What’s going on? Chamber half empty.

Second-year Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway's program has taken off this season on Dre Davis' development.​

LESLIE MONTEIRO

No one thought the Seton Hall Pirates were a tournament team at the start of the season.

Seton Hall was picked ninth in this year’s Big East preseason coaches’ poll. This meant coaches thought the Pirates would be bottom feeders after coming off a 17-16 season in Shaheen Holloway’s first season as their coach.

The fans had no expectations.

Holloway hoped someone other than Kadary Richmond would step up for his program to trend in the right direction.

He received that from Dre Davis all season long, which is why the Pirates will likely be a tournament team after he scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in their 66-56 victory over the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night at Prudential Center.

The Pirates shooting guard averages 14 points per game.

We can talk about Richmond being the guy for the Pirates, but they wouldn’t have taken a step forward if Davis had not developed into a reliable player for them this season.

Davis was doing it all in this contest against Villanova. We can talk about his shooting, but his defense against Villanova’s shooters played a role in a scoring drought that lasted 13 minutes from the final first half to the start of the second.

Seton Hall got 40 minutes of him.

Davis epitomes everything about Holloway’s coaching with his grit and development.

Holloway’s practices tend to get longer as the season progresses since he wants to know if his players are tough enough. Players talked about practice being intense after recent losses to Creighton and Connecticut.

This makes Davis’ 40 minutes of work stand out. For him to log that many minutes in a game the Pirates had to win shows his character. He revealed his will to win and toughness right there.

Even when Davis struggled at the start of the game, missing two 3-pointers and turning the ball over a couple of times, he did not get down on himself. He kept shooting, and eventually, things went his way after he hit his first 3 of the game in the second half, which resulted in several more jumpers and being in a position for the free-throw line a couple of times.

He scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half.

He also had seven rebounds, four blocks and a steal to complete his night.

When the Pirates need a bucket, Davis delivers.

When the team needs a steal, he comes through.

When it needs a rebound, he’s right there.

It seems he’s gotten stronger as the season has gone along. This is good timing with Seton Hall getting ready to play in the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

After being a pedestrian player in his first two seasons in Louisville and finding his way as a transfer at Seton Hall last season by scoring nine points per game, Davis has finally had his breakthrough season. It’s a credit to how Holloway has coached him and how he has improved.

He scored double figures for five straight games and has scored in double figures 25 times this season.

His improvement shows there that transfers can benefit from playing for Holloway.

And yes, Davis did put in the work by working on his shooting in the offseason to be in the position he’s in right now.

When the Pirates beat UConn at Newark this season, it became a revelation that they could be better than people think, and that set the stage for their season. In that game, Davis scored 17 points; and that breakout game set the stage for what his season has become.

There’s a correlation between Davis’ success and Seton Hall wins.

In a team with plenty of transfers, it was important that Davis somehow figured it out. There were many unknown transfers out there, and Jaden Bediako certainly contributed this season along with former St. John’s player Dylan Addae-Wusu.

But no one made a more tremendous impact than Davis when elevating the team.

He has made Richmond’s job easy in carrying the scoring load.

Davis has made the most of his senior season. He’s given Seton Hall hope now and even in the future for other transfers that can use the school to fix their game.

He showed this season that development matters for Holloway’s program to bear fruit.

Lets go, we got a smackdown last week, get up now at home, shake it off and GET IT DONE

What a performance to finally beat that team! Great effort, especially on defense.

What a great win after a tough week. Showed a ton.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2024
2024 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT, presented by JEEP
#10 DE PAUL (12-19) vs. #7 SETON HALL (16-13)
** FIRST ROUND **
UNCASVILLE, CONN. – Mohegan Sun Arena
1:30 p.m. ET

LIVE VIDEO: BIG EAST Digital Network on FloHoops
(John Fanta & Kim Adams, Meghan Caffrey on sidelines)

LIVE AUDIO: 89.5 FM WSOU or WSOU.net
(Ryan Henry & Ryan Johnston)

FOLLOW ALONG: StatBroadcast | Instagram | X (Twitter)
GAME NOTES: SETON HALL | DE PAUL

THE GAME
Seton Hall will begin play at the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament, presented by JEEP, on Friday, March 8. The No. 7 seeded Pirates will face No. 10 seeded DePaul at 1:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

MEDIA
The game will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available for FloHoops subscribers with the immortal duo of John Fanta and Kim Adams on the call and Meghan Caffrey on the sidelines. As usual, the game will also be available over the airwaves at 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net. Ryan Henry and Ryan Johnston will describe the action on the radio. Live stats will also be available.

