SAN DIEGO — The whistle blew and Jared Rhoden couldn’t believe it. Neither could Kevin Willard, who stood there motionless on the sideline. 

A questionable fifth foul, an offensive foul on the Seton Hall star, was called. Rhoden’s night — and likely his career — was over. The Pirates’ season was at that point, too, for all intents and purposes. 

It was an apt summation of the evening for Seton Hall: Everything that could go wrong did. Rhoden was bedeviled by foul trouble. The eighth-seeded Pirates were pushed around at both ends of the floor, embarrassed by No. 9 TCU, 69-42, in an NCAA Tournament South Region first-round game that could wind up being the final game of the Willard era in South Orange. 

Amid rumors that Willard will be leaving Seton Hall to take the vacant job at Maryland, his team failed to show up. It struggled mightily offensively and put up no resistance on the defensive end. It trailed by 24 points halfway through the second half in by far the worst Seton Hall showing in the NCAA Tournament with Willard as its coach. The Pirates made TCU look like a national championship contender, dropping to 1-5 in the tournament under Willard. 

It was a layup line for TCU, which owned the paint, outscoring Seton Hall there, 40-14. The Pirates didn’t have an answer for TCU star Mike Miles, who had 21 points, or the Horned Frogs pick-and-roll that led to frequently open shots close to the basket. In what could be his final game at Seton Hall, Rhoden scored just five points on 2 of 7 shooting in 17 foul-plagued minutes. Jamir Harris and Myles Cale each had 11 for Seton Hall, which was held to 29 percent shooting from the field and crushed on the glass, 39-26. 

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Seton Hall played one of its worst — if not the worst — offensive halves of the season over the first 20 minutes. It missed 23 of its first 28 shots, and at one point had as many turnovers (five) as made field goals (five). It finished the half with 21 points, the school’s fewest in 30 NCAA Tournament games. 

Rhoden missed five of his shots and was in deep foul trouble. As a team, Seton Hall settled, taking long, contested jump shots and shying away from physical TCU inside. On the other end of the floor, the Big 12 school imposed its will by forcing its way into the paint and to the free-throw line. The Horned Frogs led by as many as 13, on the strength of a 16-5 run, and seemed ready to blow the game open. Consecutive 3-points late in the half by Cale and Harris did make it a manageable nine-point deficit at the break. 

The Pirates were fortunate to be that close, after shooting a woeful 27 percent from the field, attempting only two free throws, committing nine turnovers and getting outscored in the paint, 14-6. 

It didn’t get better after the break. Willard started Alexis Yetna and Tyrese Samuel over Tray Jackson and Ike Obiagu, but it didn’t matter. Damion Baugh hit a wide open 3-pointer for TCU, and despite Miles picking up his third foul and going to the bench, soon the lead was up to a game-high 16. And when Emanuel Miller stripped Kadary Richmond and scored on the other end, it was 45-25 with 14:12 remaining. 

It somehow got worse for Seton Hall. This was a night the entire program would like to forget, and it may wind up as the end of Kevin Willard’s mostly successful 12-year stay at the Big East school.