NEW YORK — Isaiah Whitehead has a message for Seton Hall’s first opponent in the NCAA Tournament next week.
And possibly future opponents as well.
“This is just about really whoever we play, just better watch out,” Whitehead said after going for 26 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 8 turnovers to lead Seton Hall to its first Big East Tournament championship since 1993, a thriling 69-67 win over top-seeded Villanova before an electric crowd of 19,812. Whitehead was named the Dave Gavitt Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for his brilliant play this week.
“We really defend at a high level,” added Whitehead, whose three-point play in the final seconds cemented the win. “When we get on the break, it’s hard to stop us. It really doesn’t matter who we play; we’re up for the challenge.”
And really, who in their right mind would argue with Whitehead right now?
There are few teams in the country hotter than Kevin Willard’s Pirates right now. They have won 8-of-9 and 12-of-14.
In the past two days, the Pirates took out No. 5 Xavier and No. 3 Villanova back-to-back en route to the conference championship.
Xavier has lost five games all season — two in the last two weeks to Seton Hall.
Seton Hall now has twice as many wins at Madison Square Garden since Feb. 1 (4) as the Knicks (2) — the building’s main tenant.
“We played our second game against them early,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “So after we played them, we won by one at their place, and they really played well. And when we watched films of other teams when we were preparing for Seton Hall, we kept saying these guys are getting better and better and better and better.”
Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com told SNY.tv he expects Seton Hall to be a “6-ish” seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had them as a 7 entering the weekend, but they will surely go up, possibly to a 5.
Meantime, Whitehead is one of the hottest players in the country right now.
‘[Whitehead’s] a monster, he’s the best player in the league,” Xavier’s Chris Mack said after the semifinal. “I voted for him. He is the real freaking deal.”
After he picked up the Gavitt Trophy, a fan chanted at him, “One more year,” according to Jerry Carino of Gannett New Jersey.
Whitehead is not currently listed on the DraftExpress.com Mock for 2016, but he could certainly test the waters after the season he’s had.
All it takes is one team to promise him in the first round.
For now, though, it’s onto the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.
And Seton Hall’s opponents would do well to heed Whitehead’s words and watch out.
