Media info
The Hall Goes for the Upset Saturday at No. 13 Butler
Seton Hall (19-10, 9-8 BIG EAST, Kenpom 57, RPI 49) vs. No. 13 Butler (23-6, 12-5 BIG EAST, Kenpom 20, RPI 10)
Saturday, March 4 · Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.) · 2:30 p.m.
TV: FOX Broadcast Network / FOX Sports GO
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Seton Hall’s BIG EAST Tournament Seeding Scenarios:
Seton Hall will be No. 4 seed with a win over Butler plus:
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Junior Desi Rodriguez scored a game-high 27 points, and junior Angel Delgado hit what proved to be the game- winning basket with 1:12 remaining in the game as Seton Hall played stellar defense in the final two minutes to defeat Georgetown, 62-59, on Senior Night Tuesday at Prudential Center. Delgado secured his 11th consecutive and nation- leading 24th double-double of the season with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 13 rebounds. He pulled down his 1,000th career rebound, and he became the BIG EAST’s all-time leader in single-season rebounds (237 total). Rodriguez was stellar in the first half for the Pirates, going 7-for-10 from the field for 17 points. Junior Khadeen Carrington totaled eight points, three assists, three steals, and hit a crucial pair of free throws in the final minute.
>> With Tuesday’s victory, The Hall has won six of its last eight games, and is assured of a .500 or better record in the BIG EAST for a second straight season for the first time since back-to-back 10-6 records in 2003 and 2004. More importantly, its NCAA Tournament resume (see page 4) has continued to get stronger with two wins over NCAA top- 30 RPI teams in the last five games. SHU has been consistent and does not have any “bad losses” as the team is 9-0 against teams outside the KenPom top-100 and 10-1 against those outside the RPI top-50. The lone loss came at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s, who is currently ranked No. 128 in RPI, 87th in KenPom standings.
>> Saturday’s game will have significance on how the BIG EAST Tournament seedings shake out. Seton Hall has clinched a tournament first-round bye and will play its first game on Thursday. Against who and as what seed will be dependent upon the results of this game plus the Marquette vs. Creighton and St. John’s vs. Providence games. If The Hall defeats Butler, it is guaranteed a spot in the 4-5 game. If the Pirates lose to Butler, it is guaranteed the No. 6 seed EXCEPT if Providence, Marquette and Xavier all lose. In that case, Seton Hall will be No. 5.
>> The Pirates visit Hinkle Fieldhouse looking to snap a five game winless streak against the Bulldogs. Butler is 7-1 in the all-time series and 4-0 at home. The lone SHU victory in the series came in the opening round of the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament on March 12 when the Pirates held on for a 51-50 win at Madison Square Garden. In the first meeting between the teams this season, Delgado pulled down a career-best 22 rebounds on top of 12 points in a 61-54 setback at Prudential Center on Jan. 25. With the game tied at 49-49, Butler converted a three-point play and buried a triple to take a six-point lead at 2:48 that effectively put the game out of reach.
>> Although The Hall fell in the tightly contested matchup in Newark, Willard and the Pirates have proven the ability to make in-season adjustments and take advantage of experience against BIG EAST competition. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Seton Hall is 15-5 when facing an opponent for the second or third time in the same season.
>> The Pirates have endured several back-and-forth games that have come down to the wire. SHU has played in SEVEN BIG EAST games decided by three points or fewer in 2016-17, the most in a single season under head coach Kevin Willard. SHU is 5-2 in such games, and is 7-2 overall in games decided by three points or fewer. Additionally, nine of the last 10 games have been decided by single digits.
>> SHU has a chance to win its 20th game of the season Saturday. It is on the heels of a 25-win season in 2015-16, and can earn back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the program recorded 23 victories in 1991-92 and 28 in 1992-93. It would also be the first time during Willard’s head coaching career with two straight 20-win seasons.
>> Though grossly underrated in the national scope, the Best Big Man in the BIG EASTTM, Delgado, has been a game- changer for the Pirates. He is currently riding a career-best 11 game double-double streak, matching his 11 in a row earlier this season. During the current double dip run, he is averaging 17.5 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. He enters Saturday as the nation’s leading rebounder with 13.0 per game, second-leading offensive rebounder with 4.8 per game, and top double-double producer (24). He averages 6.4 more rebounds per game (179 total) than any other player in the conference.
>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native posted 21 points and 20 rebounds against St. John’s at home and 12 points, 22 boards in the first meeting with 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.
>> The big man is posting truly historic numbers in his junior campaign, and has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in school and conference history. Two impressive milestones were reached during Tuesday night’s win over Georgetown. With his eighth rebound of the night, Delgado reached No. 232 in BIG EAST play this season to become the conference’s all-time single-season leading rebounder, passing Luke Harangody (Notre Dame, 2008-09). Later in the game he pulled down his 1,000th career rebound and is now just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, as well as the combination of 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, the first since Glenn Mosley (1973- 77). Delgado also passed one of the all-time greats, Patrick Ewing (Georgetown, 1981-85), on the BIG EAST career rebounding list and is now fifth in league annals with 598 career boards.
>> In addition to his superior skills on the glass, Delgado has also proven to be a reliable scorer in the post. He has scored in double figures in 22 of the last 23 games and has six 20-point outings this season including a career-best 26 at Georgetown. He is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He earned recognition on the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll for the 10th time this season after posting a pair of double- doubles and averaging 20.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in wins over Xavier and DePaul last week. No other player in the conference has more than five appearances on the Honor Roll.
