Two players I hope have good games today are Jamir Harris and Tray Jackson as both have struggled recently. Both are basically 3pt shooters who have struggled. Neither have the handle to slash to the basket but Harris appears to be buying into Sha’s defensive approach. Jackson appears a player without a position. Doesn’t have the handle or defense for the 3 spot and overwhelmed in the post. Imagine if Ndefo had his height and shooting ability. Jackson is an enigma who I hope turns his season around as we have no post players but Samuel or Ndefo.

Hansel Emmanuel, one-armed player for Northwestern St., scores first points​

Letdown?

Probably, but only a little.

Seton Hall 77
Drexel 60

Easily handled undefeated Auburn today, record stands at 8-2.

Steal a game in Piscataway tomorrow and we'll have 2 Quad 1 wins before the Big East schedule.

If anyone may have a single extra ticket for the game on Wednesday, my family and I would appreciate it.
My dad, brother and I have 3 season tix in Section 16--they can't make it, so bringing the wife and my 2 daughters--needing one more to get in the building.

I can scoop one up on StubHub if not, but figured I'd ask here first. Thank you in advance!

BRACKET WATCH​

Kenpom

The site now has a press pass and will be covering the Hall each game.

By Colin Rajala

New Jersey is a blue state in 2022 and not just because of the recent elections. Seton Hall traveled 32 miles down the Garden State Parkway Sunday evening to save their non-conference schedule, edging Rutgers University 45-43 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.

Seton Hall kept the sold-out crowd of 8,000 predominantly red fans at bay from the tip by matching Rutgers’ physicality and intensity with a grind it out approach that gave the Scarlet Knights just their fourth home loss in their last 25 games.

With the win, the Pirates have won six of eight meetings in the Garden State Hardwood Classic, including the last two, while extending their all-time series lead over their in-state rivals to 42-31.

Graduate forward KC Ndefo was awarded the Joe Calabrese MVP thanks to his late game heroics. The Saint Peters transfer and defending Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year recorded the go-ahead layup in traffic off a feed from junior forward Femi Odukale with less than two minutes to play, which would prove to be the game winning basket, following it up by blocking Rutgers star forward Clifford Omoruyi’s lay-up attempt with just over a minute remaining.

Ndefo filled the stat sheet – finishing his only appearance in the Garden Sate Hardwood Classic with nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist.

“I thought we played with a sense of urgency. I think these guys came in and understood the magnitude of the game, the rivalry, and these guys stepped up, especially this guy next to me (Ndefo),” Head Coach Shaheen Holloway said, after the game.

The Pirates did not have their best performance and failed to create any separation after shooting a paltry 10-18 (55.6%) from the foul line, but their mostly full complement of rotation displayed just enough grit and determination to prevail. The Pirates shot 15-44 (34.1%) from the field and 5-21 (23.8%) from three, while holding Rutgers to similarly shooting statistics, 14-43 (32.6%) from the field, 5-17 (29.4%) from distance and 10-11 (90.9%) from the charity stripe, while turning over the Scarlet Knights 19 times, including 12 steals (six from junior guard Kadary Richmond) and four blocks.

Seton Hall saw just one player score in double figures, junior forward Dre Davis, who recorded ten points off the bench in his return to action after sitting out the last three games with knee tendinitis. Pacing the Pirates were senior guard Al-Amir Dawes with eight points and junior forward Femi Odukale and graduate guard Jamir Harris with six apiece.

The Hall set the tone early on, establishing a significantly slower pace than they have for much of the season, giving little room for the Rutgers faithful to work themselves into a frenzy and influence the game. Dawes and Harris each knocked down long range shots in the first five minutes of the contest before a Dawes drive and layup put Seton Hall up 10-7 with 13 minutes remaining to prompt Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell to take his first timeout.

With Omoruyi watching from the bench with two fouls, the Pirates would go on a 7-0 run behind a three from Davis and layups from Richmond and Ndefo to extend their lead to 19-12 with six minutes left in the half.

Pikiell reinserted Omoruyi back into the lineup and he scored five of the teams next seven points as Rutgers tied the game up at 19 with more than three minutes left in the half. The Scarlet Knights continued their run to end the half, outscoring the Pirates 14-3.

