Bronx, N.Y. – The Seton Hall women's cross country team opened the season at the Fordham Fiasco at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday morning, taking fourth place overall.

Much like she did in all nine meets last season, Nancy Habib (Clifton, N.J.) picked back up where she left off by pacing the Pirates once again. The senior finished 10th overall with a time of 19:50.50 on the 5k course. Behind her was Caitlin Fahy (Ringwood, N.J.), who finished 23rd in her first collegiate race with a time of 20:11.30. Julia Smith (Pittsgrove, N.J.), Etta Moen (Kenmore, Wash.) and Arianna Braccio (Nashua, N.H.) rounded out the top-five finishers for The Hall.

Also finishing for the Pirates was Madison Rempalski (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Emma Newgarden (Staten Island, N.Y.), Honey Strosnider (Fairfield, Pa.), Taj Lanier (Lincoln University, Pa.), Hannah Cullum (San Antonio, Tx.), Rica Ongsiako (Matawan, N.J.), Kate Cochran (Sewell, N.J.) and Amanda Houston (Randolph, N.J.).

Next up, the Pirates will travel down to Dayton Beach, Fla. to take part in the Embry-Riddle Classic next Saturday. The Pirates took the top spot in the event last season.

Cooley's extension keeps him in Providence for "life" (believed to be 10 years) with a salary around $4 Million and a commitment to finance the basketball program. One of the biggest topics was a commitment to NIL by engaging local businesses and corporate sponsors. Also facilities, assistant pool dollars and travel/recruiting budget.

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Teaneck, N.J. – Seton Hall got it done on the road again, taking down Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, on Friday night. Quenzi Huerman (Vannes, France) found the back of the net in the 11th minute to deliver the only tally of the match. The Pirates played with 10 men starting in the 48th minute, as Luca Dahn (Kahl, Germany) was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the night.

How it Happened
Both sides traded possession to open the match, but Seton Hall was able to strike off a counter-attack. After Mattias Almeida Sundell (Sweden) forced an FDU turnover, he pushed it off for JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) who sent a pass downfield. Huerman caught up to the ball, moved to his left and rifled a shot past the goalkeeper to give Seton Hall a 1-0 lead.


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Fairleigh Dickinson's best chance of the opening half came in the 30th minute, where Joshua Ferreira deflected a corner kick on frame. Andrea Borg (Sliema, Malta) was in the right place at the right time, as he cleared the would-be equalizer out of harm's way.

Just three minutes into the second half, Dahn received his second yellow card of the night, forcing the Pirates to play a man down for the final 42 minutes of the match. However, Seton Hall was undeterred, digging in its heels defensively to deny an FDU tying goal.


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Hannes Ronnholmen (Stockholm, Sweden) was forced to make three of his four saves in the second half. He and the rest of the Pirates helped weather the storm, as FDU fired 10 shots in the second half but were unable to knot things up.

Inside the Numbers

• While Fairleigh Dickinson outshot the Pirates 16-7 overall, shots on goal were tied 5-5.
• Six different Pirates registered a shot, with Sundell leading the way with two.
• Ian Albuquerque logged all 90 minutes for the first time in his career.
• Ronnholmen picks up his third shutout of the season.

News & Notes

• Head Coach Andreas Lindberg now sits one win away from 200 for his career.
• Huerman becomes the first Pirate to score a goal in back-to-back matches since Raz Amir, who did so against NJIT and Army last season.
• Huerman now has points in four of his first five games of the season, and leads the team with seven points overall.
• Each of Seton Hall's three wins so far this season have been shutouts, the second time in three seasons that has occurred (2020).
• The Pirates have won five straight games when scoring the first goal. Dating back to the beginning of the 2020 season, the Pirates are 17-2-0 when scoring first.
• Seton Hall is 7-0-1 in its last eight matches against New Jersey schools.

Up Next
The Pirates return home on Tuesday night to finish off non-conference play against Army. It's International Students Night at Owen T. Carroll Field, and students can pick up free soft pretzels before the game while supplies last. Kickoff is set for 6:56 p.m.

The Pirates will play three rounds starting Saturday.​

NEW HAVEN, CONN. - The Seton Hall women's golf team will open the 2022 fall season with three rounds of golf at the Yale Invitational at the Yale Golf Course, September 10-11.

