Willard’s Terps pounding in the final nail right now.

St. John's will be -6.5

Ambitious

This one should be quite interesting. Not sure there will be a big Seton Hall contingent at this game. Middle of the workday and pretty high secondary ticket prices. The UConn fans that remain for the second game may lean towards SHU. Probably a SJU home game feel to some extent. The SHU fans that are there will make their presence felt.

Either way Sha and his team have a tremendous opportunity to play at a high level and put to bed any chance of not getting a bid. Actually, SHU are shooting much better from that last game at UBS Arena against SJU(only 20 made Fgs and 3-15 from three). I think the key for SHU is to play a solid first half. Play with confidence. Pitino will pull every string he has in his arsenal to get this one. Most teams are converging on Dawes right now. He needs to cut down on the excessive dribbling and pass. Eventually, he'll get his shots if he does that. Stability from Davis and Focus from Richmond helps the cause. This game should come down to the last minute. Let's get this one and take another shot at UConn. This has been a surprisingly Awesome Season!

Willard was the perfect coach for Seton Hall prior to NIL. His strength was keeping and developing under-recruited players, as we didn't have the tools to recruit studs. I don't think Willard has the personality to mesh players who are strangers year in and year out, these are strengths that Sha possesses.

I think Pike will have chemistry issues moving forward and may be on this list next season.

I'm so pleased that we secured Sha when we did, good KARMA!

Kevin Willard, Maryland​

The early returns through two years of the Willard era with the Terrapins haven't been good. After going 22-13 with a second-round tournament exit last March, Maryland went 15-16 this season for the program's first losing finish under a non-interim coach since 1992-93. Willard had two losing records in his first three years at Seton Hall but would coach the Pirates to five tournament appearances, so a bumpy start in the Big Ten doesn't necessarily spell doom for the Terrapins. But at $4 million in compensation, the program should be getting more.

FINAL

• 
  Florida State
  86
• 
  Virginia Tech
  76

FINAL

• 
  USC
  80
• 
  Washington
  74

Big East, Frungillo party, we’re ready for the best week.

Doing NIL.....Jerry Walker, Jcalz, Al Frungillo and others just did $5k each over dinner.

I’m not doing $5k but it’s electric. Our next governor is in the room, 150 pirate fans… I’m doing what I can.

Who wants to match us?

Give $10 for Big East Wednesday.

Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer

Marquette star guard Tyler Kolek, who missed the final three games of the regular season with an oblique injury, is expected to be ready for the NCAA tournament, coach Shaka Smart said Wednesday.

Kolek won't play in the Golden Eagles' Big East tournament game on Thursday, but he's questionable for the rest of the tourney. As the 3-seed, they play the winner of Villanova vs. DePaul in the quarterfinals.

"He's still day-to-day and not planning on playing tomorrow, but he's close," Smart said. "He practiced for part of our session today, and he's been working out and continues to get treatment. The plan is absolutely for him to play next week, and he's really made good progress."

Smart also told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "If today was the national championship game, he would be playing."

The 6-foot-3 senior suffered the injury in a Feb. 28 win over Providence before missing the rest of the regular season. At the time, the school said Kolek would be reevaluated before the Big East tournament.

Kolek, a first-team All-Big East selection and a second-team All-American according to ESPN, is one of the nation's premier point guards. He's leading the nation in assists this season and ranked third a year ago, while also averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds.

The former George Mason transfer averaged 20.4 points and 9.6 assists during Marquette's eight-game winning streak in Big East play earlier this season and had 18 assists against DePaul on Feb. 21.

Kolek's availability could be something that comes into consideration for the NCAA tournament selection committee when it determines Marquette's seed. As it stands, the Golden Eagles are a projected 2-seed.

Open to any and all, not just those who played in the season long contest. Post your picks below. Strictly for fun and PirateCrew bragging rights!

