Seton Hall vs. Rutgers: Jersey's Favorite Rivalry Is Renewed On Sunday - Seton Hall University Athletics
One of the best rivalries in college basketball will be renewed on Sunday evening as Seton Hall travels down the New Jersey Turnpike to face Rutgers in the Garden
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Game 10: Seton Hall Pirates (5-4) at Rutgers (6-3)
Sunday, Dec. 11 • 6:30 p.m. Eastern • Piscataway, N.J. • Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000)
TV: FS1 • John Fanta and Jim Spanarkel
Web: FOXSports.com/Live
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / SXM 390, SXM app 980 / Dave Popkin & Kim Adams
Game Notes: Seton Hall | Rutgers
Follow Along: Instagram | Twitter | Live Stats
NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW
- One of the best rivalries in college basketball will be renewed on Sunday evening as Seton Hall travels down the New Jersey Turnpike to face Rutgers in the Garden State Hardwood Classic at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
- The two schools are separated by an approximate 27- mile drive.
- The Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy is custom-made and handcrafted from wood salvaged from the Asbury Park boardwalk in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and features the names of the winners engraved on the back.
- The Joe Calabrese MVP Award is given to the player of the game on the winning team of the Seton Hall-Rutgers game, and the award is named after the former journalist who passed away in 1999 and was a fixture in New Jersey sports journalism for 38 years.
- Head coach Shaheen Holloway went 4-1 all-time against Rutgers as a player.
- Holloway is 13-4 against New Jersey schools as a head coach since 2019-20.
- Despite missing three key players in Kadary Richmond, Tray Jackson and Dre Davis, Seton Hall used a strong second half to defeat Lincoln University, 82-55, on Wednesday evening.
- Looking to make the patented Seton Hall senior leap is Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) who is leading the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg).
- Samuel posted his fourth career double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) and his second of the season in the win over Lincoln.
- Samuel, who registered nine double-figure scoring games all last season, has already scored in double figures in seven of Seton Hall's nine games this season.
- Shaheen Holloway is the first Seton Hall graduate to lead the program since all-time great Richie Regan '53 led the Pirates from 1960-70.
- In Holloway's last 20 games as a head coach, his teams have allowed just 60.7 points per game and only four opponents have scored more than 70 points.
- Seton Hall ranks second in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense (40.4 percent) and three-point field goal defense (28.3 percent).
- Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) is the NCAA's active career leader in blocks with 325.
- Senior Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) currently sits at 973 career points.
- The Hall is 137-21 (.867) since 2015-16 when its lead gets to seven points.
- The Hall's bench production leads the BIG EAST and ranks 58th nationally with 28.1 points per game.
- The Pirates look to generate offense at the free throw line where they lead the country in free throw attempts per game (28.3 FTA pg) and rank fifth in the country in free throw makes per contest (9.3 FTM pg).
- Seton Hall has attempted 30+ free throws in each of the last three games, first time since first three games of 2013-14 season (11/9 vs Niagara, 11/13 vs Kent St, 11/16 at Mercer).
INSIDE THE SERIES: RUTGERS
- Seton Hall is 41-31 all-time against Rutgers and 17-18 all-time as the road team in the series.
- The Pirates are 13-13 all-time at Jersey Mike's Arena.
- Seton Hall's last win in Piscataway was Dec. 5, 2015 when the Pirates topped the Scarlet Knights, 84-55.
- Over the last 27 meetings, 21 games have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime.
- Rutgers is Seton Hall's eighth most-played opponent (72).
- KC Ndefo and Rutgers big man Cliff Omoruyi were AAU teammates with the New York Lightning.
- Rutgers' Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs was the former dean of the Seton Hall Law School who led the search to hire Kevin Willard in Spring 2010, and Holloway followed Willard from their previous stop at Iona.
- Holloway is cousins with Rutgers associate head coach Brandin Knight.
- Knight attended Seton Hall Prep and his father, Melvin, is in the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame following a standout career on the court where he finished with 775 career points and 243 career rebounds.