Tournament Details:
YALE INVITATIONAL
Host: Yale University
Location: New Haven, Conn.
Course: Yale Golf Course
Course Vitals: Par-71, 5,984 yards
Dates: September 10-11, 2022

THE COURSE:
In 1923, a 700-acre tract of swamp and woodland was given to Yale by Mrs. Ray Tompkins in memory of her husband. Under the supervision of Charles Blair Macdonald, the renowned golf course architect, champion golfer, and co-founder of the USGA, plans were made for an 18-hole golf course. With a budget of $400,000, Macdonald, in collaboration with Seth Raynor, designed a masterpiece which opened for play in 1926.

Today, the Yale Golf Course is recognized as one of the finest examples from the Macdonald & Raynor portfolios. Large greens with deep bunkers and wide, rolling fairways are the core of Yale's strategic and penal character. The Yale Golf Course is consistently recognized as the finest collegiate course in the nation. The course has been the site of every significant state championship, two USGA Junior National events, and NCAA Regionals in 1991, 1995, 2004, 2010, 2015 and again in 2022. The course has also been the home of the Nike Connecticut Open.

The 6,766-yard, par-70 course features large and deeply bunkered greens and narrow fairways that challenge golfers at all levels of play. Two of the holes—the 432-yard par-4 fourth and the 238-yard par 3 ninth—have been ranked among the world's 100 most difficult holes.

THE FIELD:
In addition to Seton Hall and host Yale, the field includes 13 other schools: Albany, Boston College, Boston University, Georgia Southern, Hartford, Harvard, James Madison, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, UC-Irvine and Toledo.

THE FORMAT:
Teams will play five golfers and count the four lowest scores per round. Team ties will be decided by the fifth player's total score. If there is still a tie, then daily scores of fifth player, working backwards from Round three, will be used.

THE LINEUP:
Here's the season-opening lineup for the Pirates…

1. Sarah Fouratt, Graduate Student
2. Ana Sarrias Pro, Sophomore
3. Ginevra Zavagli, Junior
4. Ludovica Busetto, Senior
5. Ashni Solanki, Freshman

LAST TIME AT THE YALE INVITATIONAL:
All five Pirates shot 2-over-par or better in round three as the Pirates vaulted up the team leader board to finish third at the 2018 Yale Women's Intercollegiate.

The Pirates saved their finest round for Sunday, firing a 5-over-par, 289, which was the second-lowest among the field of 17 teams. The Hall moved up to a third-place team finish with a 46-over-par, 310-299-289-898, improving at least 10 strokes for a second straight day. Boston University won the team title at 38-over-par, while Stirling placed second at 43-over-par.

Two BIG EAST teams were also in the field. St. John's placed 11th at 89-over-par, while Butler finished 14th at 101-over-par.

THE SCHEDULE:
The teams will play 36 continuous holes on Saturday, and one final round on Sunday. Both days will begin with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m.

THE RESULTS:
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament via Golfstat.com. Complete results of each day's events will also be available following competition at SHUpirates.com.

We asked coaches which conference will be best after Oklahoma and Texas head to the SEC, and UCLA and USC head to the Big Ten​

By Gary Parrish


CBS Sports college basketball writers Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at some of the smallest Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, the coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting the results of the questions asked.

The Big 12 has, according to KenPom.com, rated as the best basketball league in seven of the past nine seasons -- but, soon enough, the conference will change. Oklahoma and Texas will be off to the SEC. Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF are incoming. From a football perspective, it's obviously not good considering Oklahoma and Texas are massive football brands. But it's reasonable to argue that the Big 12's basketball product will remain elite given that Houston, Cincinnati and BYU are all strong hoop programs.

But will the Big 12 remain, more often than not, the best?

That's debatable given that A) the Big 12's losses will make the SEC stronger, and B) the Big Ten is adding UCLA and USC from the Pac-12 in August 2024. So, with all of this in mind, we asked roughly 100 coaches the following question:

Quotes that stood out​

On the Big Ten​

• "I'm in Big East country -- and it's not even close. The Big Ten is a monster from top to bottom."
• "I don't want to discount the Big 12 because it should be a monster -- but who the hell knows who will be in that league in two years? Because of that, I'll say the Big Ten. It is the most consistent right now, and adding UCLA and, to an extent, USC can only help."

