Any word on the injury

Against Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster for threatening the person behind Big East films and Divine Providence

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South Orange, N.J. – Following another successful semester in the classroom, Seton Hall student-athletes have once again reached a mark no cohort of Pirates has reached before. The Fall 2023 grades have been calculated, and the department currently boasts a record-best 3.518 grade point average (GPA), and all 14 varsity programs are above 3.10.

The new record-high GPA furthers Seton Hall Athletics' rise as a department that develops some of the brightest student-athletes in the country. The cumulative GPA has significantly risen over the last dozen years, from 3.174 at the end of 2011 to today's 3.518. The department cumulative GPA has been above 3.40 since 2018.

Additionally, 174 student-athletes made the Seton Hall Dean's List during the Fall 2023 semester, representing approximately 63 percent of the student-athlete population. To achieve Dean's List designation, students must have a 3.4 GPA or higher during the semester.

"Through hard work and effort, our student-athletes continue to flourish in the classroom while also balancing their sport responsibilities and personal lives," Seton Hall Director of Athletics Bryan Felt said. "Their ability to multitask and manage their time helps set them up for success in all areas and will greatly help them prepare for life after graduation. Congratulations to our student-athletes for another banner semester, and congratulations to our academic support staff, coaches, and administrators for their efforts in ensuring our student-athletes are on the path towards success."

All 14 programs currently boast cumulative GPAs above 3.10 with women's tennis team at the top of the department at 3.804. Men's swimming and diving has the highest GPA among the male sports at 3.506. In total, eight of Seton Hall's 14 teams have a cumulative GPA above 3.50.

In the Fall 2023 semester, the Pirates combined for a 3.497 semester GPA with women's golf leading all teams at 3.824 and men's cross country leading all the male teams at 3.724.

Men's basketball, the department's highest-profile team with eight consecutive finishes in the top-half of the BIG EAST and NCAA bids in six of the last eight tournaments played, continues its upward trajectory in academics. The team has a 3.259 cumulative GPA, up from 3.224 at the end of 2022-23. The program's Fall 2023 GPA was 3.318.

Women's basketball, which has competed in national postseason seven out of the last nine tournaments played, also continues to show its academic strength. The program has a 3.141 cumulative GPA and was solid in Fall 2023 with a 3.151.

Men's soccer, which has developed three CSC Academic All-Americans since 2020, has the second-highest men's cumulative GPA at 3.494. Just last month, junior Sam Bjork was named a CSC second-team Academic All-American and has a 4.0 GPA while studying economics.

Seton Hall Athletics continues to be a leader and developer of the best and brightest in the nation. Annually, over 85 percent of the department's student-athletes achieve at least a 3.0 GPA in the classroom and receive numerous honors and accolades in support of their achievements. Seton Hall supports its student-athletes with outstanding mentoring and tutoring, led by the Academic Support Services staff, and offers its student-athletes a state-of-the-art learning environment in the Charles W. Doehler Academic Center for Excellence, which consists of a main study area, group meeting spaces and private tutoring rooms.

Am I the only one that thinks Brown has looked poised and confident in the last two games? I think he can give us 10 minutes a game in conference.

Welcome back Kadary!🏴‍☠️

till 30s during an ass beating. why do you think he did it?

The Hall has to make his life difficult. He plays too free and easy, especially against SHU He killed us at The Big East Tournament and was 4-4 from three launching one shot after another. He' the guy who sets the tone. He was 6-8 from three against Marquette, maybe DePaul's best games of the year. The new coach has them playing with more fire although they lost to both Marquette and Creighton. The good news is Gibson,Johnson, Anei and Ongenda are gone. Have to be careful of Jeremiah Oden, DeSean Nelson and Elijah Fisher all about 10ppg. They were 10-20 from three in that last game debacle at MSG. Terry and Nelson were,part of that contest. Seton Hall should be OK if they play intense,defense.

it’s apparently not allowed in Bidunce’s America

Look at the possible sentences they are receiving for truly peaceful protesting.

