone on to reach the NCAA Tournament ... Maurice Watson Jr. dished six assists and now has 210 this season. That's tied with Grant Gibbs (2012-13) for second-most in Creighton history for a season and trails only the 252 by Ralph Bobik in 1973-74 ... Cole Huff has scored 10 or more points in eight of his last nine games ... Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 745 straight games ... Creighton fell to 2-1 on neutral floors this season, though Cole Huff has averaged 24.3 points per game in those outings ... Malik Albert had three steals off the bench for CU after entering the game with eight all season ... Creighton had won 29 straight games dating to Dec. 31, 2002 when an individual scored 31 points or more prior to the streak ending tonight ... Cole Huff's seven three-pointers were the most since Isaiah Zierden drained eight on Jan. 17, 2016 at DePaul, and tied for seventh-most in Creighton single-game history ... Thursday marked the first day in BIG EAST Tournament history that multiple players scored 35 points or more, as Huff (35) and Providence's Ben Bentil (38) both did so.
BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
March 10, 2016
Greg McDermott
Cole Huff
James Milliken
New York, New York
Creighton - 73, Seton Hall - 81
GREG McDERMOTT: Congratulations to Seton Hall on a very well-played game. We probably expected Whitehead to perform at the level he performed tonight. He's played as well as anybody in the country right now. But Carrington was the difference.
I thought we did a good job on Delgado. We made Rodriguez's catches tough in the post, which has been a big part of what they've done recently.
And you know, we had our backs against the wall a couple of times in the first half. We came out the second half and really got back in the game and then went down 10 again. And our guys kept chipping away and kept fighting.
I couldn't be more proud of my team. We made some mistakes late. Had a turnover on an out-of-bounds play which is a big play on a missed blockout on a free-throw. Those are the little things that add up in the end.
That's not what I want these guys to take away from this season. Our seniors Geoff Groselle and James Milliken, a year ago at this time, we were playing meaningful games on February 20th. We're playing games that have NCAA Tournament implications. We were on the bubble at that time. That thought was a million miles away a year ago in February. So the fact that James and Geoff have led us back to the point of relevance is a credit to their leadership.
I hope that's what they'll take away from this experience. I hope we get an opportunity to play some more. I think we're NIT worthy. I think a lot of people probably saw that tonight. Disappointed that we lost, but very proud of my team and very proud of where we've come from a year ago.
Q. Cole, can you talk a little bit about your performance and just did you know you were on tonight from the start?
COLE HUFF: I had a couple of open looks that the first two games I didn't perform up to the best of my abilities. I think I had a lot of shots they weren't expecting. My teammates and coaches did a great job of drawing up plays and getting me open. I converted some.
Q. To all players, I know this hurts. Going back to last year where your only shot was to win this tournament. Versus regardless what happens this weekend, is there any consolation in that, going back when you think about a year ago that this was your only shot?
JAMES MILLIKEN: I feel like our main goal was to get to the NCAA Tournament, and it was to win this tournament. So like Coach said, being from the bottom as the pre-season predictions, I feel like we weren't satisfied with being fourth or fifth. We wanted to win the whole thing. So just a matter of we just wanted to win the whole thing. That's how I feel.
COLE HUFF: Definitely some positives we can take out of this. Like James said, pre-season not really being predicted to finish towards the top, and we didn't have a lot of expectations. During the middle of the season, in conference play we were really clicking. We didn't finish so strong, but there's definitely some things we can learn from this and take next year.
At the same time, like you said, it hurts. Nobody wants to go home this early. This is what we play for.
Q. Coach, did their three-point shooting surprise you at all? They've been shooting it well down the stretch, but they're still a dribble-drive team.
GREG McDERMOTT: Carrington's willingness to shoot the three probably surprised me. As you mentioned, he's wanted to get down with the drive and Rodriguez has wanted to do that. Gordon hit a back-breaker. Obviously we're okay with that shot. From a guy that missed two free-throws pretty badly, he hits a huge three at a critical time. He's their senior. You can tell that he's added some things to that team from a year ago. I think his maturity.
When you're bring in a fifth-year senior that only has one year to play, their expectations are through the roof. For him to come off the bench and provide a steadying influence to that team is really a credit to him. And also a credit to Kevin and the job he's done putting that team together this year.
