Media notes
Pirates Face Hawaii in Pearl Harbor Invitational Tuesday
Seton Hall (5-2, 0-0 BIG EAST, Kenpom 47) vs. Hawaii (4-3, 0-0 Big West, Kenpom 204)
FOX Sports Pearl Harbor Invitational · Tuesday, Dec. 6 · Bloch Arena (Honolulu, Hawaii) · 9:30 p.m., Eastern (4:30 p.m., Hawaii)
TV: FS1 & FOX Sports GO with Gus Johnson & Bill Raftery
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / Sirius 132 / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
What to Know About The Hall:
>> The Pirates improved to 5-2 with a 95-71 victory over Columbia at Prudential Center last Thursday night. Freshman sharp-shooter Myles Powell drained seven 3-point field goals and was one of four Pirates with 17 or more points. SHU led by 10 at the half and Powell countered every Columbia threat in the second half to secure the 18th consecutive home non- conference victory for the Hall dating back to December 2013. Angel Delgado finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington totaled 17 points each.
>> The 95-point outburst was the most scored in a game for the Hall since a 104-79 victory at UMass in December 2010. Additionally, it marked the fourth time in the young season that the Pirates have reached the 90-point threshold, the most in a single season since 2009-10 when they scored 90 or more on eight occasions.
>> Since his arrival to South Orange in 2010-11, head coach Kevin Willard is 61-19 (.763) in non-league games. SHU has furthermore played 76 consecutive regular season non-conference games without losing two in a row, a streak that dates back to Willard’s debut season with the Pirates in December 2010.
>> Tonight is the first matchup with Hawaii for Willard, and the last time the teams met was in 1994 when the Rainbow Warriors came away with a 94-88 victory on their home court. The Hall holds a 3-1 series advantage.
>> As a team, the Pirates are 14th in the nation with a 50.6 field goal percentage, and are paced offensively by Carrington, who is second in the BIG EAST with 21.0 points per game. He has scored 17 or more points and connected on six or more field goals in all seven games thus far. He is shooting 58.6 percent (58-of-99) from the field and 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for sixth in the league and 16th in the country.
>> Carrington scored a career-best 28 points against Florida earlier this season, and is inching closer to the 1,000-point threshold. He currently has a team-high 899 career points (48th all-time in school history), and passed former teammate and current NBA player with the Brooklyn Nets, Isaiah Whitehead, with 17 points against Columbia. He has the chance to become Seton Hall’s 41st 1,000-point scorer later this season.
>> Powell has shown flashes of brilliance through the first seven games of his career. The three-point threat posted an impressive season-best 26 points in SHU’s victory at Iowa (11/17), just three games into his career, to snap the Hawkeyes 41-game home winning streak over non-conference foes. He went 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21.
>> The Trenton native is one of three true freshmen to rank in the top-25 in scoring among BIG EAST schools. His 14.3 points per game is behind only Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s, 15.8 ppg).
>> Powell’s 26-point outburst at Iowa proved to be notable in recent Seton Hall history. He is one of only three Pirates freshmen since 2008 to score at least 25 points in a game, joining Jeremy Hazell, who did it four times in 2008, and Isaiah Whitehead, who accomplished it vs. Rutgers in December 2014.
>> Another valuable addition in the back court this season is graduate transfer from Wake Forest, Madison Jones, who leads the team with 3.9 assists per game. In his debut with the Pirates he dished out a career-high 10 helpers en route to a 91-70 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. He ranks seventh in the BIG EAST with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
>> Junior swingman Desi Rodriguez is an invaluable asset to the Pirates and is 15th in the BIG EAST with 14.3 points per game and third with 7.6 rebounds per game (second with 5.7 defensive rebounds per game). He has had two 20-point games and two double-doubles this season including a 23-point, 11-rebound performance in an 82-58 victory over Quinnipiac in the AdvoCare Invitational.
>> Rodriguez was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll on Nov. 21 after totaling 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals at Iowa. He scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half while shooting 7-for-8 from the field.
>> The reigning BIG EAST offensive rebounding champion, Angel Delgado, is back at the top of the leaderboard with 4.4 offensive boards per game, good for eighth in the country. No one else in the league has more than 2.8 per game to this point. The 6-foot-10 big man also leads the league with 10.3 total rebounds per game. According to KenPom, he is grabbing 18.3 percent of all available offensive rebounds, which is eighth-best in the nation.
