Tyrese Samuel banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer and Seton Hall earned an NCAA Tournament resume win over Memphis.
Samuel went for 14 points and 11 rebounds, including two free throws to bring them within two points with 47 seconds left, as the Pirates notched a dramatic 70-69 victory in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando. They advance to face Oklahoma -- which knocked off Nebraska, 69-56 -- in the semifinals Friday (8 p.m., ESPN2).
Samuel was mobbed and tackled by his teammates after the shot which gave the Pirates a win over a team ranked No. 29 by KenPom.com. The Pirates won despite shooting 21-of-30 from the line.
“It felt good, I didn’t think it was going to be a swish. I think I knew it was going to be a bank shot,” Samuel said by phone. “But when I shot it, I was like, this actually might go in and then it was like a blurry moment. And then it went in and I felt like I just stood there, I didn’t even know how to react, you know? it was surreal.”
Up 69-67 after the free throws by Samuels, Memphis missed two free throws and got the offensive rebound before turning it over with 9 seconds left.
Kendric Davis, the Memphis star who was the No. 1 transfer in the portal after leaving SMU last season, went for 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss despite banging his knee in the second half.
Memphis will face Nebraska in the consolation bracket (5:30 p.m., ESPN News).
Siena faces Ole Miss in the tournament’s first semifinal Friday (11 a.m., ESPN2).
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Here are five observations on the game:
Seton Hall is missing an alpha dog
In past years, the Pirates have had Myles Powell, Sandro Mamukelashvili and then Jared Rhoden to take over games late.
This team doesn’t have that player and in a game like this it showed...until Samuel made the final shot off an in-bounds pass. He said the play was supposed to be a down screen for Jamir Harris, but Harris told him to “Shoot it.”
Samuel looked briefly to his right before letting it fly. He said it was the biggest shot of his life.
“Yeah, for sure, most definitely,” he said.
Seton Hall’s bigs were overpowered
Neither Tray Jackson nor Samuel is especially imposing in the paint. Both are 6-10 but on the slender side.
Malcolm Dandridge was able to out-muscle and out-score them in the paint and finished with 14 points before fouling out. Memphis outscored Seton Hall, 32-22, in the paint.
That figures to be a persistent problem as Seton Hall faces opposing front lines with more size and strength.
Kadary Richmond needs to step up offensively
Richmond is a second-team All-Big East guard who went for 27 points in a win over UConn last season.
In this game, he went for 5 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds while battling foul trouble after entering averaging 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds. He had reached double-figures this season just once, scoring 11 points in the loss to Iowa.
Down 67-63 late in the game, he drove to the basket but got blocked at the rim.
If the Pirates are going to make something of this season, they need him to step up.
Dre Davis returns with energy
After missing the Wagner game with tightness in his knee, the Louisville transfer returned and provided a spark off the bench with 13 points. He entered averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds after scoring 13 points in his last two games.
NCAA Tournament resume win
The Pirates now have a legitimate NCAA Tournament resume win under their belt after losing to Iowa in the Gavitt Games.
“This was super big, we lost to Iowa so winning this game means a lot for us,” Samuel said. “It’s just another win on our resume and we just gotta get this win tomorrow.”
“This is just the beginning,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said on the radio.
After this trip the Pirates visit defending NCAA champion Kansas Dec. 1 at Allen Fieldhouse.
The No. 3 and undefeated Jayhawks had a dramatic 69-68 win over Wisconsin Thursday to advance to the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis against No. 22 Tennessee.
Their next home game isn’t until Dec. 4 against Lincoln at Walsh Gym, one week before they travel to face Rutgers in the Garden State Hardwood Classic (Dec. 11).
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
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