Q. For the players, is it that much more disappointing to lose a game after coming all the way back and have a chance to take the lead with 30 seconds to go?
COLE HUFF: Yeah. At the end of the day a loss is a loss. It hurts to know that we were so close. Just a couple of things we could have done differently. You look back on the game, stuff is going to stick in your head until the next time we play.
It's a credit to them, too. They played really well. They made some big-time plays. We just got to get back to the drawing board this offseason and figure some things out and be ready for next year.
Q. The lineup with Malik at the 2, I don't have the plus-minus numbers in front of me, that was an effective lineup. What was your thinking putting Malik and Milliken together --
GREG McDERMOTT: It was good. Zeke tweaked his shoulder early in the second half. I don't know if you saw it. He got hit. He was going to have to be effective, not really have anything happen.
So we used that lineup some at Xavier and there was some success there. I thought Malik's length and athletic ability to get his hands on some basketballs on the defensive end. Had two or three steals, if I'm not mistaken. It's not a position he's played a lot this year. He was really kind of forced into that. I thought he did a great job. He takes a little pressure off Maurice with his ball-handling ability and gives us another guy along with James and Maurice that can attack the basket.
Q. Cole, is there any personal satisfaction in having a game like this on this stage considering this is what you came to Creighton for?
COLE HUFF: I guess if I look back on this years from now when I'm done playing I'll say it was pretty cool. I mean, I wanted to get to the NCAA Tournament and play some meaningful basketball. It hurts.
THE MODERATOR: Creighton, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Friday, March 11, 2016
Kevin Willard
Khadeen Carrington
Seton Hall
Creighton - 73, Seton Hall - 81Q. You talked a lot about the need of the pass that kind of gets overlooked because of what great year Isaiah had. Career-high 27 tonight and really was your rock.
KEVIN WILLARD: Yeah, he's done this all year. He was the 12th-leading scorer in conference play this year. So nothing he does surprises me. This is what he's done all year long. This is who he's been. We've just been working with him a little bit just to be a little bit more aggressive without being too fancy. Sometimes he likes to get a little loose with the basketball. I thought tonight he was great. I thought he was aggressive. I thought he was efficient. And he made some big shots for us.
Q. Just talk about that lay-up you made like a bunny step, lefty lay-up in the paint. Kind of describe that.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: They were taking away Zeke the whole game basically. So I just tried to get in the lane. Tried to jump-stop. I jump-stopped a couple of times the first half, they called it traveling. I tried to jump-stop get set and go to my left hand, strong hand.
Q. New York City guy out there, what did it feel like?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I'm home playing in front of my friends and my family. I think I did a great job tonight. Team did a great job. They came back. They made their runs. We made our runs. It just happened that we made the last run at the end. Got the W.
Q. (Inaudible) gets a little overlooked at times. What was it like to have that big performance at home?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I don't really care about the overlooking part. We were having a great season. Everybody has been doing well. Once everybody is doing well, the team gets accolades. Coach got an accolade. Isaiah got an accolade. Angel. As long as everybody wins that's all that matters to me.
Q. On a night where Angel wasn't able to do much in the first half, how important was it to get 12 rebounds out of Zeke?
KEVIN WILLARD: Desi and Isaiah both had 6 and 8 in the first half, which really kind of got us going in the first half. And the second half I thought Ish and Angel playing the minutes he did, did a really good job. And Derrick was fantastic tonight. He got two huge deflections on the defensive end, which really helped us.
Q. Khadeen, how much did this feel like a home court tonight?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: It felt a lot like home. We're right over the bridge. Right next to New Jersey. A lot of us are from New York. So there was a lot of Pirates fans here. A lot of friends and a lot of family.
Q. Khadeen, speaking of the home court, you played St. John's a couple of weeks ago, that familiarity, did that help you tonight?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: Did it help us what?
Q. Previously playing St. John's just a short while ago, you've been on this court before. Did that familiarity help you guys?
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: It helped a little bit. I would say getting used to the rims and getting used to the courts. The balls were bouncy. We played with Under Armour balls last time. Tonight we played with Nike balls. It helped a lot.
