Rutgers needs OT to beat tough Seton Hall

The major theme for New York-area college basketball this season, of course, has been revival. St. John's has created a stir by coming back from depths and waking distant echoes. Now it gets to face an old rival that is trying to come back from deeper depths and wake more distant echoes.

No revival would be complete without Rutgers, which got a big Jersey bounce from its 76-70 overtime win against Seton Hall Tuesday in the first round of the Big East Tournament. As long as everyone is trying to turn back the clock, they might as well go back to the 1970s, when Rutgers-St. John's was the hottest item in hoops around here.

Someone call Phil Sellers and Beaver Smith and put on a tape of the old ECAC regional playoffs, which set the foundation for the Big East.

OK, Rutgers' memories don't go back quite that far, not even for the likes of senior Jonathan Mitchell, who said of himself and Seton Hall senior Jeremy Hazell, who had dueling jump shots and free throws down the stretch Tuesday: "Seems like Jeremy and I have been in college basketball forever."

Still, years from now, people at the two New Jersey schools will be talking about how Rutgers was up by three with 8.9 seconds remaining in regulation, only to have Hazell hit a three-pointer with one second left. "I thought," said Hazell, who finished with 27 points, "it was going to be a momentum changer."

It was the sort of play that can take the air out of an opponent heading into overtime. But under intense first-year coach Mike Rice, Rutgers (15-16) did not bend. "Coach told us from Day 1 we have to be comfortable in chaos and that was a chaotic moment," Mitchell said.

So was the video-review second opinion that fouled out Rutgers big man Gilvydas Biruta with 3:09 left in overtime.

"This team persevered and had such toughness," Rice said. "I'm very proud of where we've gotten to. It's hard, because [in] this league, the wins don't pile up, even though I thought we were improving every day."

Seton Hall (13-18) did not score in the final 1:26 of overtime, committing three turnovers in that span and failing to keep Mitchell off the foul line (he made five of the last six points). "It was disappointing," said Kevin Willard, who got the urge to coach at the age of 5 by watching his dad, Ralph, work at St. Dominic High in Oyster Bay.

Mitchell gets to squeeze one more day out of his college career. He can identify with the St. John's seniors who are savoring their last year.

"They'll probably go dancing, with their record and the things they did this year," he said, alluding to the NCAA Tournament or Big Dance. "This is my dance right here. I'm just trying to make the best out of each opportunity I get."

For Rutgers, opportunities don't come along every day. "I had never won a Big East Tournament game, so it was very exciting," senior guard Mike Coburn said, but added, "it's not a crazy celebration because we've got a game tomorrow."