The 2023 Garden State Hardwood Classic is SOLD OUT! |
| South Orange, N.J. - The Seton Hall ticket office has announced that the 2023 Garden State Hardwood Classic between Seton Hall and Rutgers, to be played this Saturday, Dec. 9 (8:30 p.m.), at Prudential Center is sold out! Fans interested in tickets are now limited to the secondary market and can search verified resale listings on Ticketmaster or their preferred secondary market outlet. This marks the seventh straight game in the series and the fourth straight time at Prudential Center that the battle between New Jersey's premier basketball programs has sold out. In a rivalry that began in 1916 and exploded when the two teams were in the BIG EAST Conference together (1995-2013), Seton Hall leads Rutgers in the all-time series 42-31 (.575). Seton Hall has also had a grip on the series advantage since becoming a member of the BIG EAST Conference in 1979-80, going 34-19 (.642). The Pirates have won six of the eight contests since the Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy was created in 2014. Erected on a farm in Cumberland County, N.J. by Colin Pezzano, the 32-inch, 33-pound trophy consists primarily of recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks that were recovered in the rebuilding process that followed Superstorm Sandy. The main structure has been carved out to replicate the physical layout of the state of New Jersey and is set in a base that resembles the features of a basketball. The numbers "1916" have been engraved in the wooden structure as well, honoring the year in which the teams first met, while the athletics logos of the respective programs have been included in a position that corresponds to their geographic location. Fans coming to the game on Saturday can snap a picture with the Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy up on the concourse behind section 18 pregame from 7:30-8:15 p.m. Fans who miss out on tickets to the Garden State Hardwood Classic can still catch the Pirates at home twice more in the month of December. Seton Hall hosts fellow New Jersey school Monmouth this Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m., and will host No. 5 UConn on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. Single game tickets to both of these games and all remaining Pirates home games in 2023-24 are available on Ticketmaster. |