Sounds like China or Iran

By Zach Braziller

On Wednesday, Villanova wasn’t tough enough, pushed around for the better part of 40 minutes by previously struggling St. John’s.

Three days later, it couldn’t close out a win over mediocre Butler, blowing an 11-point lead in the final 4:23 of regulation.

It was a very un-Villanova week, out-muscled one game and unable to execute in key moments the next.

Except, maybe this is what this program is at this point.

At least, this is what the Wildcats have been the past two seasons, aside from the November exception that was the Battle 4 Atlantis Classic in the Bahamas where they beat three projected NCAA Tournament teams in Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis, in convincing fashion.

And as the inconsistency and underperformance has piled up, the focus has intensified on coach Kyle Neptune, Jay Wright’s successor.

The answers haven’t been there for a team that was ranked 22nd in the Associated Press preseason poll and added projected impact transfers TJ Bamba (Washington State), Tyler Burton (Richmond) and Hakim Hart (Maryland) to the core of Eric Dixon, Justin Moore, Jordan Longino and Mark Armstrong.

The transfers are all having significantly worse seasons compared to last year, while Moore hasn’t been himself since missing five weeks with a sprained knee.

At times, it looks like a team without a leader, which is a pretty jarring thing to say for a group with so much experience.

It was beaten up by St. John’s on Wednesday, out-rebounded by 19 and dominated over the final 10 minutes, outscored by 15.

The loss to Butler was worse.

Villanova was up 17-3 out of the gate, and allowed a layup and a dunk at the end of regulation and the first overtime that tied the game in both instances.

Again, just not stuff you have seen from this program over the last decade. Villanova is now headed to the bubble, 11-9 overall and trending in a bad direction having lost five of the last six games.

Neptune’s biggest issue is time — he doesn’t seem to have much of it. Expectations were too high for this team to underachieve like it has. The shoes he stepped into may be too big, at least at this point in his career. A second straight season without an NCAA Tournament bid would make next year likely a make-or-break season for him — and that’s if Neptune sees next year.

Personally, I don’t think the Neptune criticism is completely fair. This is his third season as a college basketball head coach. He’s 39 years old. The problem was the hire to begin with. I get that Villanova wanted to keep it in the family, and Neptune served as an assistant for Wright from 2013-21, but this was an impossible spot for an inexperienced head coach. In Wright’s third year as a head coach, he went 12-15 — at Hofstra. He didn’t win 20 games until his fifth season.

It’s easy to fault Neptune, which so many are. The team isn’t performing up to expectations — it is one of the most disappointing teams in the country, now in danger of missing the tournament — so it’s natural to point the finger at the coach. Odds are, though, that whoever took over for Wright would struggle.

You can’t adequately replace a Hall of Fame coach. Villanova is finding that out.

Garden of dreams​

Next Saturday is lining up to be a monster day at the Garden, a doubleheader featuring St. John’s-Connecticut at noon and the Knicks-Lakers in the evening.

After throttling Xavier by 43 points on Sunday, the Huskies will enter the meeting with the Johnnies No. 1 in the country.

St. John’s looks like a tournament team in Rick Pitino’s first season, and has proven to be able to play with the league’s best teams, falling by a combined six points to No. 1 UConn, No. 14 Marquette and No. 17 Creighton.

Then, there is the subplot of Pitino saying he wanted to play the Huskies at Carnesecca Arena next year, which was a way to tweak UConn and Dan Hurley. That’s not going to happen, although there is clearly a burgeoning rivalry and some underlying animosity between the two intense coaches.

St. John’s came away feeling it should’ve won the first contest between the two in Hartford, a four-point loss, back on Dec. 23. UConn star center Donovan Clingan missed that game, it should be noted................................

There were no newcomers or teams falling out of the top-25 this week but there was some movement among the best teams in the country.

No. 16 Sierra Canyon jumped eight spots after erasing a 17-point fourth quarter deficit against No. 25 Notre Dame. The Trailblazers closed out on a 28-7 run to pull the upset in front of Sierra Canyon alum Bronny James.