On the SEC​

• "The SEC, recruiting-wise the last five years, is out-recruiting everyone in the country. Duke and UNC are getting their guys, but there's seven teams in the SEC getting high four-stars and five-stars. The talent is ridiculous in the league. Lot of NBA players in the SEC every year"
• "It's the SEC just in terms of their aggressiveness in recruiting with NIL. That, combined with the already natural athleticism, physically, top-to-bottom. Even a team that's not as skilled, watching them play, that was a different kind of athlete. When they have football-type athletes that play basketball, that's difference-making. That discrepancy is there and it's really hard. As a mid-major coach, we play better against Big 12 teams than SEC teams just because of the athletic discrepancy."

On the Big 12​

• "The last two natty champs have come from the Big 12. If Texas Tech closes out Virginia, they would have the last three -- and they are arguably only losing two of the bottom-five teams."
• "According to all the metrics that last (few) years, the BIG 12 has been the best league (most seasons). Gaining schools like Houston, which will be a top 10 team every year, will help. I just think the league will keep getting better and better. There are no easy games in that league. Most of these teams are all set up NIL wise. It's just the toughest league. Nothing is easy."

On the ACC​

• "I think the ACC will always be the best. It has tradition and love for basketball from fanbases to administrators. That league invests and knows basketball is king."
• "Even with the amount of money pouring into the SEC and Big Ten, I think the ACC will focus more on basketball and continue to be successful -- much like the new Big East has. That is … until they all move to the new SEC/Big Ten."

The takeaway​

Bruce Pearl famously said in a postgame interview last January that his school is an "everything school" in the sense that there's no reason Auburn can't be good at everything -- football, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, you name it. Broadly speaking, that's also now true for the Big Ten and SEC in general because those conferences are adding gigantic brands that will allow them to create the kind of revenue the other leagues simply cannot create.

This poll reflects that reality.

Sixty-nine percent of the coaches we polled said that, going forward, either the Big Ten or the SEC -- two conferences mostly known for high-quality football -- will become the nation's best basketball league. For what it's worth, I agree. They're both going to be so big and deep and strong and wealthy that they'll largely have the best facilities, the best television exposure, a lot of the best coaches -- and the most money to spend on name, image and likeness and whatever else they choose. In time, the Power 5 will become a Power 2. And though all of this is obviously and undeniably motivated by football -- the Big Ten, for instance, wanted USC football way more than it wanted UCLA basketball -- the byproduct of adding significant brands that increase revenue (and diminish the competition) will elevate the Big Ten and the SEC in a myriad of ways, among them ways that make their basketball products, on the whole, bigger and better than ever.

​

​

I certainly understand the significance of Judge's home run chase to the Yankee fans on the board, but I've got to think most baseball fans have their eyes more focused on another one:

Does Albert Pujols reach 700?

The resurgence he's had this year to even put it within reach has already been incredible at his age.

By Zack Cziryak

Jon Rothstein, college basketball reporter for CBS Sports and podcast host of College Hoops Today, has seen a lot take place on a college basketball court in his close to 20 years of covering the sport. Watching Shaheen Holloway and the Saint Peter’s Peacocks’ run to the Elite Eight last year, however, is one thing he’ll be looking back on forever.

"From a Saint Peter's perspective and from an NCAA tournament perspective, this is going to be something that's going to resonate forever. You're never going to stop seeing videos of Saint Peter's run every March during the NCAA Tournament,” said Rothstein, who the Peacocks’ first round win over Kentucky last March could lay claim to the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.

"When you take into account the limited resources that Saint Peter's has as a program and the fact that they were playing Kentucky.... it's obviously always a big deal when you beat a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they didn't just beat any 2 seed, they beat Kentucky."

The “extraordinary, extraordinary run” by Saint Peter’s under Holloway was also augmented by wins over a tough Murray State team and what Rothstein believes was the “pound-for-pound and inch-for-inch” Purdue team best positioned to make a Final Four run under Matt Painter.

The face of that run is now at his alma mater in the head coaching position at Seton Hall University. It’s Rothstein’s belief that Holloway is more than aware of the “step up in weight class” and knows what he needs to do to succeed in South Orange.

“He was somebody who obviously had a great college career at Seton Hall, was instrumental in building the program under Kevin Willard as a top assistant and now takes the reins with a roster that I think is sneaky good entering the Big East and a roster that I think should have an excellent chance of playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2023."

Rothstein believes Holloway has been able to, from a talent perspective, add to a solid nucleus of returning players several interesting pieces from the transfer portal to form a squad that ranks 30th in his 'Rothstein 45.'

