Pirates Begin Huge Home Game Stretch Wednesday vs. Providence
Seton Hall (14-8, 4-6 BIG EAST, Kenpom 53, RPI 35) vs. Providence (14-10, 4-7 BIG EAST, Kenpom 63, RPI 69)
Wednesday, Feb. 8 · Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) · 8:30 p.m.
TV: FS1 and FOX Sports GO with Brian Custer & Vin Parise
Radio: AM970 The Answer / Sirius 134 / XM 201 / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Junior Angel Delgado continued his dominance this season by scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 17 rebounds and junior Desi Rodriguez scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with 1:06 remaining in overtime as the Seton Hall pulled out a 68-66 victory over Georgetown Saturday at Verizon Center. The crucial BIG EAST victory was The Hall’s third in a row over the Hoyas and third in the last four meetings between the teams in the nation’s capital.
>> The Hall welcomes Providence to Newark Wednesday night seeking payback for a hard-fought 65-61 setback at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Jan. 14 in the 100th overall meeting between the teams. The Pirates clawed back from a 16-point deficit to draw even with the Friars late in the second half, but Kyron Cartwright’s three-point play with 32 seconds remaining sealed the game for Providence. The Friars have a slight edge in the all-time series, 52-48, but the Pirates are 27-21 at home.
>> SHU is 8-1 at home this season and has been able to take advantage of conference opponents stepping into its gym in recent history. It is 9-4 in its last 13 BIG EAST home games and has won five of the last six, including victories over Marquette, DePaul and St. John’s this season and a victory over then No. 5-ranked Xavier in the 2015-16 home finale. SHU will not be leaving the Metro New York area for the next three weeks as tonight marks the beginning of four home games in five contests with the lone road matchup against St. John’s at The Garden. Every other team in the BIG EAST has played 12 or more home games in contrast to just nine for the Pirates.
>> Prudential Center has been noticeably loud this season as attendance has surged and is expected to continue. The Pirates are averaging an attendance of 7,933 during their eight games at Prudential Center. That number would rank just shy of fifth in the BIG EAST, however, the overall home attendance average is 7,257 (eighth in BIG EAST) because of the Nov. 11 game played at Walsh Gymnasium (sold-out, standing-room crowd of 1,856). Through nine overall home games last season, Seton Hall’s average attendance was 6,218. Additionally, The Hall has already sold over 14,000 tickets for the Feb. 18 game vs. Villanova.
>> Including the game winner at Georgetown, the versatile swingman Rodriguez has had the hot hand offensively for the Pirates in BIG EAST play. In fact, he is third in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.4 points per game) during league play, and is shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from beyond the arc. He has made 2.8 triples per game in the team’s 10 BIG EAST contests, second most in the conference. Prior to league play, Rodriguez was 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range.
>> The Bronx native has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. He scored a career-high 30 points at Marquette and was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after a 25-point performance against DePaul in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts. Affectionately known as #DunkinDesi, Rodriguez has thrown down 11 dunks this season and 34 for his career. He is 12th in the conference in scoring (15.7 ppg) and 15th in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
>> It is no secret that the heartbeat of Seton Hall is paced by the best big man in the BIG EAST, Delgado. He enters Saturday as the nation’s top rebounder with 13.1 per game, and has 6.1 more per game (127 total) than any other player in the conference. He has five 20-point games this season including a career-best 26 at Georgetown, and is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He was named Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association Player of the Week and earned a nod on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the seventh time this season after averaging 19.5 points and 15.0 rebounds over two games last week. Delgado is furthermore averaging 18.6 points and 15.3 rebounds during home games.
>> Delgado is posting truly historic numbers in his junior campaign, and has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in school and conference history. The 6-foot-10 Dominican native posted 21 points and 20 rebounds against St. John’s and 12 points, 22 boards versus Butler. His performance in the St. John’s game marked the first 20-20 game for The Hall since Eddie Griffin vs. Saint Peter’s on Nov. 27, 2000 and just the 14th to occur in any BIG EAST regular season conference game. Delgado’s 22 rebounds against Butler are the most by any Pirate since the school joined the BIG EAST in 1979. He is only the seventh Pirate in program history to record a 20-rebound game, and the first since Pope vs. Syracuse on Jan. 8, 2011. Additionally, Delgado is one of four student-athletes from a “Power Basketball Six” conference since 1996 to have back-to-back 20-rebound games (courtesy of FOX Sports & Anthony Masterson):
>> The SHU backcourt is led by junior guard Khadeen Carrington, who is eighth in the BIG EAST with 16.6 points per game. The Brooklyn native has the ability to drive it to the rim or shoot it from long range. He has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, 52 times throughout his career. Carrington has come up clutch in late-game situations and is averaging 9.7 points during the second half this season on 49.3 percent shooting. He currently has a team-high 1,117 career points (34th all-time in school history), and became the 41st student-athlete in school history to reach the 1,000-point threshold after a 27-point performance at Creighton.