Meanwhile, Paul VI climbs up two spots after three more wins while Don Bosco Prep joins the top 10 and Columbus drops two spots after a loss.

Here are this weeks prep basketball rankings.


1. Montverde Academy (FL) 22-0
2. Paul VI (Va.) 18-2
3. Prolific Prep (Calif.) 23-4
4. Columbus (Fla.) 19-5
5. Link Academy (Mo.) 19-4
6. Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) 12-3
7. AZ Compass (Az.) 18-5
8. La Lumiere (Ind.) 14-3
9. Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) 15-3
10. Dynamic Prep (Texas) 16-1
11. Archbishop Stepniac (N.Y.) 14-3
12. Brewster Academy (N.H.) 17-5
13. Oak Hill Academy (Va.) 17-3
14. Wasatch Academy (Utah) 12-3
15. Myers Park (N.C.) 17-2
16. Sierra Canyon (Calif.) 24-1
17. Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) 23-3
18. Bullis School (Md.) 17-2
19. Bishop O'Connell (Va.) 15-4
20. Combine Academy (N.C.) 19-2
21. Jackson-Reed (Washington D.C.) 23-2
22. Gonzaga HS College (Washington D.C.) 18-3
23. Grayson (Ga.) 19-2
24. Plano East (Texas) 28-0
25. Notre Dame SO (Calif.) 24-2

Game 22: DePaul Blue Demons (3-18, 0-9 BIG EAST) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (13-8, 6-4 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, Jan. 30 • 9 p.m. Eastern • Chicago, Ill. • Wintrust Arena (10,387)
TV: FS1 • Matt Schumacker & LaVall Jordan
Web: FOXSports.com/Live
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / SiriusXM 392 / SXM app 982 / Dave Popkin
Game Notes: Seton Hall | DePaul
Follow Along: Instagram | X | Live Stats​

NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Winners of eight of its last 12 games going back to Dec. 12, the Seton Hall men's basketball team will look to snap a three-game losing skid in Chicago on Tuesday as the Pirates face DePaul at 9 p.m. at Wintrust Arena.
• Picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the BIG EAST preseason poll, the Pirates sit in fourth place in the BIG EAST standings at 6-4, one game in the loss column behind both third-place Marquette and second-place Creighton.
• After dropping its league road opener at Xavier on Dec. 23, the Pirates have won three of their last four BIG EAST games as the road team including Quad 1 wins at then-No. 23 Providence and Butler.
• Jaden Bediako is coming off of a season-high 18-point, eight-rebound performance at No. 14 Marquette on Saturday.
• Four of Bediako's eight rebounds were on the offensive glass.
• Jaden Bediako leads the BIG EAST and ranks fifth in Division I averaging 4.1 offensive rebounds per game.
• With starting point guard Kadary Richmond out the last two games, freshman Isaiah Coleman has taken his place in the starting lineup and he's averaged 32.0 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and shot 56 percent from the floor.
• Tuesday's matchup will pit two former MAAC head coaches against one another in Shaheen Holloway and former Marist head coach and Haddon Heights, N.J. native Matt Brady.
• Both Holloway and Brady were their respective alma maters top assist leaders as Holloway is still Seton Hall's career leader with 683 assists and Brady left as Siena's all-time assist getter with 593 career dimes.
• The Pirates are 23-10 all-time against DePaul and they've won seven of the last nine meetings against the Blue Demons.
• Seton Hall is one of 12 teams in Division I with at least four Quad 1 wins (Purdue, Boise State, Arizona, Houston, Kansas, UConn, Villanova, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Northwestern.)
• The Pirates' 4-4 record against Q1 opponents ranks 20th in the country.
• Seton Hall is one of 10 teams in the country with multiple wins over top 10 teams along with Purdue (4), Kansas (3), UConn (2), Iowa State (2), Kentucky (2), Mississippi State (2), North Carolina (2), Northwestern (2), TCU (2)
• Of the Pirates' six wins in BIG EAST play, three have come against ranked opponents (No. 5 UConn, No. 23 Providence, No. 7 Marquette).
• Kadary Richmond has paced Seton Hall early on in BIG EAST play as he ranks in the top 10 in scoring (3rd, 18.8 ppg), rebounding (6th, 8.1 rpg), assists (2nd, 5.8 apg), free throw pct (8th, .854) and steals (3rd, 2.5 spg) against league opponents.
• Richmond earned his league-best fifth BIG EAST weekly honor of the season on Monday after averaging 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and. 2.5 steals per game in a 1-1 week.
• Five of Richmond's eight career 20-point games have come in BIG EAST play this season.
• Seton Hall ranks 10th in KenPom's DI experience metric (3.05 years) and that experience has been proven to be valuable in tight games.
• The Pirates are 4-2 this season in games decided by five points or less and 6-4 in games decided by 10 or less.
• The Hall is 12-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• The Pirates are shooting 79 percent as a team from the free throw line, a clip that ranks second in the BIG EAST and seventh in the country.
• The Pirates are 12-3 this season when Al-Amir Dawes scores in double figures and 6-1 when he's the team's leading scorer.
• Dre Davis has scored in double-figures in each of the last 11 games and he's averaging 15.3 ppg in that span.