>> Delgado has been a difficult matchup through the first seven games this season, shooting 56.1 percent (37-of-66) from the field. In the season opener vs. FDU, he scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 14 boards while shooting 11-for-15 (73.3 percent). Against CCSU, he finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds to collect his 25th career double-double.
>> With 694 career boards, Delgado is on pace to become Seton Hall’s leading rebounder during the BIG EAST era. Herb Pope grabbed 922 boards from 2009-12 (he is the fifth overall in program history). Delgado is the BIG EAST’s active leader in double-doubles, and when he delivers a double-double, good things happen for The Hall, which was 13-0 last season in those occurrences. During his career, the Pirates are 22-4 when he double-dips.
>> SHU has seen consistent scoring from Carrington, Rodriguez, Powell and Delgado, and is one of two teams (Creighton) to have four different players in the top-25 in scoring in the BIG EAST. The quartet has combined to post 76.6 percent of the total scoring output for the Pirates.
>> Filling in for Ismael Sanogo at the AdvoCare Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend, sophomore Michael Nzei proved he can be a significant contributor in the post. He averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in two starts and put up career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds against Quinnipiac. For the season, he is an impressive 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the field.
>> The Hall has been dominant in the paint all season and is outscoring opponents 294-174. It has held a 10-point or more advantage in the paint over their opponent in six of seven games, and outscored FDU 52-18, and Iowa, 50-24, in the paint. Additionally, SHU has out-rebounded opponents in six of seven games and limited Columbia to just four offensive boards last Thursday.
>> The Pirates have one of the toughest out-of-conference schedules in the country this season. Out of the 12 games, seven matchups are against teams that advanced to postseason play in 2015-16, including four NCAA Tournament squads (Fairleigh Dickinson, Iowa, Hawaii, California). Five of the games are against opponents entering the season with KenPom/ RPI rating in the top-75 (Iowa, Florida, Stanford, California, South Carolina). Seton Hall itself was a top 25 team last season in the RPI and KenPom ratings as well as the final Associated Press poll of the year.
Pirates Face Hawaii in Pearl Harbor Invitational Tuesday
Seton Hall (5-2, 0-0 BIG EAST, Kenpom 47) vs. Hawaii (4-3, 0-0 Big West, Kenpom 204)
FOX Sports Pearl Harbor Invitational · Tuesday, Dec. 6 · Bloch Arena (Honolulu, Hawaii) · 9:30 p.m., Eastern (4:30 p.m., Hawaii)
TV: FS1 & FOX Sports GO with Gus Johnson & Bill Raftery
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / Sirius 132 / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
What to Know About The Hall:
>> The Pirates improved to 5-2 with a 95-71 victory over Columbia at Prudential Center last Thursday night. Freshman sharp-shooter Myles Powell drained seven 3-point field goals and was one of four Pirates with 17 or more points. SHU led by 10 at the half and Powell countered every Columbia threat in the second half to secure the 18th consecutive home non- conference victory for the Hall dating back to December 2013. Angel Delgado finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington totaled 17 points each.
>> The 95-point outburst was the most scored in a game for the Hall since a 104-79 victory at UMass in December 2010. Additionally, it marked the fourth time in the young season that the Pirates have reached the 90-point threshold, the most in a single season since 2009-10 when they scored 90 or more on eight occasions.
>> Since his arrival to South Orange in 2010-11, head coach Kevin Willard is 61-19 (.763) in non-league games. SHU has furthermore played 76 consecutive regular season non-conference games without losing two in a row, a streak that dates back to Willard’s debut season with the Pirates in December 2010.
>> Tonight is the first matchup with Hawaii for Willard, and the last time the teams met was in 1994 when the Rainbow Warriors came away with a 94-88 victory on their home court. The Hall holds a 3-1 series advantage.
>> As a team, the Pirates are 14th in the nation with a 50.6 field goal percentage, and are paced offensively by Carrington, who is second in the BIG EAST with 21.0 points per game. He has scored 17 or more points and connected on six or more field goals in all seven games thus far. He is shooting 58.6 percent (58-of-99) from the field and 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for sixth in the league and 16th in the country.
