Seton Hall: post mortem

That's a tough loss, but it won't go down as a bad loss.  This Seton Hall team isn't going to light the Big East on fire necessarily, but they also won't melt down like last year's version.  That would have been a great road win, but if Mark Fox can bring that same team home with him, there's a chance to win every remaining non-conference game on the schedule:

• Tonight you saw what Yante Maten can be.  Eventually, the shots were going to start falling.
• The Charles Mann roller coaster continues.
• Kenny Gaines only took 10 shots.  That's just not enough for the team's best scorer.  And yes, Seton Hall had something to do with that, but Fox has to find a way to get him more chances.
• Kenny Paul Geno: where did that come from?  If he can start hitting that long jumper consistently he becomes a surprise weapon for the Bulldogs.
• Where was this game lost?  The 13 turnovers weren't great, but Seton Hall's 13 offensive rebounds were killer.  Houston Kessler was handled on the boards all night.  Unfortunately, Fox doesn't have an answer until Ogbeide is healthy.  I sure hope the kid can clean the glass...
• Isaiah Whitehead is talented, but not always smart.  Two of the biggest daggers in the game were shots he never should have taken: the long three late in the first half and the long three late in the game.
• And since when is raking a guy across the face not a foul?
• But really, we'll just say Kenny Paul Geno's armbar evened that one out...
• The officiating was infuriating, and not necessarily because it was bad.  It was just totally inconsistent.  There were 41 fouls called in the game (a fine amount), but at least 30 of them were in the second half.  It's not fair to the players to officiate the first half one way, then come out and officiate the second half completely differently.
• And before I get off the officials, that offensive foul against Charles Mann was baaaaad...
• Ok, one more comment: Seton Hall took 9 more free throws than Georgia, but that's because they pushed the ball into the paint.  Georgia hasn't all year, and they didn't again tonight.
• Whitehead was the leading scorer, but Khadeen Carrington won that game.  He hit difficult shot after difficult shot at critical times in the game.  Impressive.
• And if those 4 sophomores stick around for another year, look out.
• E'Torrion Wilridge disappeared again.  Mike Edwards was over-matched again.  It's going to take time with these freshman.
• J.J. Frazier is ice cold.  The three that could have tied it late looked money, and I'd let him take it again and again.  He'll find his stroke soon enough.
• Maybe Fox should have gone to that zone earlier.   It had the Pirates flustered.
• I confess, I normally hate play-by-play guys and color commentators, but I really liked Donny Marshall!  That was a pleasant surprise.

So where do we go from here?  The problems Fox needs to fix seem obvious.  First and foremost, Georgia needs to rebound better.  They were outshot by 8 in this game (and by 9 at the free throw line).  That just can't keep happening.

If Yante Maten keeps playing like he played tonight, that will help.  It can't be all Kenny Gaines.  This team needs another scorer (or two) to emerge.

Next up is a scary Oakland team.  If Georgia can run off 6 straight wins in the non-conference, things will be looking downright rosy heading into conference play.  Lose one or two, and you can probably forget about a return to the NCAA tournament.  The fact that one seems just as likely as the other tells you all you need to know about these Bulldogs.