Entering the second half without any momentum and an energized crowd, things got worse for Seton Hall as Dawes, senior forwards Tyrese Samuel and Tray Jackson each picked up their third foul in the first three minutes and change of play.

A layup from Rutgers junior forward Mawot Mag assisted by senior guard Paul Mulcahy gave the home team its largest lead of the game, 30-23, leaving the Pirates reeling and prompting a Holloway timeout with more than 16 minutes left on the clpck. The Hall would force six Rutgers turnovers over the ensuing six minutes, including three steals from Richmond and two from Odukale, as it chipped away at the lead on a 7-0 run, which was capped by a Richmond steal and assist to Odukale for a layup to tie the game up at 33 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Again, the Scarlet Knights would regain their lead and extend it to 38-34 with nine minutes remaining after graduate guard Caleb McConnell connected from distance off an assist from Omoruyi. Seton Hall answered with a 6-0 run of its own over the next two and a half minutes to regain the lead 40-38 after Davis slashed across the paint and connected on a tough fading layup contested by Omoruyi.

The teams would go back and forth for the next four minutes with Davis giving the Pirates back the lead 43-42 on a pair of free throws with just under three minutes remaining. A McConnell free throw squared the game up at 43-43 with 2:18 left before Ndefo’s go-ahead game winning layup with 1:54 remaining.

The Hall had chances to extend their lead late, but McConnell blocked a Richmond layup attempt, while Davis was unable to covert a contested fast break layup with 31 seconds remaining. Rutgers had two final looks to tie the game up in the final ten seconds, but Mulcahy missed a fadeaway shot from the baseline and junior forward Aundre Hyatt came up short on a close range put back, allowing Seton Hall to escape with the two-point victory.

“I told my guys I thought the score would be something like this, I thought it was going to be a slugfest. We’re starting to understand who we are on the defensive end. Getting everybody back was key for us, and I thought Dre Davis and Kadary were huge, but a good win for us, good steppingstone to where we want to be and where we want to go, so we’ve got to continue it up,” Holloway said.

Seton Hall will close out its non-conference schedule Wednesday evening Dec. 14, hosting Drexel University, before it opens Big East Conference on Saturday, Dec. 17 at home against defending conference champions Providence.

1. Connecticut 11-0
Since day one

2. Xavier 7-3
Three close losses to Indiana, Duke and Gonzaga

3. Marquette 8-3
Routed Notre Dame on the road Sunday

4. St. John's 10-1
Soft schedule to date

5. Creighton 6-4
4 losses in a row

6. Villanova 5-5
Getting in gear

7. Seton Hall 6-4
Phew. 45 points is a W?

8. Butler 8-3
Playing well but no signature wins

9. Providence 8-3
Did Charmin set up this schedule? Best W against Kenpom #196 Rhode Island

10. DePaul 6-4
Taken to the cleaners by St John's

11. Georgetown 5-6
John Thompson must be rolling in his grave

1. Not much better than beating RU at their place, credit to coaches and players for coming out ready to play and putting everything behind them.

2. Was our best defensive game of the season by far. Hopefully this is the start of the team buying in to what Sha is preaching.

3. Ndefo with his best game in a SHU uniform by far, I think a lot of that has to do with him playing the 5 and not being on the wing as much as he has.

4. Dre Davis is probably our best all around player. He needs to be on the floor as much as possible. Good scorer and knows the game well.

5. Richmond did not have the best offensive game, but he was great on defense and was crashing the boards. Was a key part to the win.

6. Harris has to have his minutes cut down. He is the weak spot and not a surprise we seemed to play better without him. Would like to see Sanders get some of his time.

If anyone may have a single extra ticket for the game on Wednesday, my family and I would appreciate it.
My dad, brother and I have 3 season tix in Section 16--they can't make it, so bringing the wife and my 2 daughters--needing one more to get in the building.

I can scoop one up on StubHub if not, but figured I'd ask here first. Thank you in advance!