KEVIN WILLARD: That's why you turned it over.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: A little bit.
Q. You play Xavier next. You just played them and beat them a week ago. Talk about that matchup in light of what you just did against them.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I thought we played a great game that game. The first time we played them we didn't give them our best punch. Second time we played them I think everybody played well. We just got to focus on beating the 1-3-1 they play. Getting out and go. Once we get out and go I think we can beat anybody. That's when we're playing our best.
Q. Desi played just four minutes in the second half, was there any particular reason?
KEVIN WILLARD: We're still young at times, and sometimes we get a little emotional. And let's just say we have all learned the variety of emotions of our guys. His emotions was going one way. We needed to focus on something. As they get older they'll learn certain times they have to learn. It's all part of the process of growing as a team.
Q. Last year at this time you guys lost by 20 (Inaudible) ?
KEVIN WILLARD: I've answered a lot of last-year questions. We're a different basketball team. We have different personnel. These guys -- we're still young. These guys are old. Khadeen, Isaiah, Angel, Ish, we're such a different team. Every night I go out with these guys and I expect because they're such a great group, they care about winning, they want to win. It's a much different -- I can't explain it.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I can't either.
Q. Coach, you mentioned you're still young at times. You have one senior on the roster. How big was that shot that Derrick hit down the stretch?
KEVIN WILLARD: It's great. I think he's 3 for his last 3.
KHADEEN CARRINGTON: I think so.
KEVIN WILLARD: We might throw a party when we get back to the hotel.
We all have a lot of confidence in Derrick. Derrick has been trained just to catch and drive. And that's always his first instinct. It was great. He was in the corner. Isaiah -- I think it was Z threw a great pass to him. We all have confidence in him. He stepped in and knock it down.
Q. You got good minutes from Myles Carter tonight.
KEVIN WILLARD: Yes, we did.
Q. He was in foul trouble. What made you go to Myles?
KEVIN WILLARD: Braeden had to go to class today. Part of being a law student is you can't miss that many classes. We've been on the road for Tuesday, Thursdays a lot because we play. So it was important that he -- it's amazing, I've become an academic coach. I feel like I should be at Princeton. It was very important for me -- for him and for me that he didn't miss another class. He wasn't at walk-through and Myles was. So I have total confidence in Myles.
Last time I went with Sheed and he fouled out in the first half at St. John's. I didn't want that to happen again. Myles played great. He gave us great energy and great minutes.
Q. Especially in the Big East close games been tough for you guys. To win the way you did tonight, how big is that for you going forward?
KEVIN WILLARD: Yeah, I mean, we lost to Nova by one. And then I think we've been on the road. On the road is where we've really struggled in close games. Our fans are great. They really came out. I thought the atmosphere was tremendous. Again, I think every win this time of the year is really important. To do it when you're up nine and they came out and they really brought it to us, and to kind of fight back. I look at it that way. We lost the lead and to come back and get it, I think that was really important.
Q. Coach, how would you describe Isaiah's will to win especially down the stretch? He's pretty much not here because of that will to win.
KEVIN WILLARD: I mean, we're still up three, right? We were still up three, right? I think all these guys -- Khadeen can answer this. I think all these guys' will to win is unbelievable. It's why they are here. It's why they came as a group. It's what they're focused on. It's why I got Co-coach of the Year, not because -- you've seen my offense; not great. I got it because of him. I got it because of these players. They have a will. Isaiah, and Khadeen will tell you, Zeke doesn't like to lose. Sometimes he goes off. There's moments you look at him and you're shaking your head. He wants to win. Khadeen, I mean, that's all we talk about in huddles. We've come a long way. We used to talk about lobsters and cheerleaders. Now we're talking about what it takes to get a stop. So this is a group that's -- again, I've used the word "special". I love them. It's been a blast, man. I've had so much fun watching these guys grow. And they're still puppies, year-old puppies, but they're still great.
THE MODERATOR: Seton Hall, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Stats
CU
SHU
FG%
.411
.509
3FG%
.333
.471
FT%
.792
.680
RB
25
45
TO
11
16
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMeet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Ty Davis
Friday, August 15