>> Largely considered one of the top defenders in the BIG EAST, and described by head coach Kevin Willard as the team MVP day in and day out, junior forward Ismael Sanogo has also proved his worth on the glass. He is fifth in the BIG EAST with 6.3 rebounds per game and pulled down a career-high 16 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on Dec. 23. He also grabbed 12 boards in a victory over then-ranked No. 16 South Carolina at The Garden. Sanogo played a crucial role in limiting the BIG EAST’s fifth leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s (17.2 points per game), to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting on Jan. 22. Against Butler, he totaled a season-best three blocks and matched a career-high four steals.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 41.9 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 7-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The Pirates have played particularly tough defense at home and are holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 39.0 percent (199-of-510) shooting. Furthermore, the team’s 7.1 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 41.9 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 7-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The Pirates have played particularly tough defense at home and are holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 39.0 percent (199-of-510) shooting. Furthermore, the team’s 7.1 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST.
>> Powell has shown the ability to be a dynamic scorer and dangerous three-point threat through the first 22 games of his career. Just three games into his rookie season he put up 26 points in SHU’s victory at Iowa (Nov. 17) to snap the Hawkeyes 41-game home winning streak over non-conference foes. He went 9-for-14 from the field, 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21. Powell scored 26 and made a career-best 10 field goals at Xavier last Wednesday including a 6-of-12 mark from three-point land. He is one of only two Pirates since 2008 to have multiple 25-point games as a freshman, joining Jeremy Hazell. He has canned three or more triples in seven different games this year and is averaging 11.0 points per game. In home games, the Trenton native is shooting 40.0 percent from three-point land.
Seton Hall (14-8, 4-6 BIG EAST, Kenpom 53, RPI 35) vs. Providence (14-10, 4-7 BIG EAST, Kenpom 63, RPI 69)
Wednesday, Feb. 8 · Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) · 8:30 p.m.
TV: FS1 and FOX Sports GO with Brian Custer & Vin Parise
Radio: AM970 The Answer / Sirius 134 / XM 201 / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Junior Angel Delgado continued his dominance this season by scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 17 rebounds and junior Desi Rodriguez scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with 1:06 remaining in overtime as the Seton Hall pulled out a 68-66 victory over Georgetown Saturday at Verizon Center. The crucial BIG EAST victory was The Hall’s third in a row over the Hoyas and third in the last four meetings between the teams in the nation’s capital.
>> The Hall welcomes Providence to Newark Wednesday night seeking payback for a hard-fought 65-61 setback at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Jan. 14 in the 100th overall meeting between the teams. The Pirates clawed back from a 16-point deficit to draw even with the Friars late in the second half, but Kyron Cartwright’s three-point play with 32 seconds remaining sealed the game for Providence. The Friars have a slight edge in the all-time series, 52-48, but the Pirates are 27-21 at home.
>> SHU is 8-1 at home this season and has been able to take advantage of conference opponents stepping into its gym in recent history. It is 9-4 in its last 13 BIG EAST home games and has won five of the last six, including victories over Marquette, DePaul and St. John’s this season and a victory over then No. 5-ranked Xavier in the 2015-16 home finale. SHU will not be leaving the Metro New York area for the next three weeks as tonight marks the beginning of four home games in five contests with the lone road matchup against St. John’s at The Garden. Every other team in the BIG EAST has played 12 or more home games in contrast to just nine for the Pirates.
>> Prudential Center has been noticeably loud this season as attendance has surged and is expected to continue. The Pirates are averaging an attendance of 7,933 during their eight games at Prudential Center. That number would rank just shy of fifth in the BIG EAST, however, the overall home attendance average is 7,257 (eighth in BIG EAST) because of the Nov. 11 game played at Walsh Gymnasium (sold-out, standing-room crowd of 1,856). Through nine overall home games last season, Seton Hall’s average attendance was 6,218. Additionally, The Hall has already sold over 14,000 tickets for the Feb. 18 game vs. Villanova.