By Mark Mincolelli

*Originally published in The Setonian

SOUTH ORANGE -- Dirtied wrist tape and sunflower seeds began to clutter the dugout floor as Seton Hall watched its 2023 season wane. For the second time in three seasons the Pirates had lost each of their first two games of the Big East Conference tournament, and their hopes of end-of-the-season hardware were cut abruptly.

Packed into a quiet bus, players sat with an indescribable disappointment. As tears trickled down the eye-black caked faces of dozens of Pirates, its leader provided them solace.

Devin Hack assured his teammates he would be back in 2024. His time in Seton Hall blue was far from over, as was the pursuit of a BIG EAST title. A decision that took him just a few short hours to announce, Hack made it clear he would be returning for a fifth year.

"I'm in there until the end," Hack said. "I've got another opportunity to come back, I'm going to come back, no hesitation."

A season that marked a new beginning for the program and its revamped coaching staff would see the Pirates outshine the expectations of the collegiate baseball universe. The club was slated for 5th place in the 2023 conference preseason poll as non-qualifiers for the tournament, but Seton Hall would win 31 total games (13 in conference) and punch their ticket to Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio as a three-seed. The offense had rediscovered its identity, logging a .291 batting average as a team complimented by 40 home runs, the most in program history since 1999. On the mound Seton Hall registered a 4.43 staff earned-run average (ERA), ranked 31st in the nation. Led by Hack, the BIG EAST named three Pirates to its First Team All-Conference Award itinerary, and Seton Hall had reestablished itself as a fixture in conference play.

For Hack, however, a year that had concluded without a championship victory was again an uneasy pill to swallow.

"Growing up, every single age group that I ever played since tee ball I have been the guy that never stops," Hack said.

Despite the team's disappointing fate in 2023, Hack has instilled a poised energy in the clubhouse again, and the Pirates will be out for blood moving forward into their ensuing campaign.

Ever since he made his debut, Hack has been a force. Despite going hitless, he managed to score and make a sparkling dive to record an out late in a tight contest against the 20th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Pirates would end up dropping the opener that season, but a full-extension grab by a kid from Somerville, N.J. would foreshadow a decorated career of stout defense and pesky, fighterish play. That grab did more than just open eyes; it showed himself what he was about. "Being able to make that play against an ACC school, on the big stage, on TV, it was like 'hey man, I can do this,' and ever since then I just knew I could stack up to everyone else," Hack said.

His problem was not stacking up, it was staying up. As an underclassman, Hack was undersized for a next-level player, and a serious AC joint tear at the end of his sophomore season brought to his attention the need to build his body stronger. Standing at six feet and 170 pounds, the outfielder was forced to endure the grind of college athletics at a more rigorous clip than the average player, so a bulk was inevitable. One-arm kettle bells and hours in the weight room became his best friend, and en-route to becoming the player he is now physically, Hack internalized the need to make changes while still preserving his skill set of speed and athleticism.