"I liked the returning players before everything happened with the transfers. I thought there was a good nucleus there. I've always felt that Tyrese Samuel had great potential. I thought last year that Tray Jackson, in flashes, because of how he shot the ball and how unique he is because he could play different spots on the floor, had a chance if he got regular minutes as a starter to be a really productive player,” he said. “I mean he averaged 7 [points], 3 and a half rebounds.”

A real gamechanger, in Rothstein’s opinion, was the quiet return of Alexis Yetna adding to the roster's depth.

“Forget about the transfers for a second - all of a sudden you've got Kadrary Richmond, Tyrese Samuel, Tray Jackson and Alexis Yetna, back, those are four guys who are good enough to be starters. And then you have Jamir Harris returning for a 5th year, who played capable minutes as a reserve.”

Though they may lack the flair or notoriety of some of their peers, Seton Hall’s class of transfers has Rothstein bullish based on the breadth of the talent in pulling in Al-Amir Dawes from Clemson, Femi Odukale from Pittsburgh, and Dre Davis from Louisville in addition to three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo, who followed Holloway from Saint Peter’s for his final year of eligibility.

“I don't look at them in the portal as maybe getting the same attention of say North Carolina getting Pete Nance, but Al-Amir Dawes is a double, Femi Odukale is a double, Dre Davis is a double and you look at their adding KC Ndefo, he had a major hand in that Saint Peter's run,” Rothstein adds. “Shaheen added guys who are going to be able to play and have an impact in the Big East and fill roles immediately.”

The transfer Rothstein is most confident in making that impact felt on this year’s Seton Hall roster is Dawes, who should provide an instant offensive jolt with his shooting ability.

"I've always felt that Al-Amir Dawes was as comfortable in his own skin as any guard in the ACC the last couple of years because he knows what he's good at and he's good at what he knows,” Rothstein said. “And I think, you look at one thing that's never going to go away when you talk about needs for winning teams, the uncanny ability to shoot the basketball. The last two years, he's been right at 39% from three.”

“I wouldn't expect him to be, you know, an all-Big East first team caliber player, but now all of a sudden there's somebody next to Kadary Richmond who can take pressure off of him and open up driving lane opportunities,” he continued. “I mean, this guy last year, again, made over 80 3s and now you add that to some of the other capabilities that this team has from a shooting perspective. All of a sudden now there are guys on the floor that can extend the defense."

Rothstein highlighted Odukale’s ability to contribute on the boards and match up with a variety of players on the defensive side of the ball as a building block-type of player for the program Holloway wants to construct at Seton Hall.

“If you have that type of size and that type of ability to make an impact on the glass, you are going to be a player. if you're looking at the Big East, a player who can guard a Caleb Daniels, guard somebody like a David Jones you are going to have an impact. These are the types of guys you want to build with.”

Looking past Davis’ sophomore campaign at Louisville in which his head coach Chris Mack separated from the program midseason, Rothstein points to his play as a freshman to highlight what Pirate fans might expect.

"This guy, as a freshman, played major, major minutes and was part of the rotation on a team that was vying for an NCAA tournament berth and a team I thought was going to make the NCAA tournament,” he said.

Rothstein again stressed the quality of the players entering the fold for the Hall from the portal this year.

“They may not be the impact additions that we're seeing in terms of other Big East teams. I don't think you're going to see people talking about [Seton Hall's transfers] the way they're talking about Manny Bates of Butler ... David Jones of Saint John's or players of that caliber, but these are guys that are going to help a very good existing nucleus already at Seton Hall.”



Part 2 Monday

Sun finishes at 11-under, while the Pirates win the team title by a remarkable 12 strokes.​

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Junior Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.) fired a career-best 11-under-par to win the Alex Lagowitz Memorial and lift the Seton Hall men's golf team to the team championship on Sunday.

Sun put together his third consecutive sub-par round, using eight birdies to fuel a 2-under-par, 70, in Sunday's final round. For the tournament, he shot an 11-under-par, 67-68-60-205, to win the individual title by five strokes over the second-place finisher, Villanova's Ryan Palmer.

Sun's 205 is tied for the second-lowest par-72, three-round score in program history. Furthermore, his 11-under-par is tied for the most strokes under par ever for a Pirate. It's Sun's first career win and second career top-5 finish.

Collectively, The Hall fired a 4-under-par, 284, on Sunday to complete one of the greatest tournaments in program history. The Pirates shot a 23-under-par, 277-280-284-841, to win the team title by 12 strokes over second-place Yale. Seton Hall's lone BIG EAST competition, Villanova, finished a distant 8-over-par.

