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##### 2024 BIG EAST Prediction Contest: March 2-3 #####

As we enter March, we have.....a ballgame! A 5-0 session this week moved @vegaspaul82 to 78-17 on the season, now within two games of @GrMtWoods with three sessions (15 games) remaining in the season. Our front runner has held the lead since the very first session back in mid-December. Will GrMtWoods shut the door, or will Paul continue to chip away? Three players are tied for third, four games behind. It's crunch time now.


Saturday, March 2

Butler (15-13, 7-11) @ DePaul (3-25, 0-17) - 12:00 PM - FS1 - Wintrust/Chicago

Villanova (16-12, 9-8) @ Providence (18-10, 9-8) - 12:00 PM - FOX - AMP/Providence

#5 Marquette (22-6, 13-4) @ #12 Creighton (21-8, 12-6) - 2:30 PM - FOX - CHI/Omaha

Xavier (14-14, 8-9) @ Georgetown (9-19, 2-15) - 7:30 PM - FS1 - CapOne/DC


Sunday, March 3

SETON HALL (18-10, 11-6)
@ #3 Connecticut (25-3, 15-2) - 12:00 PM - CBS - Gampel/Storrs

Seton Hall at UConn

3 CONNECTICUT

LOCATION Storrs, CT

CONFERENCE Big East

LAST SEASON 31-8 (.795)

CONFERENCE RECORD 13-7 (t-4th)

STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 2/3

NICKNAME Huskies

COLORS National Flag Blue & White

HOMECOURT Gampel Pavilion (10,167)

XL Center (15,564)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE UConnHuskies.com

COACH Dan Hurley (Seton Hall ’96)

RECORD AT SCHOOL 104-55 (5 years)

CAREER RECORD 255-160 (13 years)

ASSISTANTS
Kimani Young (UTEP ’98)
Tom Moore (Boston University ’87)
Luke Murray(Fairfield ’07)

WINS (LAST 5 YRS.) 16-19-15-23-31

KENPOM RATING (LAST 5 YRS.) 98-52-21-22-1

2022-23 FINISH Won NCAA championship.

There really are 3 tiers in BE.

Marquette playing without reigning POY and all BE Oguadala (2nd team) in a battle with Creighton at Creighton is showing me how far we really are from upper echelon. We had a few guys not feeling well and got destroyed at Creighton.

It really is UCONN, Marquette and Creighton, all others in 2nd tier except for Gtown and DePaul in a class by themselves.

Biden Shamed Into Consideration Of Executive Orders on Border In Election Year

Biden feeling the heat so he is considering reinstating some of the Trump type executive orders to control border.Maybe some of his defenders on this board will say he not a hypocrite he has simply evolved No worries lefties if he wins re-election he will cancel the orders.Maybe he will continue building the wall.AOC accusing him of Trump like behavior.What a heresy

NCAA makes major NIL decision after bombshell ruling


By Bryan Fonseca

A major NIL decision has forced the NCAA’s hand.

After another loss in the courtroom, the NCAA has decided to pause investigations regarding NIL collectives backed by boosters and their deals with Division I collegiate athletes.

NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a memo to member schools on Friday addressing the ruling.

This comes one week after a Federal Judge threw the NCAA into chaos with an antitrust suit going against NCAA rules and recruiting inducements.

The letter from Baker, obtained by the Associated Press, was intended “to pause and not begin investigations involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities.”

“There will be no penalty for conduct that occurs consistent with the injunction while the injunction is in place,” Baker wrote in the letter. “I agree with this decision, while the progress toward long-term solutions is underway and while we await discussions with the attorneys general. In circumstances that are less than ideal, this at least gives the membership notice of the board’s direction related to enforcement.”

Former attorney and college athletics administrator Joshua Lens added, “The NCAA is essentially saying we’re not going to do something that’s been deemed illegal.”

Lens later highlighted that Baker didn’t mention Congress in his Friday address.

“That’s fascinating to me because almost all of his statements in the past several months, if not longer, have been kind of this open plea to Congress to get involved,” Lens said. “Now, today, that wasn’t mentioned.”

“There will be no penalty for conduct that occurs consistent with the injunction while the injunction is in place,” Baker wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “I agree with this decision, while the progress toward long-term solutions is underway and while we await discussions with the attorneys general. In circumstances that are less than ideal, this at least gives the membership notice of the board’s direction related to enforcement.”
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March Madness Pool

Wanted to let everyone know that I will be running the pool again this year for all that are interested. Please feel free to share with friends and family. Each year we've gotten more and more participation and I hope this year is no different. I will post official pool details in the coming days:

2021: 23 entries $1,150 prize pool
2022: 32 entries $1,600 prize pool
2023: 39 entries $1,950 prize pool

Total raised for PirateBlue: $940+

Seton Hall Heads To Storrs To Take On No. 3 UConn


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Game 29: No. 3 UConn Huskies (25-3, 15-2 BIG EAST) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (18-10, 11-6 BIG EAST)
Sunday, March 3 • Storrs, Conn. • Gampel Pavilion (9,882) • 12 p.m.
TV: CBS • Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery & Tracy Wolfson
Web: cbssports.com/watch/college-basketball
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / SiriusXM 380 / SXM App / Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Game Notes: Seton Hall | UConn
Follow Along: Instagram | X | Live Stats


Notes You Need To Know
  • Winners of five of its last seven games, the Seton Hall men's basketball team concludes its stretch of back-to-back road games against two top 12 teams on Sunday at No. 3 UConn.
  • Picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the BIG EAST preseason poll, the Pirates are in sole possession of fourth place in the BIG EAST standings at 11-6.
  • Seton Hall has posted at least nine BIG EAST wins the last nine seasons, the longest stretch in program history.
  • Seton Hall's eight 10-win seasons since realignment in 2013-14 is tied for second in the BIG EAST:
10+ BIG EAST Win Seasons since 2013-14
1. Villanova - 10
2. Seton Hall - 8
Creighton - 8
Providence - 8
5. Marquette - 5