>> Carrington scored a career-best 28 points against Florida earlier this season, and is inching closer to the 1,000-point threshold. He currently has a team-high 899 career points (48th all-time in school history), and passed former teammate and current NBA player with the Brooklyn Nets, Isaiah Whitehead, with 17 points against Columbia. He has the chance to become Seton Hall’s 41st 1,000-point scorer later this season.
>> Powell has shown flashes of brilliance through the first seven games of his career. The three-point threat posted an impressive season-best 26 points in SHU’s victory at Iowa (11/17), just three games into his career, to snap the Hawkeyes 41-game home winning streak over non-conference foes. He went 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21.
>> The Trenton native is one of three true freshmen to rank in the top-25 in scoring among BIG EAST schools. His 14.3 points per game is behind only Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s, 15.8 ppg).
>> Powell’s 26-point outburst at Iowa proved to be notable in recent Seton Hall history. He is one of only three Pirates freshmen since 2008 to score at least 25 points in a game, joining Jeremy Hazell, who did it four times in 2008, and Isaiah Whitehead, who accomplished it vs. Rutgers in December 2014.
>> Another valuable addition in the back court this season is graduate transfer from Wake Forest, Madison Jones, who leads the team with 3.9 assists per game. In his debut with the Pirates he dished out a career-high 10 helpers en route to a 91-70 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. He ranks seventh in the BIG EAST with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
>> Junior swingman Desi Rodriguez is an invaluable asset to the Pirates and is 15th in the BIG EAST with 14.3 points per game and third with 7.6 rebounds per game (second with 5.7 defensive rebounds per game). He has had two 20-point games and two double-doubles this season including a 23-point, 11-rebound performance in an 82-58 victory over Quinnipiac in the AdvoCare Invitational.
>> Rodriguez was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll on Nov. 21 after totaling 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals at Iowa. He scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half while shooting 7-for-8 from the field.
>> The reigning BIG EAST offensive rebounding champion, Angel Delgado, is back at the top of the leaderboard with 4.4 offensive boards per game, good for eighth in the country. No one else in the league has more than 2.8 per game to this point. The 6-foot-10 big man also leads the league with 10.3 total rebounds per game. According to KenPom, he is grabbing 18.3 percent of all available offensive rebounds, which is eighth-best in the nation.
>> Delgado has been a difficult matchup through the first seven games this season, shooting 56.1 percent (37-of-66) from the field. In the season opener vs. FDU, he scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 14 boards while shooting 11-for-15 (73.3 percent). Against CCSU, he finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds to collect his 25th career double-double.
>> With 694 career boards, Delgado is on pace to become Seton Hall’s leading rebounder during the BIG EAST era. Herb Pope grabbed 922 boards from 2009-12 (he is the fifth overall in program history). Delgado is the BIG EAST’s active leader in double-doubles, and when he delivers a double-double, good things happen for The Hall, which was 13-0 last season in those occurrences. During his career, the Pirates are 22-4 when he double-dips.
>> SHU has seen consistent scoring from Carrington, Rodriguez, Powell and Delgado, and is one of two teams (Creighton) to have four different players in the top-25 in scoring in the BIG EAST. The quartet has combined to post 76.6 percent of the total scoring output for the Pirates.
>> Filling in for Ismael Sanogo at the AdvoCare Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend, sophomore Michael Nzei proved he can be a significant contributor in the post. He averaged 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in two starts and put up career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds against Quinnipiac. For the season, he is an impressive 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the field.
>> The Hall has been dominant in the paint all season and is outscoring opponents 294-174. It has held a 10-point or more advantage in the paint over their opponent in six of seven games, and outscored FDU 52-18, and Iowa, 50-24, in the paint. Additionally, SHU has out-rebounded opponents in six of seven games and limited Columbia to just four offensive boards last Thursday.
>> The Pirates have one of the toughest out-of-conference schedules in the country this season. Out of the 12 games, seven matchups are against teams that advanced to postseason play in 2015-16, including four NCAA Tournament squads (Fairleigh Dickinson, Iowa, Hawaii, California). Five of the games are against opponents entering the season with KenPom/ RPI rating in the top-75 (Iowa, Florida, Stanford, California, South Carolina). Seton Hall itself was a top 25 team last season in the RPI and KenPom ratings as well as the final Associated Press poll of the year.