Seton Hall wins its first tournament with new head coach J.T. Harper at the helm.

The Hall's 841 is the second-lowest par-72, three-round score in Seton Hall history. It's 23-under-par, is also second-best. Both marks fall short of records by only a single stroke.

It's Seton Hall's fifth tournament victory in the last calendar year and the first since winning its first BIG EAST Championship in 22 years four months ago.

Senior Wenliang Xie (Xhaoqing, China) put the finishing touches on another spectacular tournament as well on Sunday. Xie used six birdies to power a 1-under-par, 71. For the tournament, he tied for third, with a 5-under-par, 71-69-71-211. It's Xie's sixth career sub-par tournament, which ties his for sixth-most in Pirate history. It's also his fourth career top-5 finish.

George Fricker (Woodbridge, England) made a statement in his first-ever collegiate tournament. The freshman had 13 pars and two birdies on Sunday for a 1-over-par, 73. Fricker tied for sixth place overall for the three-round event with a 2-under-par, 70-71-73-214.

Sophomore Angus O'Brien (Barwon Heads, Australia) had two birdies and 13 pars on Sunday for a 1-over-par, 73. For the tournament, he tied for 24th place overall with a 3-over-par, 69-77-73-219.

A second freshman in the Pirates' lineup also had a solid showing in his first tournament. Jack Bosworth (Simsbury, Conn.) had 16 pars on Sunday in route to a 2-over-par, 74. For the tournament, he tied for 35th place with a 6-over-par, 76-72-74-222.

Junior Brody Hanley (Lantana, Texas) had his best round of the tournament on Sunday. He had five birdies on his way to a 2-under-par, 70. For the event, Hanley tied for 42nd with a 7-over-par, 78-75-70-223.

A pair of individual golfers for Seton Hall also had a solid showing. Sophomore Joshua Lee (Lantana, Texas) finished the three-round event with a 12-over-par, 75-73-80-228, while freshman David Lally (Wicklow, Ireland) registered a 17-over-par, 80-77-78-235.

Tournament Details:
ALEX LAGOWITZ MEMORIAL
Host: Colgate University
Location: Hamilton, N.Y.
Course: Seven Oaks Golf Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,834 yards
Dates: September 3-4, 2022



THE FORMAT:
Teams played six golfers and count the four lowest scores per round.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to tournament play for three rounds of golf at the Dartmouth Invitational at Montcalm Golf Club in Enfield, N.H., Sept. 24-25.

The Dunkin' Donuts Center has been dunked after 20 years. The facility originally known as the Providence Civic Center will now be known as the Amica Mutual Pavillion (AMP) for the next 10 years.

BYU investigation contradicts racial accusations by Duke volleyball player​

By Associated Press

PROVO, Utah — An investigation by Brigham Young University into allegations that fans engaged in racial heckling and uttered racial slurs at a Duke volleyball player last month found no evidence to support the claim.

BYU issued the results of its investigation into the Aug. 26 match on Friday, reiterating it will not tolerate conduct threatening any student-athlete.

The school said it reached out to more than 50 people who attended the event, including athletic department personnel and student-athletes from both schools, event security and management and fans who were in the arena. It also reviewed audio and video recordings and raw footage from the match.

As a result of the investigation, the university said it has lifted a ban on a fan who was identified as directing racial slurs toward Duke sophomore Rachel Richardson during the match. It also apologized to the fan for any hardship the ban caused.

Duke athletic director Nina King issued a statement standing by Richardson and the rest of her team.

“The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity,” she said Friday after BYU issued its statement. “We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question. Duke Athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias.”


A BYU women’s volleyball game
Facebook/BYU Women's Volleyball

In the aftermath of the Aug. 26 match, South Carolina women’s basketball program canceled a home-and-home series with BYU. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said she did not want to put her players in the situation that she said Richardson had experienced.

The Gamecocks were scheduled to start the season at home against BYU on Nov. 7, then play at the Utah campus during the 2023-24 season.

A message was left Friday seeking comment from Staley.

BYU said it remains committed to rooting out racism wherever it is found. The school also said it understands some will criticize their investigation as being selective in its review.

“To the contrary, we have tried to be as thorough as possible in our investigation, and we renew our invitation for anyone with evidence contrary to our findings to come forward and share it,” the school said.

BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. Race relations is one of the most sensitive issues for a faith that until 1978 banned Black church members serving in the lay priesthood, going on missions or getting married in temples.


BYU University
Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Salt Lake City-based religion has worked to improve race relations, including calling out white supremacy and launching a formal alliance with the NAACP, but some Black church members and scholars say discriminatory opinions linger from a ban rooted in a belief that black skin was a curse.

The number of Black church members has increased but still only accounts for small portion of the 16 million worldwide members. Not one serves in the highest levels of global leadership.

NEW YORK – The Seton Hall men's basketball team will tip off a 20-game BIG EAST Conference slate on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Pirates host defending regular season champion Providence in a nationally televised FOX game at Prudential Center as the league announced the full 2022-23 schedule on Friday.

Season tickets for all 15 men's basketball games at Prudential Center are on sale both for the general population and for Seton Hall University students.

• Seton Hall's non-student fans should fill out the season ticket form to then be contacted by a ticket representative
• Active Seton Hall University students can purchase a season ticket online now

For additional season ticket information, call the ticket office at (973) 275-4255 during normal business hours or email tickets@shu.edu. Mini-plans and single-game tickets will go on sale later this fall. All tickets in 2022-23 are mobile, and fans can download the SHU Pirates mobile app on all iOS and Android smartphones to manage their tickets via account manager.

Led by new head coach and Seton Hall alumnus Shaheen Holloway '00, the Pirates are poised to compete for the BIG EAST Championship and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall has two conference titles in the last seven seasons and has reached NCAAs in five out of the last six tournaments played. Seton Hall has a wealth of experience on the roster with five returning Pirates from last season and five transfers that combine for 13 years of Div. I basketball experience. In total, this veteran Seton Hall team has appeared in 775 career collegiate games and combined for 6,019 points, 2,971 rebounds and 1,072 assists.

Fans interested in premium seating options at Prudential Center for Seton Hall home games can learn more at prucenter.com/premium.

Here are some notes about the 2022-23 schedule:

• The Pirates will play all 10 BIG EAST teams in a 20-game, double round-robin format. This 20-game format has been in place since 2020-21, however, the Pirates have yet to play a full 20-game conference schedule due to cancelations.
• Seton Hall will begin its conference schedule at home against Providence on Dec. 17. The Pirates' first BIG EAST game last season was against the Friars but in Providence. This will be the first time the Pirates open at home against the Friars since the 2000-01 season. It also marks the fourth time in the last six seasons that The Hall's conference opener is at home.
• The Hall's first conference road games is at Xavier on Dec. 20, and the Pirates have won four straight at Cintas Center. They have not won five consecutive road games against a BIG EAST opponent since beating Rutgers five straight in Piscataway from 2008-12.
• Seton Hall will host St. John's on Dec. 31 for the third time since 2014, and the Pirates won each of the first two New Year's Eve battles in 2014 and 2017. It is the seventh time that the program will play a home BIG EAST game on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
• Five of Seton Hall's home BIG EAST games fall on a Saturday or Sunday, including each of the first three. The Pirates will host Providence, St. John's, Butler and Marquette on a Saturday and host DePaul on a Sunday. For fans who consider Friday to be a weekend game, Xavier visits Prudential Center on a Friday.
• In what has become the premier rivalry in the BIG EAST, Seton Hall and Villanova will clash twice over The Hall's final six games. The Pirates will play Villanova at Wells Fargo Center for the fifth time in the last six years.
• Seton Hall's final conference game of the year is on the road for the eighth time in the last 10 years and at Providence for the first time since 2009-10.
• The BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep will be played in Madison Square Garden for the 41st consecutive year. Won by the Pirates three times, most recently in 2016, it is the longest running postseason championship in college basketball at the same venue.
• Since 2016, Seton Hall is 3-0 vs. non-conference opponents and 14-6 overall at "The World's Most Famous Arena."

It’s interesting

link

(FWIW, I would completely be willing to trade you Oklahoma State for Kansas in the Big East/big 12 matchup.)

Just found out that there will be a season two of Squid Game. So I thought I would give a heads up to anyone who hasn't seen season 1 while we wait for the basketball season to begin.

Every second of the show was intoxicating and there is a reason it was the most-watched series in Netflix history. Never heard of the show and found it by accident. So glad I did.

Give it a try if you haven't already seen it.