  • After posting the best season by a first-year head coach in program history, Shaheen Holloway is once again raising the bar for Seton Hall head coaches as he now owns the most wins and BIG EAST victories by a head coach in his first two seasons.
Most Wins Most BIG EAST Wins

1. Shaheen Holloway (2022-24) - 35 1. Shaheen Holloway - 21

2. Kevin Willard (2010-12) - 34 2. Tommy Amaker - 17

3. Tommy Amaker (1997-99) - 30 3. Louis Orr (2001-03) - 15

Richie Regan (1960-62) - 30 Kevin Willard - 15

  • Holloway is one of only eight coaches in BIG EAST history to win 10 BIG EAST games in each of his first two seasons, joining Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Jamie Dixon (Pitt), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Paul Evans (Pitt), Buzz Williams (Marquette), Mike Jarvis (St. John's) and Chris Holtmann (Butler).
  • Kadary Richmond was one of 40 Div. I players named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy and All-America Watch List on Tuesday.
  • In six career games against UConn, Richmond is shooting 51 percent from the floor and averaging 15.8 ppg, his most PPG against any opponent (minimum 4 games).
  • Dre Davis is making a case for being the BIG EAST's Most Improved Player of the Year as he's gone from averaging 18.8 minutes and 9.6 points per game last season to 31.8 minutes to 14.2 points per game this season.
  • Jaden Bediako ranks second in the BIG EAST and seventh in Division I averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds per game.
  • The Pirates are 16-5 this season when Al-Amir Dawes scores in double figures and 7-2 when he's the team's leading scorer.

Weekend preview: Impact of injuries being felt entering March


No. 5 Marquette Golden Eagles (22-6, 13-4 Big East) at No. 12 Creighton Bluejays (21-8, 12-6)​

Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX

In the two games prior to Wednesday's 91-69 win over Providence -- victories over DePaul and Xavier -- Tyler Kolek recorded 28 assists and three turnovers. The Golden Eagles are a more fluid team when the potential All-American and NBA prospect is both a potent scorer and effective distributor. Marquette is 12-1 when Kolek finishes with at least eight assists in a game this season. He has averaged 5.6 APG and 2.8 turnovers per game in Marquette's six losses. In his team's lopsided loss at UConn last Saturday, he finished with three assists and four turnovers. It's no secret whom Creighton will attempt to stall in this matchup ... but only if Kolek is available. He left Wednesday's game with an oblique injury. If he can't go, everything changes. Even a fully healthy team would have a challenge with this Creighton squad.

Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.1 PPG, 2.9 BPG) has been a force on both ends of the floor for Creighton. But the Bluejays, who take 3-pointers on nearly half of their field goal attempts, can get disrupted by their volume shooting. After a big win over UConn last week, they shot 6-for-26 from beyond the arc in a 14-point road loss to St. John's on Sunday. Then, that same group hit 41% of its 3-point attempts in a Wednesday victory over Seton Hall. Kolek or not, Marquette will have its hands full with this Creighton squad.

Medcalf's pick: Creighton, 86-80; Against the spread: Creighton (-4.5)

Gilbert Homers Twice, Drives in Six on Day One at FIU Classic


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Miami, Fla. – Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.) hit a pair of home runs and drove in six as Seton Hall took care of North Dakota, 8-4, in game one of the FIU Classic on Friday. The Pirates nearly had a perfect start to the weekend, but a four-run rally by FIU in game two of the day handed Seton Hall a 6-5 defeat.

Game 1: Seton Hall 8, North Dakota 4
How it Happened

  • The Pirate bats got to work quickly, as Katey Brennan (Yardley, Pa.) put the Pirates on the board with an RBI single in the top of the first.
  • North Dakota answered back in the second inning with a four spot to take a 4-1 lead.
  • Gilbert began Seton Hall's offensive charge, hitting a two-run home run to left field to make it a one-run game in the third.
  • One inning later, Gilbert would bring home another run on an RBI single to score Taylor Hill (Little Falls, N.J.) with the tying run.
  • In the fifth, Caroline Hobbes (Bay Shore, N.Y.) would put The Hall ahead for good with an RBI single.
  • Gilbert would add some insurance in the sixth, clubbing a three-run home run to make it an 8-4 game.
Notes & Numbers
  • Gilbert's multi-home run game is the first of her career and the second for the Pirates so far this season.
  • This is Gilbert's fourth-career three-hit game.
  • Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) collected a base hit, score two runs and drew three walks in the game.
  • Sydney Babik (Gilbert, Ariz.) picked up the win in the circle, pitching all seven innings and allowing just two base hits.
Game 2: FIU 6, Seton Hall 5
How it Happened

  • For the second straight game, Brennan got the Pirate bats going early. Her two-run single in the first inning score Gilbert and Lela Allen (Phoenix, Ariz.).
  • FIU got on the board with a run on an infield single in the second inning to make it a 2-1 game.
  • The Pirates stretched their lead in the fifth, as Hill and Carr had back-to-back RBI singles followed by a bases loaded walk by Erin Howard (Skillman, N.J.) to grow the lead to 5-1.
  • FIU came back with a run in the fifth and four runs in the sixth to take the victory.
Notes & Numbers
  • Brennan picked up two hits in both games on Friday, the first two-hit games of her career.
  • Each of the top six batters in the Seton Hall order collected at least one base hit.
What's Next
The Pirates will play two more games on Saturday at the FIU Classic, starting with UIC at 10 a.m. and once again at 3 p.m.
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