WSOU is also airing a post-game "Hall Line" show following its women's basketball games. Be sure to tune in after the final buzzer.

STREAM INFORMATION
The contest will streamed on FloHoops, one of the leading streaming services in the world. Special Seton Hall pricing is available only through this link for fans who want to subscribe to watch Seton Hall events, home and away, as well as all other live events on the FloSports platform. Fans with an .edu school address can purchase a subscription for $6.99 per month, and all other fans can purchase a subscription for $12.50 per month. The non-Seton Hall pricing on FloHoops is normally $29.99 per month.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
Here is the seeding for the BIG EAST Tournament, presented by JEEP…
1. Connecticut
2. Creighton
3. St. John's
4. Villanova
5. Marquette
6. Georgetown
7. SETON HALL
8. Butler
9. Providence
10. DePaul
11. Xavier

IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
Seton Hall is 27-38 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Pirates have won their last two first round games. The Hall hasn't lost in the first round since a 76-51 setback to St. John's in the 2019 event. The last time the Pirates played DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament, The Hall fell to the top-seeded Blue Demons, 83-80, in Chicago in 2020. The Hall is 0-4 all-time against DePaul in the tournament.

LAST GAME
Graduate student Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) had a game-high 23 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team lost to No. 23 Creighton, 72-65, on Senior Day in Walsh Gymnasium on Sunday.

The Pirates led at the half, but an 11-0 third-quarter run by Creighton proved to be the difference-maker as The Hall couldn't draw even afterward. Seton Hall was just 12-for-21 from the free-throw line which made its comeback attempts more difficult.

With the loss, the Pirates will be the No. 7 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and will face No. 10 seed DePaul in the first round on Friday at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

In addition to Baines, Sha'Lynn Hagans (Manassas, Va.) and Kae Satterfield (New York, N.Y.) also scored in double-figures. Hagans had a season-high 16 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. Satterfield had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Seton Hall All-Time vs. the Blue Demons: DePaul leads, 24-7
2023-24 Meeting:
Seton Hall 91, DePaul 78 (F) – February 17, 2024 (Walsh Gymnasium)

AGAINST DE PAUL
Seton Hall and DePaul will square off on Friday for the 33rd time in history. The Blue Demons have largely dominated the series, winning 24 of the prior meetings, but the Pirates have won three of the last four contests, including their lone regular season meeting this season. The Hall is 0-4 all-time against DePaul in in the BIG EAST Tournament.

FIRST MEETING THIS YEAR
All five Seton Hall starters reached double-figures in scoring as the Pirates defeated DePaul, 91-78, in an offensive outburst on Seton Hall vs. Cancer Day in Walsh Gym, on Feb. 17.

The Hall used an 8-0 run, just minutes into the contest, to take the lead and never trailed again. Seton Hall pulled down 45 rebounds, a season-high in BIG EAST play, and shot 46.5 percent from the field.

Seton Hall had five players reach double-figures in scoring for the first time in over two years. Savannah Catalon (Burleston, Texas) and Micah Gray (Oklahoma City, Okla.) tied for the team lead with 21 points apiece. Sha'Lynn Hagans (Manassas, Va.) collected a season-high 15 points on the strength of 3-for-4 from three-point range. Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) and Kae Satterfield (New York, N.Y.) finished with 13 points apiece.

SCOUTING DE PAUL
DePaul closed out the 2023-24 regular season with a 12-19 overall record and a 4-14 mark in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 10 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Blue Demons haven't won in a month and enter the event with a six-game losing streak. Most recently, Villanova's Lucy Olsen beat the Blue Demons with a buzzer-beating game-winner on March 3.

The Blue Demons are still one of the higher scoring teams in the BIG EAST, ranking fourth with 65.6 points per game, but they're giving up 73.6 points per game, which ranks second-most in the conference.

Anaya Peoples leads the Blue Demons with 15.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in conference play. She had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in DePaul's loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 17.

UP NEXT
With a victory, Seton Hall will advance to the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals and meet Creighton for the fourth year in a row. The Hall would face the No. 2 seeded Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be nationally televised on FS2 with John Fanta, Kim Adams and Meghan Caffrey on the call. Ryan Henry and Ryan Johnston will continue to carry the WSOU broadcasts.