From part one in our Zack Cziryak interview with Jon Rothstein


.................The transfer Rothstein is most confident in making that impact felt on this year’s Seton Hall roster is Dawes, who should provide an instant offensive jolt with his shooting ability.

"I've always felt that Al-Amir Dawes was as comfortable in his own skin as any guard in the ACC the last couple of years because he knows what he's good at and he's good at what he knows,” Rothstein said. “And I think, you look at one thing that's never going to go away when you talk about needs for winning teams, the uncanny ability to shoot the basketball. The last two years, he's been right at 39% from three.”

“I wouldn't expect him to be, you know, an all-Big East first team caliber player, but now all of a sudden there's somebody next to Kadary Richmond who can take pressure off of him and open up driving lane opportunities,” he continued. “I mean, this guy last year, again, made over 80 3s and now you add that to some of the other capabilities that this team has from a shooting perspective. All of a sudden now there are guys on the floor that can extend the defense."

We asked coaches who was the best hire of the busy 2022 coaching carousel​

By Gary Parrish


CBS Sports college basketball writers Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at some of the smallest Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, the coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting the results of the questions asked.

Some of the biggest jobs in college basketball were officially filed after last season -- among them Duke, Maryland, Louisville and Florida, each of which has won a national championship the past two decades.

There were lots of interesting hires. But which school made the best hire?

We asked roughly 100 college coaches that exact question. What they told us is reflected below.

Who was the best head-coaching hire in 2022?​

Others receiving votes: Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Chris Gerlufsen, San Francisco; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Rob Lanier, SMU; Bart Lundy, Milwaukee

Adam Rittenberg
ESPN Senior Writer

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark isn't bashful about his expansion strategy. He wants to go west.

Speaking Wednesday during a visit to future Big 12 member Cincinnati, Yormark told reporters that the league would be interested in adding members from the Pacific time zone. The new commissioner has taken a bold approach toward expansion, saying at football media days, "The Big 12 is open for business."

"Obviously, going out west is where I would like to go, entering that fourth time zone," Yormark said Wednesday.

He added of the Big 12's wish list: "A program that has national recognition, one that competes at the highest level in basketball and football, stands for the right things, is a good cultural fit."

The Big 12's strategy to target potential Pac-12 members for expansion has set off friction between the leagues, especially in the wake of the Pac-12 losing USC and UCLA to the Big Ten beginning in 2024.

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, asked about Yormark's "open for business" comment at his league's football media day, shot back, saying, "I appreciate that. We haven't decided if we're going shopping there yet or not."

Kliavkoff would later add: "I've been spending four weeks trying to defend against grenades that have been lobbed in from every corner of the Big 12, trying to destabilize our remaining conference."

The Pac-12 declined to comment on Yormark's Wednesday remarks.

Both the Pac-12 and Big 12 elected to accelerate discussions with ESPN and Fox about their media rights agreements, which are set to expire in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Big 12's formal, exclusive negotiating window with both media partners wasn't set to begin until February 2024.

Yormark said Wednesday that he had "great meetings" with ESPN last week and will meet next week with Fox, adding that he senses both want to begin negotiations soon.

A lot of big names and big men are back including last season's national player of the year, Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe​

By Matt Norlander


Graphic by Keytron Jordan

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at small Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, these coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. Over the course of three weeks we are posting the results of our summer survey on the state of college basketball.

The 2022-23 season is poised to prominently feature as many big-time big men than any year college basketball has seen in a generation. Of course, this is a byproduct of the NBA no longer valuing traditional centers or lumbering power forwards the way it did for 60 years. But thanks to NIL, and because the college game still features myriad styles and more eclectic lineups than the pros, a litany of high-profile 4s and 5s will be back on the college hardwood.

In a rarity, two CBS Sports First Team All-Americans are returning, something that hasn't happened in a very long time. It also means the national race for player of the year should not only be compelling but should help college hoops' popularity and Q rating among casuals. Some identifiable faces and recognizable names are not just in for another season, they're in uniform for power-brand programs and highly ranked teams.

Here's who coaches believe will be the best. We asked our annual question, and it's a three-man race (for now):


Others receiving multiple votes: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana; Jaime Jaquez, UCLA; Marcus Sasser, Houston

Others receiving a single vote: Max Abmas, Oral Roberts; Hunter Dickinson, Michigan; Keyonte George, Baylor; Derek Lively, Duke; Caleb Love, North Carolina; Nick Smith, Arkansas