Pirates Host No. 4 'Nova Wednesday Pres. by BURG (9 PM, CBSSN)

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BURG and Country Club Services will be offering FREE shuttles to and from the arena between 6:30-8:30 pm

Jan. 19, 2016

Game 18 // BIG EAST Game 6 // Home Game 10
Seton Hall (13-4, 3-2 BIG EAST) vs. No. 4 Villanova (16-2, 6-0 BIG EAST)
Presented by BURG
Date Wednesday, Jan. 20 | 9:00 p.m. ET
Location Prudential Center | Newark, N.J.
Tickets BUY NOW! | Upcoming Home Games | Pre-Paid Parking
Tune in CBS Sports Network
Links Live Stats | Seton Hall Radio (PSN) | @SetonHallMBB on Twitter | #HALLin
Notes Media Central | Seton Hall Notes | Villanova Notes
The Tip

On the heels of a nine-point victory at nationally-ranked Providence Saturday, the Seton Hall Pirates return home Wednesday to wrap up the season series with a Villanova Wildcats team that climbed to fourth in the latest AP Top-25 poll.

It is the second of three-straight games against top-25 foes for The Hall (13-4, 3-2 BIG EAST) as SHU will travel to take on No. 5 Xavier after closing the series with 'Nova. The Wildcats (16-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) bring an eight-game winning streak into the matchup after picking up a road victory at Georgetown in their last time out.

Wednesday's contest will take place exactly two weeks after the two teams met in Villanova in a game that saw VU come away with a 72-63 win despite standout efforts from SHU guards Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.).Carrington (14) and Whitehead (20) combined for over half of the team's points in the matchup and on Saturday, it was the two Brooklyn natives who once again starred in leading the Pirates past the Friars.

Whitehead was named to his third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll of the season after finishing with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Carrington poured in a career-high 22 points off the bench to fuel the victory. Stellar two-way play from senior Derrick Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) in his third start of the season coupled with a dominant rebounding effort from Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) and Ismael Sanogo (Newark, N.J.) provided the recipe for Seton Hall's eighth win over a ranked opponent under head coach Kevin Willard.

Against Villanova, The Hall will get a shot at defeating ranked teams in consecutive games for the second time in two years. Last year, 17 points from Carrington helped the Pirates secure a 66-61 overtime victory against sixth-ranked Villanova at Prudential Center that followed a convincing win over then-No. 15 St. John's to open BIG EAST play.

One of the nation's premier defensive teams at 60.0 points allowed per game, Villanova is also the most balanced offensive unit in rthe conference with all five starters averaging in double figures. Jay Wright's squad has won its last 18 regular season games against BIG EAST opposition as well but the Pirates are the lone team in the league to have beaten VU in each of the last two seasons and will be looking for their third win in as many seasons over a Villanova side ranked inside the top-six.

Seton Hall vs. Villanova Presented by BURG

The contest between the two longtime rivals will be presented by BURG - the official post-game headquarters of Seton Hall basketball.

Prior to Wednesday night's tip, make BURG your pregame destination as the brand-new establishment has teamed with Country Club Services to provide FREE shuttles to and from the arena between 6:30-8:30 p.m. Located in the beautiful Military Park, BURG will be offering extended Happy Hour pricing to fans wearing Seton Hall gear during those hours.

If you're headed to The Rock to catch Pirates basketball on Wednesday - park your car, catch a shuttle and MEAT in the middle!

Tune In:

The Hall and 'Nova will tip-off at 9:00 p.m. on CBS Sports Network with Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Doug Gottlieb (analyst) on hand to call the action with Jamie Erdahl on the sidelines. The Seton Hall radio team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin can be heard on AM970 The Answer (WNYM) with a simulcast available online at PirateSportsNet.tv

Follow Us:

For exclusive content and coverage throughout the season and especially on gameday, be sure to follow @SetonHallMBB on Twitter

Tickets
Tickets are still available and can be purchased online through Ticketmaster, by calling the Seton Hall Athletics Ticket Office at (973) 275-HALL (4255) or visiting the Prudential Center Box Office on gameday.

 

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Pirate Points
- Sophomore Khadeen Carrington finished with a career-high 22 points, his 3rd 20-point game of the season, helping the Pirates score an 81-72 victory at No. 12 Providence on Saturday. Backcourt-mate Isaiah Whitehead finished with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds while fellow starters Derrick Gordon (15) and Desi Rodriguez (10) also scored in double-figures

- The victory was the first for the Pirates over a ranked team this season and marked the program's eighth win over an AP Top-25 team under head coach Kevin Willard. All eight of those wins have come against foes ranked inside the top-15 and six have come at home at Prudential Center where SHU will host Villanova on Wednesday. The Hall owns two victories over the Wildcats since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign and is the lone BIG EAST team to beat Villanova in each of the last two years

- While the upcoming schedule features a number of notable opponents, The Hall has built a strong postseason resume of its own over the first half of the season. At 41 in the latest rankings (1/18), the Pirates boast the fourth-best RPI in the BIG EAST behind only three teams it will face during the current three-game stretch in Villanova (2), Xavier (3), and Providence (31). The advanced analytics at KenPom.com also have Seton Hall rated among the top-50 squads in the nation (44) as does the ESPN Basketball Power Index (48)

- Through five BIG EAST outings, Khadeen Carrington has emerged as one of the most potent scorers in the league. Carrington's 22-point showing at Providence included a 12-for-12 mark from the free throw line, matching the fourth-most single game total free throws made without a miss in program history. Now averaging 16.8 ppg against conference opposition, Carrington is tied for fifth in the league and the +2.3 ppg difference between his season and BIG EAST average
is fourth-best among players in the top-10.

