SHU at Georgetown notes

[Halldan1]

Seton Hall (17-7, 7-5 BIG EAST, KenPom 35, RPI 50) at Georgetown (14-12, 7-6 BIG EAST, KenPom 62, RPI 79)

Feb. 17 · Verizon Center (Washington, D.C.) · 9 p.m.

TV: FS1 with Scott Graham & Donny Marshall

Radio: AM570 with Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin



FOX ALL-ACCESS VIDEO


What to Know About The Hall:

• Sophomore Isaiah Whitehead continued his torrid run through conference play, scoring a career-high 26 points and matching a personal best with 10 assists against Butler last Wednesday but the Bulldogs came away with an 81-75 victory that halted The Hall’s four-game winning streak. The double-double was the first of Whitehead’s career and he joined Angel Delgado (12), Desi Rodriguez (2), Khadeen Carrington (1) and Michael Nzei (1) in a group of five Pirates who have notched a double-double this season. Should Ismael Sanogo join the group, the Pirates would join USC and Maryland as the only teams in the nation who have had all five starters record double-doubles.
• Whitehead exploded for 23 points in the first half against Butler, connecting on all eight of his field goal attempts in the opening frame - seven of which came from downtown. The Brooklyn native went on to dish out nine helpers in the second half alone, assisting on the Pirates’ final eight field goals of the night. His 26 points were the most by a Pirate that also recorded 10+ ast since Jordan Theodore ‘12 finished with 26 points and 11 helpers in a 94-73 win over DePaul on January 10, 2012. For the game, Whitehead scored or assisted on 18 of SHU’s 28 made shots (.643) and led the squad in both scoring and assists for the ninth time this season - five of which have come in the team’s 12 BIG EAST outings.
• The Brooklyn native has scored in double-figures in every game since the start of the conference slate and posted at least five assists eight times against league foes. A recent surge that has seen him help the Pirates to a 4-1 record over the last five with averages of 20.8 ppg and 6.2 apg has placed him among the top-three in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.6 ppg, 3rd) and ast (4.9 apg, 3rd) for the season. Providence’s Kris Dunn (17.1 ppg, 2nd / 6.6 apg, 1st) also holds a top-three spot in each but among the five other power basketball conferences, Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine is the only other player who rates among the top- three in his league in both categories (19.5 ppg, 1st), (7.1 apg, 1st)
• One aspect of Whitehead’s game that has improved markedly over the recent stretch is his free throw shooting. Over the last eight games, the sophomore has knocked down 34-of-39 attempts from the stripe (.872), a figure that includes a 9-of-10 performance in the win over Georgetown
• A victory Wednesday would complete the Pirates’ second season sweep of the Hoyas in the last three years after The Hall took the first meeting of the season and 100th in the long-standing series, 69-61, on February 6 behind 19 points and 13 rebounds from Angel Delgado. Two seasons ago, The Hall doubled up with its first road victory and season sweep over the Hoyas since 2002-03, winning 67-57 in Washington, D.C. before returning home to post an 82-67 victory.
• The Hall trailed by as many as six in the first half of the first meeting with the Hoyas but battled back to take a one-point edge into halftime. SHU went on to improve to 13-0 when leading at the break, building an advantage as large as nine points late in the second half. Through 24 games this season, Seton Hall is 17-0 when leading by as many as seven at any point during the action.
• The Pirates finished with just eight turnovers in the win over Georgetown while forcing the Hoyas to commit 15. The effort matched SHU’s second-lowest amount of giveaways this season and marked the fifth time that the squad has recorded 10 turnovers or fewer this season (5-0 record). Last season, Seton Hall posted 10 turnovers or less nine times during the regular season, amassing a 6-3 record in those games.