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, March 13 through Saturday, March 16
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY


Wednesday, March 13:

Game 1: No. 8 Butler (17-13, 9-11) vs. No. 9 Xavier (15-16, 9-11) - 4:00 PM - FS1

Game 2: No. 7 Providence (19-12, 10-10) vs. No. 10 Georgetown (9-22, 2-18) - 6:30 PM - FS1

Game 3: No. 6 Villanova (17-14, 10-10) vs. No. 11 DePaul (3-28, 0-20) - 9:00 PM - FS1


Thursday, March 14:

Game 4: No. 1 Connecticut (28-3, 18-2) vs. Game 1 winner - 12:00 PM - FS1

Game 5: No. 4 SETON HALL (20-11, 13-7) vs. No. 5 St. John's (19-12, 11-9) - 2:30 PM - FS1

Game 6: No. 2 Creighton (23-8, 14-6) vs. Game 2 winner - 7:00 PM - FS1

Game 7: No. 3 Marquette (23-8, 14-6) vs. Game 3 winner - 9:30 PM - FS1


Friday, March 15:

Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner - 5:30 PM - FOX

Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner - 8:00 PM - FS1


Saturday, March 16:

Championship Game: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 6:30 PM - FOX

Think it is on ESPN. Lets go Wagner!!

I'd rather avoid the 8-9 seed them do well in the BET. Where am I wrong?

Game 32: No. 5 St. John's Red Storm (19-12, 11-9 BIG EAST) vs. No. 4 Seton Hall Pirates (20-11, 13-7 BIG EAST)
Thursday, March 14 • New York, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden (19,500) • 2:30 p.m.
TV: FS1 • Tim Brando & Jim Jackson
Web: FOXSports.com/Live
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / SiriusXM 138 or 201 / SXM App / Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Game Notes: Seton Hall | St. John's
Follow Along: Instagram | X | Live Stats​

Notes You Need To Know

• Seton Hall is 2-2 against St. John's in BIG EAST Tournament games.
• The last meeting came in the quarterfinal of the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament, a 77-69 overtime victory for The Hall.
• Seton Hall has won three straight and four of its last five meetings against St. John's at Madison Square Garden.
• Seton Hall has been the No. 4 seed at the BIG EAST Tournament only once previously back in 1991 when the Pirates ran the table behind Oliver Taylor's heroics that garnered him Most Outstanding Player honors.
• Picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the BIG EAST preseason poll, head coach Shaheen Holloway led the Pirates to a fourth place finish and a 13-7 record in league play, tied for the second-most BIG EAST wins in program history.
• Already the program's leader for BIG EAST wins and overall victories through two seasons, Holloway is the first Seton Hall head coach to lead the Pirates to 20 wins within his first two seasons.
• Kadary Richmond, who's one of two players in the BIG EAST (Devin Carter, PC) to rank in the top 11 in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals in league play, is one of 40 players named on the Oscar Robertson Trophy and All-America Watch List.
• Richmond is tied for second in Division I with eight 20 point, 5 assist, 5 rebound games this season.
• Richmond is one of six Pirates all-time (Terry Dehere, Shaheen Holloway, Andre Barrett, Khadeen Carrington, Myles Powell) to score 1,000 points, collect 400 rebounds and tally 300 assists in a career.
• Dre Davis averaged 16.2 points per game and shot 52 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the free-throw line in BIG EAST play, becoming the first BIG EAST player to average 16 pts, shoot 50% FG and 80% FT in league since Mikal Bridges for Villanova in 2017-18.
• Davis is averaging 21 ppg, shooting 57 percent from the field, 47 percent from three and 96 percent from the line over his last five games.
• Jaden Bediako ranks second in the BIG EAST and ninth in Division I averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds per game.
• After having 19 double-digit scoring games over four years at Santa Clara, Bediako has scored in double-figures 15 times this season.
• 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.
• In just two seasons in South Orange, Dawes ranks 14th in school history with 146 made three-pointers.
• Dylan Addae-Wusu scored his 1,000th career point on March 9 against DePaul, giving Seton Hall four 1,000 point scorers in its starting five (Richmond, Davis, Dawes).

Many here didn’t appreciate Copeland when he was here. But 2006 was him and Grant. I often longed for him running the point in the years that followed his graduation

Wild as f*ck Login to view embedded media

By Matt Ehalt

The Kenny Payne era at Louisville is coming to a merciful end.

The once-proud basketball program is set to fire Payne on Wednesday, according to ESPN, following a disastrous 8-23 second season that dropped his Cardinals coaching record to 12-52.

Louisville’s season ended Tuesday with a first-round loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament, but Payne had not spoken with Louisville athletic director Josh Heird as of Tuesday night, per the report.

Payne originally signed a six-year contract with his alma mater and will be owed around $8 million.

The 57-year-old gave a bizarre press conference following the 94-85 loss to the Wolfpack in which he indicated he did not have enough support.

