BY MATT SUGAM

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

SOUTH ORANGE – When they found out their bubble had burst shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday evening, no one took it harder than Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope. The two seniors had seen their final NCAA Tournament chance slip out of their grasp.

Neither had ever been a part of March Madness, but they was the sole reason why Seton Hall were even in the conversation late in the year when no one thought they’d come close to it as the season began.

After pummeling St. John’s a month ago, a loquacious Theodore shared his dreams of making the NCAA Tournament. He said he was so close he could taste it. The point guard was just a few wins away from having his dream of walking out on the court and seeing the blue bubble with white lettering that read NCAA become a reality.

But the selection committee dashed those dreams on Sunday. So instead, Theodore was walking out onto the familiar floor of Walsh Gym. He still saw a blue and white logo at center court, but it was the Pirate logo he's seen on a daily basis over the last four years.