>> Including the game winner at Georgetown, the versatile swingman Rodriguez has had the hot hand offensively for the Pirates in BIG EAST play. In fact, he is third in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.4 points per game) during league play, and is shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from beyond the arc. He has made 2.8 triples per game in the team’s 10 BIG EAST contests, second most in the conference. Prior to league play, Rodriguez was 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range.
>> The Bronx native has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. He scored a career-high 30 points at Marquette and was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after a 25-point performance against DePaul in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts. Affectionately known as #DunkinDesi, Rodriguez has thrown down 11 dunks this season and 34 for his career. He is 12th in the conference in scoring (15.7 ppg) and 15th in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
>> It is no secret that the heartbeat of Seton Hall is paced by the best big man in the BIG EAST, Delgado. He enters Saturday as the nation’s top rebounder with 13.1 per game, and has 6.1 more per game (127 total) than any other player in the conference. He has five 20-point games this season including a career-best 26 at Georgetown, and is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He was named Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association Player of the Week and earned a nod on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the seventh time this season after averaging 19.5 points and 15.0 rebounds over two games last week. Delgado is furthermore averaging 18.6 points and 15.3 rebounds during home games.
>> Delgado is posting truly historic numbers in his junior campaign, and has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in school and conference history. The 6-foot-10 Dominican native posted 21 points and 20 rebounds against St. John’s and 12 points, 22 boards versus Butler. His performance in the St. John’s game marked the first 20-20 game for The Hall since Eddie Griffin vs. Saint Peter’s on Nov. 27, 2000 and just the 14th to occur in any BIG EAST regular season conference game. Delgado’s 22 rebounds against Butler are the most by any Pirate since the school joined the BIG EAST in 1979. He is only the seventh Pirate in program history to record a 20-rebound game, and the first since Pope vs. Syracuse on Jan. 8, 2011. Additionally, Delgado is one of four student-athletes from a “Power Basketball Six” conference since 1996 to have back-to-back 20-rebound games (courtesy of FOX Sports & Anthony Masterson):
- Tim Duncan, Wake Forest (1996-97)
- Blake Griffin, Oklahoma (2008-09)
- Caleb Swanigan, Purdue (2016-17)
>> The SHU backcourt is led by junior guard Khadeen Carrington, who is eighth in the BIG EAST with 16.6 points per game. The Brooklyn native has the ability to drive it to the rim or shoot it from long range. He has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, 52 times throughout his career. Carrington has come up clutch in late-game situations and is averaging 9.7 points during the second half this season on 49.3 percent shooting. He currently has a team-high 1,117 career points (34th all-time in school history), and became the 41st student-athlete in school history to reach the 1,000-point threshold after a 27-point performance at Creighton.
>> Largely considered one of the top defenders in the BIG EAST, and described by head coach Kevin Willard as the team MVP day in and day out, junior forward Ismael Sanogo has also proved his worth on the glass. He is fifth in the BIG EAST with 6.3 rebounds per game and pulled down a career-high 16 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on Dec. 23. He also grabbed 12 boards in a victory over then-ranked No. 16 South Carolina at The Garden. Sanogo played a crucial role in limiting the BIG EAST’s fifth leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s (17.2 points per game), to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting on Jan. 22. Against Butler, he totaled a season-best three blocks and matched a career-high four steals.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 41.9 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 7-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The Pirates have played particularly tough defense at home and are holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 39.0 percent (199-of-510) shooting. Furthermore, the team’s 7.1 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 41.9 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 7-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The Pirates have played particularly tough defense at home and are holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 39.0 percent (199-of-510) shooting. Furthermore, the team’s 7.1 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST.
>> Powell has shown the ability to be a dynamic scorer and dangerous three-point threat through the first 22 games of his career. Just three games into his rookie season he put up 26 points in SHU’s victory at Iowa (Nov. 17) to snap the Hawkeyes 41-game home winning streak over non-conference foes. He went 9-for-14 from the field, 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21. Powell scored 26 and made a career-best 10 field goals at Xavier last Wednesday including a 6-of-12 mark from three-point land. He is one of only two Pirates since 2008 to have multiple 25-point games as a freshman, joining Jeremy Hazell. He has canned three or more triples in seven different games this year and is averaging 11.0 points per game. In home games, the Trenton native is shooting 40.0 percent from three-point land.
