Georgia vs. Seton Hall (-4, 145); NIT semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis.
It seems like we are stepping back in time at Hinkle Fieldhouse, this matchup more harkening to the ‘80s and the last times either of these two made it into a Final Four of any sort.
For Georgia, that dates to 1983 when in the same Big Dance as NC State at The Pit in Albuquerque, losing to Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack in the semifinals; for Seton Hall, it’s since 1989 in Seattle when P.J. Carlesimo’s Pirates made it all the way to the finale before being denied a national title in OT by Steve Fisher’s Michigan, and a very dubious call by veteran official John Clougherty, in a regrettable way to end a classic thriller.
Now it’s the NIT, which is especially welcome for the Bulldogs and their second-year HC Michael White, who was starting to hear some grumbling in Athens after UGA would barely squeeze above .500 in the regular season and was helped mostly by its SEC affiliation to even get an invite to this event. Yet the Dawgs have not only caught fire in the NIT, but they’ve also been winning away from home the past two rounds as underdogs at both Wake Forest and Ohio State after barely surviving an opening-round matchup at home vs. Xavier.
Though nothing has really stood out all season about Georgia, partly by design, as White features ten players with double-digit minutes, and no one averaging more than 28 minutes of court time; Niagara transfer G Noah Thomasson’s team-best 13.1 ppg actually deceives a bit, as with a few more minutes on the floor in the NIT, his scoring has correspondingly upped, including 19 at Wake and 21 at OSU to keep the Dawgs advancing.
That Thomasson might be the only DD scorer available to White (that’s if second leading scorer, 6-8 wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who hasn’t played since March 2, remains out with an ankle injury) is not much of a concern because of various other contributors who have emerged, including C Frank Anselem-Ibe, an ex-Syracuse transfer who has become a demon on the boards as he has pulled minutes from 7-footer Russel Tchewa in the Deacs and Buckeyes wins.
Georgia’s ability to win away from home could also come in handy at Hinkle as the opposing Hall has not only been at home all three rounds, but playing games in its tiny on-campus, 1940s relic Walsh Gymnasium as opposed to the expansive Rock in Newark, which was unavailable for the NIT. That made a real edge for the Pirates, particularly the last two rounds as both North Texas and UNLV seemed unnerved by the tight and noisy confines. The Hall is familiar with the Butler venue, however, having beaten Thad Matta’s Bulldogs in this historic hangar on February 24, and did win five times on the Big East trail.
Shaheen Holloway’s team also has the distinction of a convincing win over none other than UConn (for the second straight year, by the way, in Newark), and owns a top-shelf backcourt led by former transfer Gs Kadary Richmond (ex-Syracuse; 15.6 ppg), Dre Davis (ex-Louisville; 14.8 ppg), & Amir Abdul Dawes (ex-Clemson; 14.6 ppg but hot in the NIT at 20.3 ppg). We applaud the Dawgs for taking the NIT seriously and digging in, but a third straight win away from Stegeman Coliseum seems a big ask, especially as the Hall’s credentials seem a bit more substantial.
Seton Hall 78 – Georgia 69 PLAY SETON HALL