On the mental forefront, though Hack has always been strong, he needed to be able to lean on veteran leadership. Hack was unsure of what to expect in South Orange, New Jersey when he first enrolled. Harder classes, nastier pitching, and of course a new social climate were givens, but for an 18-year old kid who's world was going to be entirely altered, he benefited from figures who possessed the same qualities that he holds today.

"I know how valuable it is to have a leader that can guide you and help you because I had those leaders." said Hack. "(Connor) Hood, (Matt) Toke, and Shed (Tyler Shedler-McAvoy), those were the guys I looked up to. They showed me what Seton Hall baseball is."

Some of the most head-strong, successful ballplayers the university has ever housed would breed another of their stature in Hack.

Much like when the torch was passed to Hack from his grandfather Ronald Butkiewicz, an alumni of Seton Hall baseball who played on the 1964 College World Series team, the torch was passed from Hack's role models to the man himself. As always, the challenge has been met. A natural leader with an innate motivation for driving the teammates and staff members around him, Hack is the anchor of the outfield and has been unwavering in his ability to be someone the clubhouse can rely on.

"Devin leads by example, but when he does talk, his words are really impactful and everyone stops and listens," fellow redshirt senior and teammate Jonathan Luders said. "He naturally knows when the right time to say something is, and even the right time to say it. I look up to him because he is just very aware."

A career .290 hitter, Hack has scored 88 runs for the Pirates while stealing 47 bases. In 325 defensive opportunities, he has made one error. Tracking down difficult fly balls at tough angles are a crucial part of his game, and sacrificing his body for outs has become his identity as a player.

"There is not a better player that drives the team from every aspect. From offense to defense to his leadership, he is invaluable," head coach Robert Sheppard said. "Even some of the plays he makes look routine, they are not routine, but because of the way he plays and the anticipation he has and the jumps he makes, even where he positions himself, he covers a lot more ground than a lot of other players."

After being named to the 2024 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, Hack looks ahead at what could be his final season in his blue number 21 jersey with clear eyes and a full heart.

"It gets more and more important to me every time," Hack said. "Every time I put it on, it is one less time I get to put it on. That jersey means a lot. I have put a lot into this game, and that jersey holds a lot of importance in my heart."

As the sun begins to rise on a brand new season, Hack and the Pirates hope to be sizing for rings in May, and holding up a conference trophy for the rest of their lives. The chance to solidify his team's place in Seton Hall glory is what he came back for. Loyal to the program that he understands has given him so much, Hack sees the opportunity in front of him for what it is: a chance to go out on his own terms, and a chance to do it for this school.

"It did not matter if I got an offer from Wake Forest, LSU, I would have stayed at Seton Hall," Hack said. "I think that a big problem today is guys are just transferring out to go to a better team, and a better team. Man, Seton Hall is my team."

DePaul Blue Demons​

TEAM INFO​

1. Connecticut 18-2
C'mon, did you expect anyone else?

2. Creighton 16-5
Winning 7 of 8 has them a hair over Marquette.

3. Marquette 15-5
All over the map recently. Lose to SHU and Butler and then win your next 4.

4. St. John's 13-7
Since the destruction by the Hall playing much better.

5. Providence 14-6
3 in a row, but the schedule will soon toughen.

6. Butler 14-7
Same as Providence. I expect them to drop.

7. Seton Hall 13-8
Gotta play the cards you're dealt. But at full strength can play against anyone but UConn.

8. Villanova 11-9
Most overrated team in the conference. Have lost last 4.

9. Xavier 10-10
Say what? Lost by 43 point last game.

10 Georgetown 8-12
Well, at least Cooley got out of Providence alive.

11. DePaul 3-17
0-20?

My lifelong friend Harty is having surgery at this very moment for an Achilles Tendon tear. He will be out of action for a few months on his road to recovery and I wish him the very best.

They don't make 'em like Harty. Doubt he has an enemy in the world.

