Media notes
Rematch of 2016 BIG EAST Title Game Anchors FS1’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Marathon
Seton Hall (12-5, 2-3 BIG EAST, Kenpom 51, RPI 40) vs. No. 3 Villanova (17-1, 5-1 BIG EAST, Kenpom 4, RPI 2)
FS1 Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Marathon · Monday, Jan. 16 · The Pavilion (Villanova, Pa.) · 6:30 p.m.
TV: FS1 and FOX Sports GO with Gus Johnson & Bill Raftery
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Seton Hall climbed back from a 16-point deficit to draw even with Providence late in the second half, but Kyron Cartwright’s three-point play with 32 seconds remaining pushed the Friars past the Pirates, 65-61, Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. SHU was led by junior Desi Rodriguez, who delivered 20 points and hit three consecutive game-tying field goals in the final 2:45 of the game. Angel Delgado posted his 11th consecutive double- double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, surpassing Eddie Griffin, who had 10 consecutive double-doubles in 2001.
>> The Pirates wrap up their three-game road stand over six days with Monday night’s contest at Villanova. They are looking to end a 23-year drought at the Pavilion, where SHU hasn’t won since Feb. 26, 1994. Although it is a 23-year drought, Seton Hall has only played at The Pavilion 14 times since 1994. It is however not the longest drought among the original BIG EAST members. St. John’s has not won at “The Ski Lodge” since Jan. 13, 1993, which is a span of 11 games there (although St. John’s has won at the Wells Fargo Center in 2003 and 2011).
>> The last time The Hall squared off with Villanova was at sold-out Madison Square Garden in the final of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament. Isaiah Whitehead scored 26 points, including the game-winner, in a 69-67 triumph over the Wildcats to capture the program’s first tournament title since 1993. Seton Hall is one of only two teams (Butler) to hand Villanova a loss over its last 30 games, and the Pirates are the ONLY BIG EAST team to defeat the Wildcats in each of the first three seasons of the new BIG EAST.
>> Although this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll will come out too late for this update, it is fairly certain the Pirates will be facing a top-five Villanova team for the fourth time since 2014. The Pirates have two victories over a No. 3-ranked Wildcats team, the 2014 BIG EAST Quarterfinals and the 2016 BIG EAST Final. If Villanova cracks the top two this week, the Pirates will look for their first-ever victory over a top-two AP ranked team.
>> Villanova is Seton Hall’s longest standing rival at 110 games, and since head coach Kevin Willard took over, the games have been tightly contested. In the 11 matchups, the average margin of victory has only been 7.2 points with four of the games decided by one possession in regulation and one game going to overtime.
>> As the Pirates enter the thick of BIG EAST play, they are expected to continue to rely on their big man, Delgado, to assert his presence in the paint. He enters Monday as the conference’s top rebounder with 12.4 per game, good for fourth in the nation, and has 5.3 more per game (84 total) than any other player in the league. He is third in the country with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game and grabbed 13 at Marquette last Wednesday. The
13 offensive rebounds are the most by any Pirates player in recent history and it is the first 13-offensive rebound game by a BIG EAST player since Kentrell Gransberry of USF had 13 vs. DePaul on March 3, 2007. He has three 20-point games this season, is averaging 14.7 points, shooting 55.1 percent, and has 13 double-doubles in 17 games including in each of the last 11. He is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native is the BIG EAST’s active leader in double-doubles with 36 (third most in the country), and when he delivers one, good things happen for The Hall. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won 23 of the last 26 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 10-3 in 2016-17), and are now 29-7 during his career. He is averaging 16.3 points and 13.5 boards during his current 11-game double-double streak. Only five other players in the country have 11 or more total double-doubles this season. He has the longest active double-double streak in the nation. Following Saturday’s 16-rebound performance, Delgado moved into seventh on the all-time SHU rebounding list with 832 career boards.
>> Rodriguez, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, scored a career-high 30 points at Marquette Wednesday night and 20 at Providence on Saturday. He, is averaging a league-best 22.2 points over five BIG EAST games, and is 20-of-35 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range during that span. He is in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (Ninth- 16.6), rebounds (13th-5.4) and steals (11th- 1.4) per game. He is second on the team with 23 steals and third with 31 assists. He has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. His Player of the Week nod comes on the heels of a 25-point performance against DePaul on Jan. 7 in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts.
>> The Hall is paced offensively by Carrington, who is second in the BIG EAST with 18.5 points per game. The team’s most consistent scorer has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all 17 games thus far and 49 times throughout his career. He is shooting 47.7 percent (113-of- 237) from the field and 44.6 percent (37-of-83) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for fifth in the BIG EAST.
