Andy Katz Says Cornell Will Advance in the NCAAs

The following comes from today's blog entry by ESPN's Andy Katz:

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez froze as Eugene Harvey's buzzer-beating shot was leaving his hand.

"Time stopped," Gonzalez said. "I looked at the ball and said 'Oh my God,' there's a chance it will go in and it went in. It was one of those things that may help carry us this season."

Harvey's 28-footer allowed the Pirates to beat St. Peter's, 53-51 last Friday night in their season opener. Had Harvey's shot not gone in and the result went the other way, it could have had disastrous consequences. The Pirates were already reeling a bit from Keon Lawrence being suspended for a suspected DUI that is still working its way through the legal system. Losing to St. Peter's at home would have dented the Pirates' preseason good vibes with their fan base.

Seton Hall still has a tough nonconference matchup next Friday at Cornell in a game that looks more dangerous after the Big Red won at at Alabama.

"We got lucky," Gonzalez said. "I told Eugene to drive and then he pumps and launches up that shot. If you lose then everybody brings that back up in your face. You lose that game and you might not recover from it. People don't understand how tough our next game is with Cornell. They're a Top 25 team. They're really good."
Gonzo said that the Pirates' confidence and momentum would have been stifled with the loss to St. Peter's. He said New Mexico State transfer Herb Pope showed serious signs of rust in the first game, scoring just six points, but showed progress in a win over Monmouth the next game with 15 points and 17 boards. Having Jeremy Hazell have a breakthrough game in the Monmouth win with 26 points also was a major plus.

Still, the Pirates won't be the same until a decision is made on Lawrence. Lawrence was scheduled to get 18-20 stitches removed from the inside of his lip after colliding with another car after driving the wrong way on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. Lawrence was lucky that the accident wasn't more serious as no one in the crash suffered life-threatening injuries.

Lawrence has legal issues to sort through -- he was charged with driving with a suspended license -- before a decision can be made on his reinstatement.

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Cornell will win a first-round NCAA tournament game. Did I just write that? That's just my feeling after one game with the Big Red's road win at Alabama and Ryan Wittman making five 3s.