For our amusement

By Mike Vaccaro

Joanne Pitino has been there from the start, from the days and nights in high school when she would retrieve free throws under the basket at the St. Dominic’s High School gym, with the faint promise of a trip to the beach when her then-boyfriend decided he was done. For years, they have both told the stories of how that usually turned out.

“A lot of trips to Carvel instead,” she said with a laugh a few years ago.

This time, though, Joanne figured her husband had officially taken leave of his senses. It isn’t that she’s unaware of the signs that have buzzed around Rick whenever it seemed like he was targeted for a move; that’s been a part of the deal from the start, when Jim Boeheim famously interviewed him for an assistant’s gig at Syracuse the night of their wedding.

It’s just that after all the moves, after all the stops, he had finally earned about as comfortable a spot as the job allows its most ambitious practitioners. He was already in the Hall of Fame. He worked for bosses he liked at Iona, coached players he enjoyed, had an enthusiastic fan base that would’ve signed him up to be coach for life in New Rochelle.

The capper: Their house sits off the third green at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, which is exactly 4.2 miles from the Iona campus. You can get there in 11 minutes by car. On nice days you can ride there by bike.

“The older you get,” Pitino, 71, says with a laugh, “the more something like an easy commute to work really starts to appeal to you.”

So yes: When Rev. Brian Shanley, St. John’s president, came last spring to pitch Pitino on expanding his commute, going back to the Big East grind, on swapping Iona’s mid-major royalty status for the St. John’s blow-it-up-and-start-from-the-dust rebuild, Joanne had a simple question for Rick.

“Are you nuts?”

All these months later, Joanne is enjoying the ride every bit as much as Rick is, every bit as much as a wholly revitalized St. John’s fan base is. The Johnnies are nearing the end of a weeklong break in the schedule, fresh off a blowout win against Villanova, and on Wednesday they’ll travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier, knowing that top-ranked Connecticut will be waiting for them at the Garden on Saturday.

That promises to be the most anticipated St. John’s game at the Garden in years, precisely the kind of day Shanley had in mind when he poached Pitino away from the Gaels, exactly the kind of moment that coaxed Pitino to quadruple (on good days) his commute.

“We’re still playing catch-up,” Pitino says. “When I took the job I knew there was a lot of work that needed to be done but I didn’t know exactly how deep the rebuild had to be, on the court, off the court, infrastructure. We have a lot to do. But this has been a nice start to the process.”

The Johnnies have already established themselves as a legit NCAA contender, sitting at 13-7 and 5-4 in the league. Their metrics are solid; as of Monday they sat at 35 in the NET (fourth in the Big East) and were 7-6 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams. More to the point, they’re playing their best basketball now, save for a hiccup two weeks ago at Seton Hall.

“Our message now, every game, is a simple one,” Pitino says. “Play this game as if you want to go to the NCAA Tournament.”

Pitino, of course, has been there plenty; if he takes the Johnnies, that will be a sixth different school he’s taken, which would move him alone past Lon Kruger and Tubby Smith, the only other ones to do it with five. The bulk of his players, though, are still chasing that elusive goal. Daniss Jenkins and Cruz Davis went with Pitino at Iona. Nahiem Alleyne with with UConn, Zuby Ejiofore at Kansas. That’s it.

That, as much as anything, fuels Pitino right now.

“They’re all hungry to do what they can to leave here a winner,” Pitino says. “They’re hungry to prove it to themselves that they can get to the tournament because most of them know how difficult it is. We’ve seen glimpses where we’ve been a really good road team. And we’re hopeful it will continue.”

There’s this, too: Pitino is one of thousands of kids in and around the city who grew up at a time when St. John’s was the gold standard for them, a time before you could see any college team you wanted on TV. Pitino saw plenty of games at Alumni Hall growing up, idolized Sonny Dove. He never played there, preferring to go away to school.

But he’s there now. Back in the Big East. Back in the city. Preaching the city game.

“There’s so much we need to get done here,” he says. “So far, so good.”

