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Some interesting facts and stats from the SHUPirates write-up:

Inside the Box Score

  • Both teams shot well from the floor as Indiana State shot 47 percent and Seton Hall shot 45 percent.
  • The Pirates shot 35 percent from deep and Indiana State shot at a 38 percent clip a the three-point line.
  • The Pirates shot 89 percent (17-of-19) from the free throw line and the Sycamores shot 90 percent (9-of-10).
  • There were nine ties and 12 lead chances but Seton Hall held the lead for 26:23 of game time.
  • The Pirates owned a 38-30 edge in points in the paint.
  • Seton Hall scored 20 points off of 15 Indiana State turnovers
  • The Sycamores finished plus-four on the glass, 35-31.
News & Notes

  • This is Seton Hall's second NIT championship in program history and its first since 1953.
  • Seton Hall's 25 wins this season is tied for the fourth-most in program history and the most since the Pirates' 25-win BIG EAST Tournament championship season in 2015-16.
  • Head coach Shaheen Holloway is now 6-0 in the city Indianapolis with wins over Kentucky and Murray State in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, two road wins over Butler and two wins this year's NIT over Georgia and Indiana State.
  • Seton Hall has won five straight games at Hinkle Fieldhouse including eight of its last 10 contests.
  • Dawes finishes his career with 169 made three-pointers, which ranks 14th in program history.
  • Dawes' 91 made three-pointers this season is tied for the eighth-most in a single season in program history.
  • Dawes finished with 12 20-point games this season and 20 in his career.
  • Richmond notched his eighth double-double of the season and the 11th of his career.
 
Some great responses and info in there. Highlighting several, but all worth a read:

Q. You guys played in some raucous places, Madison Square Garden; you guys played all over the place. This crowd was definitely Indiana State tonight, but it looked like it did not affect you at all in your game. Talk a little about that, about playing in front of big crowds like that and then raucous crowds?

DRE DAVIS: Like you said, we played in a lot of big games like this. I think we can just credit the league, the BIG EAST to that. I feel like our league really prepared us for this moment. I feel like we didn't waiver as a team. Even going down seven points in the last few minutes, we stayed together as a team and we believed and we got the job done.

KADARY RICHMOND: Like Dre said, our conference prepared us for this, but it seems as if you were paying attention to schedule. So that neutral game against Missou, I think that also prepared us for this.

***

Q. The three of you have been together two years, as a trio, what kind of stamp or legacy do you hope to have left in helping Shaheen Holloway get his regime off the ground?

DRE DAVIS: I feel like we did something special here. Obviously we wanted to win a championship, and at the end of the day that's what we did. But like he put us in the best position to do.

So we know we have to sacrifice a lot. Been through a lot. It's been a long season, but I think this is a good -- obviously he's had a great career as a coach, going to Elite 8 but this is something else he can add to his resumé as well.

KADARY RICHMOND: I feel like we left a lot of people who had -- the naysayers, we left them with something to remember, and the people at Seton Hall, the history with winning and stuff like that, and playing in April, I feel like we left our mark in there in that aspect, too.

We also opened the doors for the underdog players that's being recruited by Seton Hall, and don't feel as if anybody else is giving them a chance. This is a great place to come, and be able to play a game and be who you are.

AL-AMIR DAWES: What he said. I mean, he said everything. I think it's important that, you know, just like he said, the recruiting players, underdogs coming in, you know, give them a chance to believe in their selves so they can do something special.

****
Q. What have these guys shown you coming back from seven down in a hostile environment?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Well, you know, you've been around this program for a long time. You've been around us all year. This is what we've been doing all year. This group, you know, they haven't wavered. We got in a huddle. There was no panicking. It was, all right, all right, let's do what we do. Get a score, get a stop. Score, get a stop, stop, and kind of be right back in it, and that's what happened.

Obviously I thought we had moments in the game that we had control of the game, and you give those guys credit, man. They made some big plays. But this is what this team has been made of all year long. We've been fighting, coming back. Like Kadary said or Dre or Al, we credit our league. We play in a bunch of hostile environments, so this was nothing new.

****

Q. Can you take me through the last play, Jaden goes up and blocks that shot to save the game. Can you tell me about his impact on the team and ending his college career with a such a bang?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: It's a full circle moment. I remember NJIT game, after the game, and then all the questions about our bigs: Are your bigs going to be good enough to play in league and this and that.

So for him to end this like that on a block, all right, to me, is a stamp of what he done all year long for us. He gave us everything he had every time he played on the court. These last two days, he's sick. He's out there playing. He don't care. Just playing. Not saying, I'm sitting down. Not anything. He's playing. Those type of guys are the guys you want, and those are the type of guys who do well with me.

Q. Staying on Bediako, got into foul trouble early. You put him in with four fouls with a couple minutes left in the game. What kind of confidence did you have in Bediako and did you talk to him --

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: I ride with my guys, man. I ride with my guys. Man, you know, been riding with those five guys all year long. Kadary and Dylan cramping up, you guys want to come out? No, we ain't coming out. The training staff did an unbelievable job of trying to get him hydrated and all these gadgets that they have to try to get them back. Those guys was cramping the last seven minutes of the game.

And of course, at the end of the day, you know, those guys in that locker room played their heart and soul out, man. Super proud of them.

****

Q. You've been chasing banners and chasing championships. What does it I feel like to have the opportunity to raise one now as a coach?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: To be honest, it haven't hit me yet. I'm still in the moment. I'm in the moment. I'm just so happy for those guys to -- I don't know how long it's been, two Sundays ago, or three Sundays ago. If you guys seen the look on these guys' face when we didn't make the tournament, and as their leader, right, having -- not knowing what to say to them, it was the worst feeling in the world. Like the worst feeling in the world.

Like my two sons, my daughter, they do something, I don't know -- they ask me a question, I don't know what to say. That's how I felt with all 16 of those guys in the locker room that day. Everybody looking to me like, Coach, what happened? I thought this -- and I'm looking like, fellas, I don't have an answer for you.

From that, to going in that game, drenched by those guy, it's the best feeling in the world.

Q. There was a moment where you went over to Robbie Avila after the game and literally picked his head up. What did you say to him and what compelled to you do that?

SHAHEEN HOLLOWAY: Because those guys, he's a good player. Those guys are good players. I told them, there's no need to have your head down. You guys played a heck of a game. You guys got a great team. You guys battled. This was a championship game. A bunch of punches going back and forth, and just told him to pick his head up. He's a great player and he's got a lot of basketball to be played.
 
That line from Holloway about not being able to or knowing what to say to his players on selection sunday, to describing the joy in the locker room….

Man, that just makes feel even happier for these guys that the season ended on such a high note. I hadn’t really read or heard many quotes from Sha on what it was like being with the team that day. He really opened up and drew a strong picture. It must have been so disappointing and agonizing. For them to turn that around and end the season in a burst of joy and camaraderie is truly one of the most gratifying moments in Seton Hall Basketball. Missing the tournament was awful, but these guys going out with a win and championship is essential. It’s everything.
 
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