Media release
WHAT’S THE SCENARIO?
GETTING BACK TO DEFENSE
- Seton Hall ranks 42nd in KenPom, has a NET ranking of 53 and has played nine games against “Quad 1” opponents, which is tied for most in the BIG EAST.
- The Pirates’ 10 projected Q1 games are the most in the conference.
- The Hall’s 16 projected Q1 + Q2 games ranks third in the BIG EAST.
- Seton Hall’s six Q1 + Q2 wins are tied for third-most conference.
- The Pirates’ six true road wins are tied for second-most among power conference teams.
- The Hall’s 12 true road games played this season are tied for most among power conference teams.
- The Pirates boast the 30th toughest schedule in Div. I, according to KenPom, and the second-most difficult in the BIG EAST.
- The Hall’s NET non-conference strength of schedule ranks 35th in the nation and 12th among major conference teams.
- Just in time for Senior Night and the final home game of the 2020-21 season, Seton Hall will have fans in the seats at the Prudential Center against Connecticut at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
- The program will honor four seniors on Wednesday night: Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia), Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.), Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) and Bryce Aiken (Randolph, N.J.).
- Seton Hall is 4-1 on Senior Night over the last five years.
- Seton Hall stands in fourth place in the BIG EAST with a 10-7 record – mere percentage points behind Connecticut – and two games to go.
- A win would give Seton Hall its third season series sweep of the season after beating both Marquette and DePaul twice.
- The victory over DePaul on Feb. 17 gave The Hall its 10th BIG EAST win of the season, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Pirates have collected at least 10 conference wins.
- The Pirates are 144-66 (.686) all-time at Prudential Center.
- Since 2015-16, the Pirates are 37-17 (.685) against BIG EAST competition in the building.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili ranks second in the conference in scoring (17.8 ppg), eighth in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and 14th in assists (3.1 apg).
- Junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) ranks in the top 15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (10th, 14.6 ppg), rebounding (11th, 6.5), free throw percentage (2nd, 85.4) and minutes (6th, 34.2 mpg).
- The Hall is 4-1 in games where Rhoden is the team’s leading scorer.
- Junior Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) ranks sixth in the country with 63 total blocked shots and ranks 10th with 2.7 blocks per game.
- Saturday’s game will be the 64th all-time meeting between Seton Hall and Connecticut.
- Both programs were charter members of the BIG EAST when the conference was formed in 1979.
- UConn head coach Dan Hurley lettered at Seton Hall from 1991-96, played on three NCAA Tournament teams, scored 1,070 points and ranks ninth on the program’s assist list with 437.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili is 33 points away from tying Hurley on the program’s scoring list.
- Seton Hall is 1-2 at home against the Huskies under Kevin Willard.
WHAT’S THE SCENARIO?
- With two games remaining in the regular season, the Pirates control their destiny for a top-three finish in the BIG EAST Conference for a sixth consecutive season.
- If the Pirates defeat Connecticut and St. John’s, The Hall will have a 12-7 record and a .632 winning percentage. UConn’s best possible winning percentage from there would be .588 and Xavier’s best possible winning percentage is .615.
- Splitting this week’s games would at least ensure that Seton Hall will receive a first-round bye in next week’s BIG EAST Tournament.
GETTING BACK TO DEFENSE
- Seton Hall has done just that over their last six games where its also gone 4-2.
- The Pirates have allowed opponents to average only 60.1 points per game and shoot just under 40 percent from the floor (39.6) over their last six games.
- Opponents have scored 60 points or less in four games this season, the most since 2012-13 when The Hall allowed less than 60 points also in four games.
- The Pirates are 18-1 over their last 19 BIG EAST games when holding their opponent under 70 points.
- It starts in the front court with senior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) whose aggressive on-ball defense produces 1.6 steals per game, which ranks fourth in the BIG EAST.
- Jared Rhoden also ranks in the top 10 in the conference in steals with 1.3 swipes per contest.
- Myles Cale – a versatile, athletic and veteran 6-6 wing – is often assigned by head coach Kevin Willard to guard the opposing team’s best player.
- The paint is enforced by Ike Obiagu, who’s six blocks away from becoming only the 17th player in program history to register 100 career swats.