Rematch of 2016 BIG EAST Title Game Anchors FS1’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Marathon
Seton Hall (12-5, 2-3 BIG EAST, Kenpom 51, RPI 40) vs. No. 3 Villanova (17-1, 5-1 BIG EAST, Kenpom 4, RPI 2)
FS1 Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Marathon · Monday, Jan. 16 · The Pavilion (Villanova, Pa.) · 6:30 p.m.
TV: FS1 and FOX Sports GO with Gus Johnson & Bill Raftery
Radio: WMCA 570 AM / SHUPirates.com / SHU Pirates App with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
What to Know About The Hall:
>> Seton Hall climbed back from a 16-point deficit to draw even with Providence late in the second half, but Kyron Cartwright’s three-point play with 32 seconds remaining pushed the Friars past the Pirates, 65-61, Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. SHU was led by junior Desi Rodriguez, who delivered 20 points and hit three consecutive game-tying field goals in the final 2:45 of the game. Angel Delgado posted his 11th consecutive double- double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, surpassing Eddie Griffin, who had 10 consecutive double-doubles in 2001.
>> The Pirates wrap up their three-game road stand over six days with Monday night’s contest at Villanova. They are looking to end a 23-year drought at the Pavilion, where SHU hasn’t won since Feb. 26, 1994. Although it is a 23-year drought, Seton Hall has only played at The Pavilion 14 times since 1994. It is however not the longest drought among the original BIG EAST members. St. John’s has not won at “The Ski Lodge” since Jan. 13, 1993, which is a span of 11 games there (although St. John’s has won at the Wells Fargo Center in 2003 and 2011).
>> The last time The Hall squared off with Villanova was at sold-out Madison Square Garden in the final of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament. Isaiah Whitehead scored 26 points, including the game-winner, in a 69-67 triumph over the Wildcats to capture the program’s first tournament title since 1993. Seton Hall is one of only two teams (Butler) to hand Villanova a loss over its last 30 games, and the Pirates are the ONLY BIG EAST team to defeat the Wildcats in each of the first three seasons of the new BIG EAST.
>> Although this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll will come out too late for this update, it is fairly certain the Pirates will be facing a top-five Villanova team for the fourth time since 2014. The Pirates have two victories over a No. 3-ranked Wildcats team, the 2014 BIG EAST Quarterfinals and the 2016 BIG EAST Final. If Villanova cracks the top two this week, the Pirates will look for their first-ever victory over a top-two AP ranked team.
>> Villanova is Seton Hall’s longest standing rival at 110 games, and since head coach Kevin Willard took over, the games have been tightly contested. In the 11 matchups, the average margin of victory has only been 7.2 points with four of the games decided by one possession in regulation and one game going to overtime.
>> As the Pirates enter the thick of BIG EAST play, they are expected to continue to rely on their big man, Delgado, to assert his presence in the paint. He enters Monday as the conference’s top rebounder with 12.4 per game, good for fourth in the nation, and has 5.3 more per game (84 total) than any other player in the league. He is third in the country with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game and grabbed 13 at Marquette last Wednesday. The
13 offensive rebounds are the most by any Pirates player in recent history and it is the first 13-offensive rebound game by a BIG EAST player since Kentrell Gransberry of USF had 13 vs. DePaul on March 3, 2007. He has three 20-point games this season, is averaging 14.7 points, shooting 55.1 percent, and has 13 double-doubles in 17 games including in each of the last 11. He is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native is the BIG EAST’s active leader in double-doubles with 36 (third most in the country), and when he delivers one, good things happen for The Hall. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won 23 of the last 26 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 10-3 in 2016-17), and are now 29-7 during his career. He is averaging 16.3 points and 13.5 boards during his current 11-game double-double streak. Only five other players in the country have 11 or more total double-doubles this season. He has the longest active double-double streak in the nation. Following Saturday’s 16-rebound performance, Delgado moved into seventh on the all-time SHU rebounding list with 832 career boards.
>> Rodriguez, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, scored a career-high 30 points at Marquette Wednesday night and 20 at Providence on Saturday. He, is averaging a league-best 22.2 points over five BIG EAST games, and is 20-of-35 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range during that span. He is in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (Ninth- 16.6), rebounds (13th-5.4) and steals (11th- 1.4) per game. He is second on the team with 23 steals and third with 31 assists. He has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. His Player of the Week nod comes on the heels of a 25-point performance against DePaul on Jan. 7 in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts.
>> The Hall is paced offensively by Carrington, who is second in the BIG EAST with 18.5 points per game. The team’s most consistent scorer has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all 17 games thus far and 49 times throughout his career. He is shooting 47.7 percent (113-of- 237) from the field and 44.6 percent (37-of-83) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for fifth in the BIG EAST.