The Hall Goes for the Upset Saturday at No. 13 Butler
Seton Hall (19-10, 9-8 BIG EAST, Kenpom 57, RPI 49) vs. No. 13 Butler (23-6, 12-5 BIG EAST, Kenpom 20, RPI 10)
Saturday, March 4 · Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.) · 2:30 p.m.
TV: FOX Broadcast Network / FOX Sports GO
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Seton Hall’s BIG EAST Tournament Seeding Scenarios:
Seton Hall will be No. 4 seed with a win over Butler plus:
- Marquette win over Creighton
- St. John’s win over Providence
- Providence win over St. John’s
- Creighton win over Marquette
- St. John’s win over Providence
- DePaul win over Xavier
- A Marquette, Providence OR Xavier win
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Junior Desi Rodriguez scored a game-high 27 points, and junior Angel Delgado hit what proved to be the game- winning basket with 1:12 remaining in the game as Seton Hall played stellar defense in the final two minutes to defeat Georgetown, 62-59, on Senior Night Tuesday at Prudential Center. Delgado secured his 11th consecutive and nation- leading 24th double-double of the season with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 13 rebounds. He pulled down his 1,000th career rebound, and he became the BIG EAST’s all-time leader in single-season rebounds (237 total). Rodriguez was stellar in the first half for the Pirates, going 7-for-10 from the field for 17 points. Junior Khadeen Carrington totaled eight points, three assists, three steals, and hit a crucial pair of free throws in the final minute.
>> With Tuesday’s victory, The Hall has won six of its last eight games, and is assured of a .500 or better record in the BIG EAST for a second straight season for the first time since back-to-back 10-6 records in 2003 and 2004. More importantly, its NCAA Tournament resume (see page 4) has continued to get stronger with two wins over NCAA top- 30 RPI teams in the last five games. SHU has been consistent and does not have any “bad losses” as the team is 9-0 against teams outside the KenPom top-100 and 10-1 against those outside the RPI top-50. The lone loss came at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s, who is currently ranked No. 128 in RPI, 87th in KenPom standings.
>> Saturday’s game will have significance on how the BIG EAST Tournament seedings shake out. Seton Hall has clinched a tournament first-round bye and will play its first game on Thursday. Against who and as what seed will be dependent upon the results of this game plus the Marquette vs. Creighton and St. John’s vs. Providence games. If The Hall defeats Butler, it is guaranteed a spot in the 4-5 game. If the Pirates lose to Butler, it is guaranteed the No. 6 seed EXCEPT if Providence, Marquette and Xavier all lose. In that case, Seton Hall will be No. 5.
>> The Pirates visit Hinkle Fieldhouse looking to snap a five game winless streak against the Bulldogs. Butler is 7-1 in the all-time series and 4-0 at home. The lone SHU victory in the series came in the opening round of the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament on March 12 when the Pirates held on for a 51-50 win at Madison Square Garden. In the first meeting between the teams this season, Delgado pulled down a career-best 22 rebounds on top of 12 points in a 61-54 setback at Prudential Center on Jan. 25. With the game tied at 49-49, Butler converted a three-point play and buried a triple to take a six-point lead at 2:48 that effectively put the game out of reach.
>> Although The Hall fell in the tightly contested matchup in Newark, Willard and the Pirates have proven the ability to make in-season adjustments and take advantage of experience against BIG EAST competition. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Seton Hall is 15-5 when facing an opponent for the second or third time in the same season.
>> The Pirates have endured several back-and-forth games that have come down to the wire. SHU has played in SEVEN BIG EAST games decided by three points or fewer in 2016-17, the most in a single season under head coach Kevin Willard. SHU is 5-2 in such games, and is 7-2 overall in games decided by three points or fewer. Additionally, nine of the last 10 games have been decided by single digits.
>> SHU has a chance to win its 20th game of the season Saturday. It is on the heels of a 25-win season in 2015-16, and can earn back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the program recorded 23 victories in 1991-92 and 28 in 1992-93. It would also be the first time during Willard’s head coaching career with two straight 20-win seasons.
>> Though grossly underrated in the national scope, the Best Big Man in the BIG EASTTM, Delgado, has been a game- changer for the Pirates. He is currently riding a career-best 11 game double-double streak, matching his 11 in a row earlier this season. During the current double dip run, he is averaging 17.5 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. He enters Saturday as the nation’s leading rebounder with 13.0 per game, second-leading offensive rebounder with 4.8 per game, and top double-double producer (24). He averages 6.4 more rebounds per game (179 total) than any other player in the conference.
>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native posted 21 points and 20 rebounds against St. John’s at home and 12 points, 22 boards in the first meeting with 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.
>> The big man is posting truly historic numbers in his junior campaign, and has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in school and conference history. Two impressive milestones were reached during Tuesday night’s win over Georgetown. With his eighth rebound of the night, Delgado reached No. 232 in BIG EAST play this season to become the conference’s all-time single-season leading rebounder, passing Luke Harangody (Notre Dame, 2008-09). Later in the game he pulled down his 1,000th career rebound and is now just the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, as well as the combination of 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, the first since Glenn Mosley (1973- 77). Delgado also passed one of the all-time greats, Patrick Ewing (Georgetown, 1981-85), on the BIG EAST career rebounding list and is now fifth in league annals with 598 career boards.
>> In addition to his superior skills on the glass, Delgado has also proven to be a reliable scorer in the post. He has scored in double figures in 22 of the last 23 games and has six 20-point outings this season including a career-best 26 at Georgetown. He is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He earned recognition on the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll for the 10th time this season after posting a pair of double- doubles and averaging 20.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in wins over Xavier and DePaul last week. No other player in the conference has more than five appearances on the Honor Roll.