Stats

Just three weeks removed from a four-point road victory at Providence, Seton Hall found itself on the opposite side of things as the Friars got their revenge, handing the Pirates a four-point loss, 67-63, Wednesday evening at the Prudential Center.

The back-and-forth matchup, which saw five ties and 12 lead changes, was the second straight home loss for The Hall after they opened the season 8-1 at home and began conference play by winning six of their first seven.

It was an uphill battle for Seton Hall (13-7, 6-3), which was playing shorthanded as Big East player of the year candidate Kadary Richmond sat out for undisclosed reasons, as the Pirates shot 21/65 (32.3%) from the field and 5/16 from long distance (31.3%) in the game.

The Pirates found themselves leading at the half 31-30 thanks to an 8-0 run over the final two minutes despite shooting 10/36 (27.8%) from the field, which included just two field goals from two of the three players expected to primarily shoulder the load with Richmond out. Graduate guard Al-Amir Dawes was just 2/11 from the field for eight points, while senior guard Dylan Addae-Wusu was scoreless in the opening frame, shooting 0/8.

Despite the poor shooting, The Hall found themselves up in the second half, extending their lead to ten points, 51-41, on a three from Dawes with less than 13 minutes remaining.

Dawes started out the second half shooting a blistering 7/7 from the field, including 2/2 from three, for 16 points before Providence Head Coach Kim English assigned Devin Carter the task of slowing him down and denying him the ball, which proved effective as Dawes wound up shooting 0/4 from the field over the course of the final six minutes of the matchup.

“I thought we came out, obviously if I would have known he wasn’t going to play a couple days ago, I probably could have had some stuff going on in practice and made some other guys [fill in]. But when you find out at 2:30-3, it’s kind of hard to adjust your game plan for stuff like that. But for the most part, I thought we came out, when we ran our offense, I thought we got some good stuff. When we didn’t run our offense, we kind of struggled. I thought we ran our offense and got the lead up in the second half, and I tried to get some main guys some rest and Providence came out, made a couple threes, and then we came back in and we weren’t in sync at all. And I think that was the difference,” Seton Hall Head Coach Shaheen Holloway said, in the post-game press conference.

Leading 55-50 with less than nine minutes remaining, Seton Hall went scoreless from the field over the ensuing four minutes, committing three turnovers and missing five shots from the field, including two bunnies, while Providence reeled off 10 straight points as part of a larger 19-4 run, capped by a dunk from Josh Oduro to take a 60-55 lead, which they would not surrender the rest of the way.

Seton Hall had chances to cut into Providence’s narrow margin down the stretch, but the Pirates inability to execute down the stretch without Richmond or manufacture points in crunch time proved to be the difference in the tight contest.

Leading Seton Hall was Dawes with a career high 26 points on 9/22 shooting, including 2/6 from long range, to go along with three assists and three steals.

“Al’s a basketball player. He played point guard in high school, he’s been a playmaker for us. I thought he did a solid job, I thought he got a little tired down the stretch, but when you’ve got guys like [Devin] Carter and [Jayden] Pierre guarding you the whole game, they’re two good physical defenders, I thought they wore him down a little bit,” Holloway said, after the game.

Senior forward Dre Davis tallied 16 points on just 4/11 shooting, while freshman guard Isiah Coleman, who made his first career start in Richmond’s absence, posted 11 points, four rebounds and two steals.

“I thought he was solid. I thought he came in and found out this afternoon, took the challenge and I thought he played well. Obviously when you lose the game, it’s kind of hard to sit back and say who played well. We didn’t get the job done,” Holloway added.

Pacing Providence was Davonte 'Ticket' Gaines with 17 points on 5/7 shooting from distance, Josh Oduro with 16 points, including 12 in the second half, alongside eight rebounds and Devin Carter with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

The Pirates outrebounded the Friars 39-32, including 20-8 on the offensive glass, and held the advantage in second chance points, 15-8, and points off turnovers, 21-9, to keep the game close despite their poor shooting.

Seton Hall will return to action with a two-game road trip that begins at Marquette on Saturday at 1 p.m. and ends Tuesday evening at DePaul at 9 p.m.