Seton Hall basketball handled by Villanova in Kevin Willard's return

NEWARK – Kevin Willard and Shaheen Holloway engaged in a joyous pregame bear hug before their much-anticipated showdown as opposing Big East coaches.

Then Willard’s Villanova squad controlled Seton Hall from tip to finish.

Dec 23, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Acaden Lewis (55) dribbles against Seton Hall Pirates guard Mike Williams III (23) during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Wildcats dominated the second half on the way to a 64-56 victory that must have been deeply satisfying for Willard, who coached the Pirates for 12 largely successful seasons before leaving for Maryland in 2022. He received a warm welcome back from Seton Hall fans and then posted his signature win in his first season as Villanova’s coach.

In essence, he had his cake and ate it, too. And both teams’ shooting had a lot to do with that.

Seton Hall (11-2) shot bricks as Villanova (10-2) shot the lights out (10-of-23 from 3-point range) getting good look after good look against the Big East’s top defense as a sold-out Prudential Center crowd of 11,153 watched in disappointment.

Villanova now holds an 88-44 series lead over the Pirates, winning 12 of the past 13 contests.

For the Hall, the loss exposed a couple of weaknesses – streaky shooting, lack of frontcourt muscle with 6-foot-10 freshman Najai Hines sidelined, and the inability to survive an off game by point guard Budd Clark (4 points on 1-of-11 shooting, 4 fouls, 2 assists). But the Pirates’ inability to cover the perimeter – the top objective on Holloway’s scouting report – will no doubt stick in the coach’s craw the most.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Classy pregame moments

Kevin Willard and Shaheen Holloway embrace before Villanova's game at Seton Hall on Dec. 23, 2025 — Kevin Willard and Shaheen Holloway embrace before Villanova’s game at Seton Hall on Dec. 23, 2025

Classy touches abounded before tip-off. Willard emerged from the tunnel first, went down the scorer’s table and shook everyone’s hand – Seton Hall photographer Gabe Rhodes, official scorer Danny Fishbane, public address announcer Tim McLoone and many others.

Then he and Holloway exchanged a hug and some friendly chatter before Seton Hall played a short video showing some of Willard’s highlights and the two Big East trophies he guided the program to. After the video, most of the crowd gave Willard a warm ovation – with about half standing – and Willard waved back in appreciation.

It was a poignant reminder of how many memorable moments Willard and the Pirates had in this building and an appropriate exchange of well-wishes.

2. Budd Clark clunker

The Hall’s floor general set the tone with two fouls in the first 1:20, the second of which was a needless hack of a 3-point shooter in the corner. That forced Holloway to sit Clark for much of the first half, and when the junior checked back in to start the second, he performed poorly and Holloway gave him a hook.

Clark has to know he’s too important to be so careless in the opening moments of a big game, and the result was a reminder that while Seton Hall has depth at every other position, they can’t afford a no-show by their point guard in Big East action.

3. Outhustled, outsmarted

For the first time this season, Seton Hall was the team getting beat to 50/50 balls, stymied at the rim, and pushed around on the glass. Villanova ripped the Pirates’ defense to shreds in the second half with superior screening, spacing and passing.

The Pirates have made a living from punching first this season. Villanova punched back, and the host couldn’t handle it.

4. Najai Hines out again

Dec 23, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates forward Pat Suemnick (9), right, talks with center Najai Hines (25) during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The stud freshman center from Plainfield missed a second straight game. After Friday’s win at Providence, Holloway cited illness as the reason and expressed hope that Hines would be able to go against Villanova. He was on the bench in sweats and stood and cheered his teammates for much of the contest.

Though Holloway was vague in his explanation, there is no reason to believe Hines (7.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg) is sidelined for disciplinary reasons.

In his absence, Holloway called on a combination of sophomore 6-9 Godswill Erheriene and 6-6 senior Josh Rivera to fill out the frontcourt when starting center Stephon Payne needed a break. In his second game back from a foot injury, Erheriene is still shaking off rust after missing two months; he did set a superb screen on a Mike Williams 3-pointer.

Obviously Hines’ rebounding and rim protection – he’s averaging 2.5 blocks in 18 minutes per game – are sorely missed, as is his energy in attacking loose balls and revving up the crowd.

5. Two straight sellouts

Seton Hall has come a long way from February, when 2,000 fans showed up for a mid-week rout by Butler and it seemed like the bells were tolling for the program.

There was hardly an empty seat Tuesday, and a fair amount of students made their way to Newark during winter break. The building was a powder keg ready to explode. The team didn’t do its part, but the Rock looked like the Rock of old – like it was many times under Willard.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball handled by Villanova in Kevin Willard’s return

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