• Seton Hall was held under the 30-rebound mark for the first time in conference play during the setback against Butler but will still head into the matchup with Georgetown averaging a league-best 41.2 rebounds against BIG EAST opposition. In seven road outings this year, the Pirates have owned the glass, twice reaching the 50-rebound mark - including a victory at No. 12 Providence - and posting a +9.2 average advantage on the boards (45.3/36.1). In all four of The Hall’s away wins, the team has recorded a rebounding margin of +14 or better highlighted by a +21 edge in a Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on December 5. Angel Delgado has pullled down 11.8 rpg in the four road wins to headline the efforts
  • SETON HALL REBOUNDING IN ROAD WINS
  • at Rutgers - W, 84-55 (12/5/15): 53/32 +21 advantage
  • at Marquette - W, 83-63 (12/30/15): 49/33 +16 advantage
  • at Providence - W, 81-72 (1/16/16): 50/36 +14 advantage
  • at Creighton - W, 75-65 (1/30/16): 46/27 +19 advantage
• Delgado, who was huge in the Pirates’ victory in the series opener with the Hoyas has been a vital part of Seton Hall’s success through the first two-thirds of the conference slate. In seven conference wins, the reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and rebounding champion is averaging 13.9 ppg, 12.7 rpg and shooting 63.9 percent from the floor (39-of-61). In all other conference games, Delgado has averaged 8.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg.
• Completing the sweep would help The Hall create separation in the crowded conference standings and strengthen the Pirates’ position to make a push for the program’s 10th all-time NCAA Tournament berth and its first since 2006. Seton Hall currently ranks as one of the top-50 teams in the nation according to the latest RPI (49) and KenPom (36) ratings. For the season, The Hall owns wins over an RPI top-40 team in Providence (39) as well as six RPI Top-100 teams overall (Wichita State-52, Georgia-67, Georgetown-79, Creighton-81 and Ole Miss-86). SHU is 6-1 against the teams it leads in the BIG EAST standings and three of the squad’s’ five losses over the last 10 weeks have come to teams among the top-seven in RPI (Villanova, 2x - 3 / Xavier - 7). All seven of the Pirates’ losses overall have been against RPI Top-100 opponents
• By virtue of a victory at Creighton, the Pirates reached the 15-win plateau for the fifth consecutive season. This marks the first time since 1990-95 that The Hall has posted 15+ victories in five-straight years. SHU Athletics Hall of Famer PJ Carlesimo led the Pirates for the first four years of the stretch while George Blaney took over prior to the 1994-95 campaign. Sixth-year head coach Kevin Willard is the first Seton Hall coach to be at the helm for five consecutive 15+ win seasons in the BIG EAST era and is the first SHU head man to accomplish the feat since Bill Raftery did so in six-straight years from 1973-79. Including Raftery and Willard, eight different coaches have led SHU during that span.
• With the Pirates sitting at 17-6 for the season, Willard is now just one victory shy of becoming the sixth head coach every to record 100 wins at The Hall. No Seton Hall coach has reached the 100-win mark since SHU Athletics Hall of Famer PJ Carlesimo did so during a 31-win 1988-89 campaign that culminated in a national championship game appearance. With a win, Willard would join John “Honey” Russell (294 wins), Carlesimo (212), Frank Hill (178), Bill Raftery (154) and Richie Regan (112) in the exclusive group.
• Seton Hall Athletics announced that in the fall, student-athlete academic performance reached a new all- time high for the 11th-straight semester. Head coach Kevin Willard’s squad boasts six Dean’s List honorees from the fall (Angel Delgado, Derrick Gordon, Michael Nzei, Desi Rodriguez, Veer Singh, Isaiah Whitehead) and increased its cumulative GPA to 3.18. The Willard-led Pirates earned an NCAA Public Recognition Award over the summer for posting a multiyear APR that ranks among the top-10 percent among all men’s basketball teams and are part of a collection of 14 varsity programs at The Hall that all own a cumulative GPA over 3.1.

Tweetables:

• .@SetonHallMBB’s @IsaiahW_15 is the only @BIGEASTMBB player who ranks in the top-3 in pts and assists during conference play
• .@SetonHallMBB is out-rebounding its opponents by an avg of +17.5 (49.5/32) in 4 road W’s this year, 3 of which have come vs. @BIGEAST foes
• It could be a milestone Wednesday as @SetonHallMBB HC Kevin Willard is one win shy of becoming the 6th SHU coach to reach 100 W’s