Game 11: Drexel Dragons (5-5) at Seton Hall Pirates (2-1)
Wednesday, Dec. 14 • Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) • 7 p.m.
TV: FS1 • John Fanta & Jim Spanarkel
Web: FOX Sports Live
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / SXM 381, SXM app 971 / Dave Popkin & Kim Adams
Game Notes: Seton Hall | Drexel
Follow Along: Instagram | Twitter | Live Stats
Game Promotion: TEAM WALKER ACCEPTING NEW & UNWRAPPED TOY DONATIONS ON CONCOURSE

GAME PROMOTIONS​

• Help make a difference in the lives of Jersey City children by donating to the Team Walker Toy Drive! Led by Pirates Hall of Famer and two-time BIG EAST Champion Jerry Walker, Team Walker representatives will be up on the concourse near section 18 accepting new & unwrapped toys that will go to students of the Team Walker After School Program.

MOBILE TICKETING
Moving forward all tickets to gain entry into men's and women's basketball home games will be fully digital, which will help to make entry to Prudential Center and Walsh Gymnasium safer and easier for fans.

This transition to digital ticketing through a smartphone will also help to make ticket transactions more secure while reducing fraud and counterfeiting. Tickets are accessible through the SHU Pirates Mobile App, available to all iOS and Android devices. For more information and to watch an informational video, click here.

CASHLESS POLICY
Cash will NOT be accepted at concession stands, retail locations or the Box Office.
Pay with a debit or credit card using tap to pay, chip or swipe, or mobile payment, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. For guests needing to convert cash to a card, Reverse ATMs are available with no fees by sections 1, 14, 125 and inside the Box Office Lobby.

NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Seton Hall returns to Prudential Center for the first time since Nov. 20 as they welcome Drexel to Newark for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday.
• The Pirates are 83-12 (.874) all-time at Prudential Center against non-conference opponents and are 3-1 this season.
• Seton Hall has won 13 of its last 14 games against non-conference foes at The Rock.
• Seton Hall's average margin of victory vs. non-league opponents at Prudential Center this season in its three victories is 34 points.
• The Hall is coming off of a rivalry victory as it retained the Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy with a 45-43 win at Rutgers on Sunday.
• Rutgers' 43 points marked the fifth time this season that the Pirates held their opponent to 55 points or less.
• The Pirates held the Scarlet Knights to 17 points in the second half, forced 19 turnovers in the game and tallied 12 steals.
• Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) was named the Joe Calabrese Game MVP after tallying nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks made three game-winning plays in the waning moments.
• Seton Hall has racked up 23 steals over its last two games, the most in a two-game stretch since December 2016 (10 vs. Columbia on 12/1, 13 vs. Hawaii on 12/6).
• Since last season, The Hall is 7-2 (.778) in games decided by one possession and 9-3 (.750) in games decided by five points or less.
• In Holloway's last 21 games as a head coach, his teams have allowed just 59.8 points per game and only four opponents have scored more than 70 points.
• Seton Hall ranks second in the BIG EAST in both field goal percentage defense (39.7 percent) and three-point field goal defense (28.4 percent).
• The Pirates ranks 33rd in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency rankings.
• The Hall is 138-21 (.868) since 2015-16 when its lead gets to seven points.
• Shaheen Holloway is the first Seton Hall graduate to lead the program since all-time great Richie Regan '53 led the Pirates from 1960-70.
• Looking to make the patented Seton Hall senior leap is Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) who ranks third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg).
• Samuel posted his fourth career double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) and his second of the season in the win over Lincoln.
• Samuel, who registered nine double-figure scoring games all last season, has already scored in double figures in seven of Seton Hall's 10 games this season.
• Ndefo is the NCAA's active career leader in blocks with 328.
• Junior Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) returned on Sunday at Rutgers and dropped a game-high 10 points and dished out two assists in his first game back since Nov. 25.
• He ranks second on the team with 11.2 points per game off the bench.
• Junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied six steals in the win at Rutgers, the most by a Pirate since Quincy McKnight had six steals at Creighton on 2/17/19.
• The Pirates look to generate offense at the free throw line as they rank fourth in the country in free throw attempts per game (27.3 FTA pg) and rank 10th nationally in free throw makes per contest (18.4 FTM pg).

