NEWARK, N.J. -- "We just got knocked back down to Earth, that's all. We were on could nine for the last couple of weeks."

Those were the postgame thoughts of Seton Hall forward Brandon Mobley, after his team's stunning 64-60 loss to DePaul on Thursday.

The Pirates did climb pretty high -- all the way to No. 19 in the AP poll three Mondays ago, their highest national ranking since 2001. Back-to-back wins over then-No. 15 St. John's and No. 6 Villanova did the trick.

But back-to-back home defeats at the hands of Butler and DePaul will send now-No. 24 Seton Hall back to the region of the unranked.

"The ranking's been great," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "[But] I think losing three out of four is motivating this team."

This game was within the Pirates' grasp. They bounced back from a 10-point second-half deficit to take an eight-point lead, 55-47, with just under six minutes left.

But they couldn't put the Blue Demons away. And with a chance to tie the score in the closing seconds, trailing by two, reserve Stephane Manga drove into the lane and turned the ball over on an attempted dish to Angel Delgado.

"We were trying to come over and call a timeout," Willard said. "Even then, [Manga] got right to the front of the rim -- he probably should have just laid it in or try to get fouled. But guys who aren't used to calling timeouts probably don't call 'em."

But truth be told, a win would have been near-miraculous considering Seton Hall's offensive performance. The Pirates shot 18-for-60 from the field (30 percent), 1-for-16 from beyond the arc, and missed 12 free throws.

Delgado was a monster, with 19 points and 19 rebounds. But the Pirates' other four starters shot a combined 9-for-42. Sterling Gibbs, the third-leading scorer in the Big East, was 2-for-16. As a team, Seton Hall made only one shot outside the paint in the entire game -- a Jaren Sina 3-pointer late in the second half.

"We didn't shoot the ball well, but I think we got a lot of good shots," Sina said. "I think it was just one of those days."

Said Willard: "I expected us to be a little bit rusty coming off eight days [off] -- I didn't expect us to be that much. But give them credit. They did a good job on Sterling, they did a good job of getting out on us."

DePaul now finds itself, believe it or not, at the top of the Big East standings -- 5-2 in conference play, tied with Georgetown and Providence. Seton Hall, meanwhile, has fallen back to the middle of the pack at 3-3.

But remember, this is a young team. Willard started two freshmen and a sophomore Thursday. And preseason Big East East Rookie of the Year Isaiah Whitehead has missed the past seven games because of a stress fracture in his foot.

"We miss him greatly," Willard said. "We don't have anybody else right now that can kind of take a load off the way he can."

Willard indicated Whitehead probably will miss at least three more games. That means a potential return Feb. 3 in a rematch at DePaul, with plenty of season left to make a difference.

"To be honest with you, I thought we'd be going through this a lot earlier, especially without Isaiah," Willard said. "I'm unbelievably disappointed to be 3-3 because we had two home games, but at the same time to be without one of our best players and be 3-3, it's not a bad spot to be in.

"I really believe when we get him back it's just gonna kind of give us a boost we desperately need."

Maybe even a boost back into the top 25.