St. John's or Nova??? I'd rather play the Johnnies. We already beat them twice. I know the old adage that it's hard to beat a team 3 times in one season, but when Nova gets hot from outside they are so dangerous. Thoughts??

Help me understand this...
- Hochul calling up the National Guard to police the subway.
- Four people that dismembered a couple of bodies walk out with no bail.
- Woman who clubs a musician on the subway with a bottle, walks out with no bail and then is arrested for theft a few days later.
- Hochul trying to protect biological males to compete against women.\
- Subway crime up 13%.

Can we stop the narrative that nothing has changed it the city?

Went into NYC this past weekend to see "Enemy of the People" - which is a great limited run play with Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli. Walking from Penn Station to the theatre on 50th and Broadway - What a freak show. The Naked Cowboy is not even close to being the most "colorful" performer. The play although originally from the 1800's is an interesting comparison to where we are today regarding opinions being dangerously shouted down.

Give this a shot after the Wed games.

I'll do a composite for our site and send it to Rivals for their posting the Monday after the season concludes

First Team (5 selections)
Second Team (5 selections)
Third team (5 Selections)

Player of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Freshman of the Year
6th Man of the Year

Oh what a day tomorrow will be for BE fans.

4 games of major importance.

First the Marquette at X game spread 3.5. If X fans can will their team to beat a Kolek-less Marquette team at 5pm that would make our 8:30 game a win and we get the 3 seed. 3 seed is huge as you play the tired winner of the 9:30 game from the night before, whereas the 4 gets a rested 5 seed. LETS GO X.

In the alternative, if Marquette wins then who do we want:
3 teams tied at 10-9 looking for that 5 seed and first round bye: Providence, Nova and SJU

Prov is home v UConn
Nova is home to Creighton
SJU V GTOWN

Who would you want to see if we ended up in the 4-5?

I would prefer Prov. who we beat and then should have beat in second game.
I do not want to see Nova again within 8 days of beating them.
I do not want to see a revitalized SJU team who we killed twice, at the Garden

Great read.

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By Colin Rajala

Seton Hall has competed against Villanova as hard, if not harder, than any other Big East team since the reformation of the conference a decade ago, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that by the head-to-head
record against the Wildcats over the last four years, which stood at 0-8 entering tonight’s matchup.

The Pirates removed the proverbial monkey off their backs with a 66-56 victory over Villanova in front of a sold-out Prudential Center Wednesday evening, which has guaranteed Seton Hall at least a fourth-
place finish in conference play after being picked to to finish ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll.

With the victory, Shaheen Holloway’s 100th as a collegiate head coach, Seton Hall notched its sixth Quad 1 win, which is tied for 10th most in the country, to close in on securing an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2022. The Hall can lock up a bid to the big dance with a victory over a winless DePaul team at home Saturday evening on Senior Night.

“I look at every game as a must-win game this time of year. I don’t look at it and say, ‘okay, we need to win this game more than that game.’ Obviously, we want to come back and play better than we played
the last two games on the road, right? It’s good to be back home. I thought we had a good crowd ... I thought they made the difference, and anytime we get a good crowd, it’s always great for us,” Holloway
said in the post-game press conference.

Villanova entered the matchup winning five of their last six games, including two straight, and came out of the gates strong, seizing a 10-4 advantage on two shots from long range and two layups less than four minutes into the game.

“We wanted to make a big thing of taking away the three. I thought the first five minutes of the game, they came out and hit a couple threes. We called a timeout, we kind of adjusted ... I thought for the most
part, we chased them off the line a little bit and made them take some tough twos.” Holloway said.

Seton Hall closed the score to 13-12 on a three-pointer from senior forward Dre Davis off a dish from senior wing Dylan Addae-Wusu seven minutes into the game, but the Wildcats held the lead for much of
the first half, staving off the Pirates best efforts to take their first lead. That is until graduate guard Al-Amir Dawes received a pass from senior guard Kadary Richmond and buried a shot from long range for
the Pirates first lead of the game, 23-22, with less than three minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

Little did the raucous sellout crowd know, The Hall would not trail the rest of the game.

Dawes’ three was part of a 10-2 Seton Hall run to end the half with a 30-24 advantage.

