If there’s anyone out there advocating for expanding the NCAA Tournament, the 2025-26 season is the perfect example of why it’s a horrible idea.
The teams on the fringes of March Madness have all performed horrifically when called to the task.
As teams within range continue to lose, underdogs thought long dead crept their way into the conversation in their respective conference tournaments.
Among those teams is Seton Hall. After putting up a 7-25 season the year prior, the Pirates redeemed themselves in a campaign where Shaheen Holloway won Big East Coach of the Year.
With a date set up against cross-Hudson River rivals St. John’s in the Big East semifinal at Madison Square Garden, Seton Hall could have played themselves into the tournament if they managed a win over the Red Storm.
But it wasn’t meant to be. A dominant performance from the Johnnies sank the Pirates’ ship as the Red Storm charted a course to return to the Big East Championship game.
Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway engineered a remarkable one-year turnaround
But when faced with a chance for a Big East Championship berth, they lost to St. John’s
The Johnnies are back in the Big East Championship after winning the title last season
The Pirates have engineered a one-year turnaround that no one thought was remotely close to possible.
Hampered by limited funds in a new world of college basketball where money rules over all, Seton Hall was expected to be towards the bottom of the Big East like they were in 2025.
Holloway’s high school recruiting class was promising and landing transfer Budd Clark from Division-I newbies Merrimack was helpful. But little was to be asked.
Cut to March. The Pirates reached 20 wins for the second time in three years and entered Friday night on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament – a realm known in the sport as “The Bubble.”
“The Bubble” is a dangerous place for a college team looking to reach the promised land of the Big Dance. Mistakes are punished severely and oftentimes, success only allows you to fight another day rather than receiving a true reward.
This year’s Bubble is horrible. It’s terrible. It’s statistically the worst in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Going into last Saturday – the final weekend of the regular season – the eleven teams on the bubble all could have bolstered their resumes with victories. But all of them lost.
Prior to this week, Seton Hall was not in any conversation to be on the bubble. But with one dominant win over Creighton, they snuck their way into the conversation. It’s not necessarily that the 21-11 Pirates are that much stronger than the rest, but more that they fit the traditional mold of an NCAA Tournament team better than the likes of a 16-loss Auburn or a 15-loss Cincinnati.
At one point, official Matt Potter and Holloway got in each other’s faces and screamed
Entering Friday, the Pirates had only just gotten on the bubble. But they could force a deeper conversation if they pulled off an upset in New York City against a St. John’s team they had played twice – losing both close contests.
Off the opening tip, St. John’s stormed out to an early advantage as they opened on a 10-3 run.
Each time Seton Hall managed to get close, the Johnnies would only pull away more, frustrating the Pirates. At one shocking point, Holloway and referee Matt Potter got nose-to-nose as they screamed at each other over an out-of-bounds call.
By half, St. John’s led by eight. The start of half number two was more of the same. St. John’s opened on a 9-0 run to knock their opponents back.
Late in the game, the Pirates began to put on a spirited attempt at a comeback. Down 14, Seton Hall forced a pair of turnovers to bring the game within eight points with over five minutes remaining.
But time wasn’t on their side. Neither was the whistle as the Pirates erased their own momentum with three consecutive fouls to gift the Johnnies five points and fall into a 13-point hole.
Zuby Ejiofor (24), the conference player of the year, led the way again for the Johnnies
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino is back in the Big East Championship game once again
Ejiofor, the Big East Player of the Year, led the way for the Red Storm with 20 points and five rebounds. Behind him, Arizona State transfer Joson Sanon put up an efficient 15 points.
‘Seton Hall breaks everybody,’ Pitino told reporters after the game, later adding of Holloway, ‘I love the way he gets his guys to play hard, unselfish basketball. He recruits a lot of no-name guys that aren’t on the radar and makes ’em name guys. So he’s tremendous.’
Holloway had a more bleak assessment of his team’s performance: ‘The game wasn’t as close as the score, they dominated us.’
Reflecting on his team’s chances for March Madness, Holloway told reporters, ‘I think if they look at our body of work… I thought we went out, I thought we challenged ourself. I thought we did well in our league. Obviously it didn’t end well today, but I thought we did enough. But like I said, that’s not up to me.’