“When I walked into the program as the new head coach, I talked about, I needed everybody on the same page. We sort of forgot that. I talked about how I’m not going to let you blame me. I’m not standing up here by myself. I need all of Louisville with me. We sort of forgot that,” Payne said. “I talked about it’s going to take time, and I’m going to watch and see who jumped on and off the Titanic. We sort of forgot that. I gave a specific time. I said three or four years. And I’m good with that. That’s what I believed at that time, and that’s what I still believe it takes to fix this program.

“Whether I’m the coach or not, I can look in the mirror and say I gave it everything I had to help this program.”

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Payne’s horrible two-year stint continues what has been a horrendous run for Louisville since it parted ways with current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino after the 2016-17 season.

The Cardinals hired Payne, who won a national title with the program in 1986 before being a 1989 first-round pick, to guide the program after a successful run as a Kentucky and Knicks assistant.

He could not replicate the recruiting nor the winning from his days with the in-state rivals.

Louisville went 4-28 in Payne’s first year, including a 2-18 mark in conference play.

The Cardinals again finished last in the ACC this season with their 3-17 mark, and they are just one of three teams to lose to DePaul — who went 0-20 in the Big East.

Louisville will now employ its fourth head coach in the last four seasons in 2025 and attempt to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought.

The Cardinals last won a NCAA Tournament game in 2017, and last appeared in the tournament in 2019.

Louisville last made a Final Four in 2013, when it won the national title, although that championship has since been vacated due to the sanctions placed on the program for infractions during Pitino’s reign.

Stats



By Ryan Henry

Little Falls, N.J. -- In its first game back in the Garden State in two weeks, the Seton Hall baseball team took care of business against their crosstown rival NJIT, winning by a score of 14-3.

The Pirates were led by newcomers Kyle Lyons (West Chester, Pa.) and Aiden Robbins (Yardley, Pa.) who combined for five hits and eight runs batted in. The bottom of the lineup hit well as the starting five through nine hitters all recorded two hits each. Jayson Torres (East Islip, N.Y.) picked up his second win of the season in relief.

How It Happened

After a scoreless first inning between both teams, Seton Hall's bats got going in the second inning. Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.) opened up the scoring with a two-run opposite field home run. Lyons got a two-strike RBI single to make it a 3-0. In the bottom half of the second, Anthony Ehly (Glenside, Pa.) struck out two batters.

The Pirates tacked on three more runs in the top of the third. Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) started a two-out rally with an RBI double. Robbins continued the rally with a two-RBI single, ending Anthony Anzaldi's day for the Highlanders. Seton Hall led 6-0 after three innings.

NJIT would add one run in the fourth inning after they had a two-out rally. Dillon Can hit a single up the middle to make it 6-1.

The Pirates would get those runs back in the following inning. Robbins recorded another two-RBI single bringing home D'Amico and Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y.). Lyons would bring home Robbins on an RBI groundout to extend Seton Hall's lead to 9-1.

NJIT's first three batters would reach base safely in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ray Ortiz would bring home Albert Choi to cut the Pirates' lead to 9-2. Ehly would retire the following two batters before Torres came in relief. With runners on second and third, Torres painted the outside corner to strike out Austin Francis looking.

Seton Hall's offense got to work once again in the sixth inning. Status Pokrovsky (Pittsgrove, N.J.) led the inning off with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. D'Amico sent Bianco home with a single. In a bases-loaded situation, Lyons recorded his third hit of the afternoon with a two-RBI single. Seton Hall led 13-2.

In the seventh inning, freshman Gabe Cavazzoni (Wall, N.J.) recorded his first hit as a Seton Hall Pirate. The Highlanders would add one run in the bottom frame. Back-to-back doubles by Choi and Luke Longo made it a 13-3 contest. Torres retired three of the next four batters without surrendering a run.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning for the first time since the first. Danny Melnick (Hamilton, N.J.) added one final insurance run in the top of the ninth with an RBI double down the left-center gap to give the Pirates a 14-3 lead. Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) came in to pitch the ninth. He walked the first batter before retiring the next three, striking out two in the process.

Inside the Box Score

• Seton Hall has scored 10-plus runs in each of their nine wins this season
• Lyons's four runs batted in are a career-high
• Bianco's four runs scored are a career-high
• Pokrovsky hit his 17th career home run

Up Next

The Seton Hall Pirates will return to action tomorrow as they will face the St. Peter's Peacocks at Mike Sheppard Sr. Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be available on the Pirate Sports Network.

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