Jeff Borzello
ESPN Staff Writer

NO link yet

GAME NOTES

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2022

SETON HALL (7-3) vs. UCF (6-1)

ORLANDO, FLA. – Addition Financial Arena – 3:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN+

Radio: 89.5 FM WSOU or WSOU.net

Live Stats: SHUpirates.com

THE GAME

Seton Hall will have a quick turnaround and return to action on Sunday, Dec. 11 when it travels to Orlando, Fla. for a non-conference contest at UCF. Tip time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

MEDIA

The game will be streamed live by ESPN+. As usual, the game will also be available over the airwaves at 89.5 FM WSOU and at wsou.net. Mike Federico and Spencer Gonzales will describe the action on the radio. Live stats will also be available.

WSOU is now also airing a postgame “Hall Line” show following its women’s basketball games. Be sure to tune in after the final buzzer.


LAST GAME

The Seton Hall women’s basketball team forced 30 turnovers and held Rider to just 11 first half points in a 78-40 victory at Walsh Gym on Friday for its fifth straight victory.

With the score tied at two, The Hall went on a 23-3 run to close out the first quarter and never looked back.

Senior Sha’Lynn Hagans (Manassas, Va.) led four Pirates who reached double-figures in scoring with 16 points. Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.), Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) and Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) also had at least 10 points.

Seton Hall All-Time vs. the Knights: UCF leads, 1-0

Only Meeting:

UCF 68, Seton Hall 56 (F) – December 14, 2021 (Walsh Gym)

LAST TIME AGAINST UCF

The Pirates rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to make it a one-possession game entering the fourth, but ultimately fell to UCF, 68-56, last year in Walsh Gym.

The Pirates out-scored the Knights, 18-to-12 in the third quarter, but couldn't complete the rally in the fourth.

Andra Espinoza-Hunter scored a team-high 15 points to go with four assists and two steals after returning from an injury scare just a minute into the game. Sidney Cooks added 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

SCOUTING UCF

UCF is coming off one of their most-successful seasons in program history. The Knights won the American Athletic Conference Championship and finished with a 26-4 overall record. UCF upset Florida by 17 points in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 5 Connecticut by only five in the second round. Diamond Battles was named AAC Player of the year and was an All-America Honorable Mention. Brittney Smith was tabbed as The American's Sixth Player of the Year. Masseny Kaba and Tay Sanders both garnered third team all-conference laurels.

This year, the Knights were picked to finish eighth in the 11-team league according to the preseason coaches’ poll. New head coach Sytia Messner has a number of new faces, including five transfers and three freshmen. POTY Battles transferred to Georgia, while Smith, Kaba and Sanders all graduated.

UCF enters Sunday’s contest with an impressive 6-1 record. They are coming off their lone loss of the season an 86-46 rout at Auburn on Dec. 3. Among their impressive earlier victories is a double-overtime win against Samford on Nov. 26. Destiny Thomas and Laila Jewett are averaging in double-figures in scoring for the Knights with Thomas leading the way at 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest.


UP NEXT

Seton Hall will next return to action when it makes the short trip to The Bronx for a local non-conference game at Fordham on Saturday, Dec. 17. Tip time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The contest will be available on ESPN+. Mike Bellifemini and Will Swankie will describe the action for WSOU FM.

Stats

Pretty good listen from two alums.

16. New York Giants 7-5-1 (13)​

The Giants have won just once in their last six games, after the blowout loss. Saquon Barkley, who is fighting through shoulder and neck injuries, carried nine times for 28 yards. The Eagles’ 48 points were the most scored on a Wink Martindale-coordinated defense (Ravens included) and 253 rushing yards are the most allowed by Big Blue since 2014.

17. New York Jets 7-6 (16)​

Point the finger at the offensive line not protecting Mike White, who left the game twice but returned both times — only to be taken by ambulance to the hospital to have his ribs examined after the loss to the Bills. Tough days for running back Michael Carter (lost fumble in fourth quarter) and cornerback Michael Carter II (two penalties).

Syracuse 42 - Monmouth 40 at halftime. WOW!!!