“It was chippy for a reason. I’m gonna leave it like that. It needed to be chippy. I knew we were gonna come out and play hard. You can’t come out and say, ‘okay, we’ll come out and win.’ Obviously, you
prepare to win. Villanova’s a good team, they’re playing very well right now, they’ve got a winning pedigree, they’ve got a couple of guys that played in a Final Four. But the last two days was how it’s been
before the last two road trips. Probably a little bit extra sauce was added to it, and that starts at the top. These guys have to understand, and they understood,” according to Holloway.

The Hall left nothing to chance to start the second half and entered the first media timeout with a 41-29 advantage thanks to two triples from Addae-Wusu, another three from Davis and a layup from
Richmond, who scored his 1000th point as a Pirate in the contest.

The Pirates extended their lead to the largest of the game, 50-37, on a three pointer from Richmond off the assist from Davis to prompt a timeout from Villanova Head Coach Kyle Neptune with less than nine
minutes remaining in the game.

Villanova remains firmly on the NCAA bubble and would not go away, cutting the lead to 52-48 on two free throws from Brendan Hausen with five minutes to go before Seton Hall extended the lead back to
56-48 on two free throws from Davis and a layup from graduate center Jaden Bediako off the dish from Richmond.

Seton Hall finished a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes to lock up with the victory.

Richmond led all scorers with 20 points, including two triples, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.

“I’ve been preaching the whole year — since the beginning of the year — that I thought I had the best backcourt in the Big East, one of the best backcourts in the country. He’s playing like a Big East-caliber
player of the year. This is what he’s supposed to do, he’s supposed to carry us when we need to be carried,” Holloway said of Richmond’s performance.

Davis played the entire game for the Pirates, recording 18 points, including a couple of second half buckets to stymie any momentum shifting Villanova’s way, as well as seven rebounds, four blocks, two
assists and a steal.

“Dre’s been doing that the whole year for us. He’s kind of been our backbone anytime I need a big bucket, anytime we need some toughness. He’s playing out of position and I’ve asked a lot of him. He’s
just going out there and playing. He’s been doing that for us and we need it,” Holloway said.

Bediako finished with a double-double, 11 points and 12 rebounds, alongside two blocks, while Addae-Wusu tallied 8 points and 6 boards.

“I’ve been saying this from day one: Our big guys were going to be okay. Jaden just plays hard, understands who he is. He’s not trying to do things he can’t do. He sets screens, gets offensive rebounds, rolls to the basket when we get him some shots, plays hard defensively. He’s embraced his role, and when you have a guy who embraces his role, that’s what happens,” according to Holloway.

Seton Hall only allowed two Villanova players to score in double figures in the matchup - Eric Dixon (14) and TJ Bamba (11) and held the Wildcats to 19/54 (35.2%) shooting from the field and 9/27 (33.3%) from
distance, while also out rebounding the visitors 39-29.

anyone get their tickets for big east loaded to their account yet?

South Orange, N.J. - On February 24, Seton Hall Athletics welcomed five new members into its Hall of Fame, inducting all-time greats Fuquan Edwin '14 of the men's basketball team; Dawn Johnson '95 of the women's basketball team; Vickie Lamb '01 of the softball team, Kevin Morton '96 of the baseball team; and Peter Scavo '00 of the men's soccer team. The ceremony took place on campus at the University Center's Event Room in front of over 100 guests, and then the inductees were invited to be honored at halftime of the Seton Hall vs. Butler men's basketball game at Prudential Center.

Seton Hall Athletics's Hall of Fame now stands at 259 individuals and two teams. Full biographies on all Hall of Famers can be viewed at SHUPirates.com and in the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame area in the Richie Regan Recreation & Athletic Center. The induction ceremony plus interviews are also now available to watch on YouTube.

Gallery

Villanova, Pa. – The Seton Hall softball team hits the road to open BIG EAST play this weekend with a three-game series at Villanova. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m., with the series finale set for Noon on Sunday. All three games can be seen live on FloSoftball.

LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall wrapped up the last of its multi-team events down at the FIU Classic, coming home with a 3-2 record on the weekend. Two of the wins came as part of a doubleheader sweep over UIC on Saturday featuring a comeback win over the Flames capped off by a walk-off home run from Lauren Caye (Pittsburgh, Pa.). In addition to the wins over UIC, the Pirates also took down North Dakota in the opener.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA (8-11)

• The Wildcats were picked to finish first in the BIG EAST preseason poll
• Villanova and Seton Hall will meet for the first time since the BIG EAST Championship last season, where the Pirates took down the Wildcats to capture their first conference title since 2005.
• The Pirates went a perfect 4-0 during their championship run, including handing Villanova both of its losses in the tournament. In addition to the title game win, Seton Hall battled to a 9-6 win in nine innings over the Wildcats in the second game of the week.
• Reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Tess Cites leads the offense for Villanova with a .382 batting average, while Ally Jones trails close behind at .333 and a team-best 13 RBI. Pitchers Caroline Pellicano and Alyssa Seidler pace the pitching staff with each boasting sub-3.00 ERA's.
• Game two of the series this weekend will be the 100th all-time meeting between the schools on the softball field.

NEWS & NOTES

• Lauren Caye's walk-off home run was the first non-run rule walk-off home run for the Pirates since Baylee Allender hit one against Georgetown on April 6, 2019.
• For Caye, it was her first home run since April 16, 2022 against Georgetown.
• The Pirates have won 37 consecutive games when scoring six or more runs. Their last loss in such a game came on April 9, 2022 in an 8-7 loss to DePaul.
• Kyra Kreuscher was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 26 after her strong outing on Saturday against New Mexico State. The sophomore pitched all seven innings, allowing just five hits and two runs to pick up her second win of the season.
• Now in her sophomore year, Kreuscher has an ERA of 2.36 through the first 71.1 innings of her career.
• Taylor Hill was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 19 after going .500 (6-for-12) at the plate with three doubles, four runs scored and two RBI in the season's opening weekend at FAU.
• The Pirates were picked to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason poll, behind second-place UConn and first-place Villanova. Seton Hall finished in third place in last year's standings.
• Seton Hall will be tasked with replacing some key producers from last year's squad. Centerfielder and last year's team leader in batting average Abby Wingo, second baseman Ashly Colonnetta, and left fielder Marisa Pla have all graduated along with reserves Grace Dawson, Ally Taylor and Jordan Tressler. Pitcher Shelby Smith, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament, transferred to Houston. Catcher Regan Rand has also transferred to Division-II Indiana (Pa.).
• The Hall welcome in a pair of freshmen to the 2024 squad. Outfielder Katey Brennan and pitcher Karissa Dupuis will both look to be key contributors in South Orange this upcoming season.
• Seton Hall will face a tough non-conference slate in 2024, including matchups against three teams that won NCAA regional games last season an six opponents who won at least 34 games. Included in that bunch are dates with Grand Canyon, who pulled off a shocker last season against No. 2 UCLA, as well as a rematch of the Austin Regional elimination game against Texas State.
• The Pirates will face off against opponents from three of the power conferences this season: ACC (Louisville, Syracuse), Big 10 (Michigan) and PAC-12 (Arizona State).
• Head Coach Angie Churchill coached against her alma mater in Michigan last weekend for the first time in her career. Churchill was a four-year member of the Wolverines softball team from 2001-04, winning three Big Ten titles and reaching the College World Series three times.
• The Pirates earned several All-BIG EAST awards. Kelsey Carr was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Abby Wingo was named Defensive Player of the Year, and the coaching staff led by Angie Churchill was named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Carr, Wingo and Shelby Smith were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, with Carr being a unanimous selection.
• Carr is the first Pirate pitcher to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. The junior led the league in ERA (1.82), reaching that number after 61.2 innings of work. Carr only allowed more than two earned runs in a start just twice during BIG EAST play.
• Carr was one of just two players in the country last season to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA, hit 10+ home runs and drive in 50+ runs (Valerie Cagle, Clemson).
• Wingo was the first Pirate recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year award. The senior had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 31 chances in center field. Wingo had the third-highest number of chances among BIG EAST outfielders and had the most chances among center fielders in the league.
• Abby Wingo set new single-season records in base hits (71) and longest hitting streak (19 games) last season. Her .397 average led the club, and she only failed to collect a base-hit in consecutive games twice all year.
• Seton Hall's 18 BIG EAST victories last season were a new program record, and the team's 42 wins rank as the second-most in program history (46, 2004).
• Seton Hall's win over Villanova on Day Two of the BIG EAST Tournament was its 40th win of the season, reaching that plateau for just the second time in program history. Enterting the year, Seton Hall had not won 30 games in a season since 2005.
• The Pirates finished with an overall record above .500 for the first time since 2006, when they finished 29-27.