- 14 of Carrington's points against the Friars came after halftime, continuing a trend that has seen the sophomore take over late in games. Over the last three contests, Carrington has totaled 36 points in the second half alone and for the season, the Brooklyn native has scored a team-best 8.3 ppg after intermission. In a 66-61 overtime win over Villanova at home last season, scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and the extra period

- Isaiah Whitehead continues to shine as the Pirates' point guard and now has seven games with 5+ assists this year, pushing his career total to 16 such games in 36 career appearances. The Hall is 7-0 when he hands out five or more helpers this season and over SHU's last four wins, the standout sophomore is averaging 8.3 assists per game. Whitehead has also scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games and has done so a total of 14 times this year

- Carrington and Whitehead have been arguably the most potent duo in the BIG EAST since the beginning of conference play. Both Brooklyn products have joined the 500 career point club this season and currently rank in the top-10 in scoring and assists, standing as the only pair of teammates in the conference who can make that claim. Through five conference games, Carrington and Whitehead of scored or assisted on 94 of the team's 130 FGM (.723). The two have made a tremendous impact while keeping the rest of the Pirates involved as only seven of their 41 combined assists in league play have come on shots made by the other

- Derrick Gordon has also elevated his game since the schedule turned to BIG EAST competition as the senior is coming off his finest performance in a Pirate uniform. Gordon has played at least 24 minutes in all five BIG EAST games after doing so just twice in the final eight non-conference games and has responded by ranking third on the team with 10.8 ppg. At 8.8 ppg for the season, Gordon ranks fourth among BIG EAST players that have started less than 33 percent of their team's games

- The Pirates grabbed 50 rebounds in the victory over the Friars, their second-highest total of the season behind a 53-rebound performance in a win over in-state rival Rutgers. Coincidentally, the 50 rebounds were also the most by a Seton Hall team in a BIG EAST game since SHU pulled down 56 in a 85-74 win over the Scarlet Knights on March 4, 2010

- The Hall also improved to 9-0 when leading at halftime this season, moving to 23-2 over the last two seasons when ahead at the break. Over the last three years, the Pirates have won 38 of the 42 games in which they have taken an advantage into halftime

- The victory over the Friars earned Seton Hall votes in Monday's Coaches Top-25 poll, marking the second time this season that The Hall has received votes. SHU also received votes in the AP poll heading into the first matchup with the Wildcats after opening BIG EAST play with wins at Marquette and vs. DePaul

- A win on Wednesday would give The Hall a pair of victories over AP Top-25 opponents in consecutive games for the second time in as many seasons. Prior to beating then-No. 15 St. John's and then-No. 6 Villanova to open BIG EAST play last season, SHU had not won two-straight games over AP Top-25 foes since 2005-06 when the Pirates downed No. 15 NC State and No. 25 Syracuse in consecutive road games. Seton Hall has beaten ranked BIG EAST opponents in consecutive games just one other time in its history, downing No. 22 Pittsburgh (83-73) and No. 18 Georgetown (63-50) as part of a 1990-91 season that included the program's first-ever BIG EAST Tournament titleScouting Villanova
- Villanova scored its eighth-straight win on Saturday as Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins combined for 40 points in a 55-50 victory at Georgetown

- The Wildcats improved to 16-2 overall despite shooting 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. Following a 4-of- 15 performance at Butler (1/10), Villanova has shot 7-of-33 (.212) from deep over its last two BIG EAST road games. The Hall held the Wildcats to 4-of-22 (.182) from 3-point range in the first meeting

- `Nova has allowed less than 70 points in seven of the eight games since an 86-75 loss at Virginia and after holding the Hoyas to 50 points, VU ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense at 60.0 points per game and also ranks among the top-10 in field goal percentage defense (.377)

- Villanova's starting unit of Daniel Ochefu (10.1 ppg), Kris Jenkins (10.2 ppg), Josh Hart (15.5 ppg), Jalen Brunson (10.2 ppg) and Ryan Arcidiacono (12.7 ppg) are all averaging in double-figures; making the Wildcats the lone team in the BIG EAST with five players averaging at least 10 points per game. All but Brunson scored in double-figures in the first meeting with the Pirates as the starters accounted for 59 of Villanova's 72 points.

- On the strength of eight consecutive wins, Villanova climbed to No. 4 in the latest AP rankings. Over the last two years, the Pirates have recorded two wins over Wildcats teams ranked inside the top-six; coming back to post a 66-61 overtime victory at Prudential Center over then-No. 6 Villanova. The victory followed a quarterfinal upset at the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament that saw The Hall advance past No. 3 Villanova with a buzzer-beating 64-63 win

- The progress of junior Josh Hart has been instrumental to the Wildcats' success to this point in the year. Through six conference games, the 6-foot-5 guard is one of two players in the BIG EAST who ranks in the top-eight in both scoring and rebounding - posting averages of 17.0 ppg (4th) and 7.0 rpg (t-8th) since the start of league play. Hart finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds against SHU on January 5 after totaling 13 points across two meetings last year

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