Media report
RHODEN IS EXPLODIN’
- Seton Hall ranks 46th in KenPom, has a NET ranking of 56 and has played seven games against “Quad 1” opponents, which is tied for most in the BIG EAST.
- The Pirates are projected to play 11”Q1” games this season, the most in the BIG EAST.
- The Hall’s 17 projected “Q1” and “Q2” games are tied for most in the conference.
- The Pirates boast the 20th toughest schedule among Power Six programs so far, according to KenPom, and the second-most difficult in the BIG EAST.
- The Hall’s NET non-conference strength of schedule ranks 15th in the nation and first among major conference teams.
- Seton Hall will look to bounce back and avenge a loss from earlier in the season when it welcomes No. 3 Villanova to the Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon.
- The Wildcats are the second top 20 opponent that Seton Hall has faced this week.
- The Pirates have won eight of their last 12 games and are playing back-to-back home games for the first time since Dec. 20 and Dec. 23.
- Seton Hall is 4-2 this season when following a loss.
- The Pirates are 142-65 (.689) all-time at Prudential Center.
- Since 2015-16, the Pirates are 35-16 (.700) against BIG EAST competition in the building.
- The Pirates have won their last 15 BIG EAST games when holding their opponent under 70 points.
- The Pirates rank second in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (73.9) and lead the conference in free throw attempts (356 FTA).
- Junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) ranks in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (8th, 15.6 ppg), rebounding (t-10th, 6.8), free-throw percentage (3rd, 84.4) and minutes (5th, 34.5 mpg).
- Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.9 ppg), tied for eighth in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and 13th in assists (3.3 apg).
- Junior Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) ranks fifth in the country with 46 total blocked shots and ranks 12th with 2.8 blocks per game.
- Seton Hall will face Villanova for the 122nd time on Tuesday.
- Villanova is Seton Hall’s most frequently played opponent in program history.
- Over those last five games in the series, the average margin of victory is 3.2 points.
- The Hall’s five wins against Villanova since BIG EAST realignment in 2013-14 are the most in the conference.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili is averaging 20 points and nine rebounds over his last three games against the Wildcats.
- Through 16 games in his senior season, Sandro Mamukelashvili is living up to the preseason accolades and expectations bestowed upon him.
- “Mamu”, as he’s affectionately known, was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST first team and watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and the Karl Malone Award in the preseason.
- On Jan. 28, he was named one of the final 10 candidates for the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate power forward.
- The Georgian is one of only seven players in the Power Six conferences to register multiple 30-point games this season.
- Mamukelashvili is the only player that ranks in the BIG EAST top 15 in scoring (4th, 17.9 PPG), rebounding (8th, 6.9 RPG) and assists (13th, 3.3 APG)
- At No. 3 Villanova on Jan. 19, he finished one rebound shy of a double-double in a night where he posted nine boards, 23 points and five assists.
- Mamukelashvili picked up BIG EAST Player of the Week honors, his fourth conference accolade of the season, on Jan. 4 after leading the Pirates with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the win at Xavier (Dec. 30) and had game highs of 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the win over Butler (Jan. 2).
- He was named to the BIG EAST’s Weekly Honor Roll for the third consecutive week on Dec. 21 after averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in two conference games.
- Mamukelashvili he’s been getting it done in the assist column this season as he dished out a career-high seven assists in the Pirates’ gritty 70-63 road victory at Marquette on Dec. 17 and six dimes against Providence.
- St. John’s didn’t have an answer for Mamukelashvili on Dec. 11 when he scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor and pulled down nine rebounds
- In the comeback win at Penn State on Dec. 6, Mamukelashvili dropped 30 points – 22 of which came in the second half – to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
- Mamukelashvili is Seton Hall’s first power forward/center to register multiple 30-point performances in a season since Arturas Karnisovas in 1993-94.
- While the narrative among outsiders has been that Seton Hall struggles with free throws, the numbers show how the Pirates are improving in that area.
- They currently rank second in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting at 73.9 percent (first among teams that have played at least 10 games), and five of the team’s returners from last season are all shooting a higher percentage this season than their career average.
- Seton Hall ranks in the top 20 nationaly and leads the BIG EAST in both free throw attempts (356) and free throws made (263).
- Since 2015-16, The Pirates are 90-15 (.857) in games where they have more FT attempts than their opponents.
- Three Pirates own free throw shooting percentages over 75 percent; Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (86.1), Jared Rhoden (84.4) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (75.6).
- Currently, the most marked improvement belongs to Myles Cale, who at 74.4 percent is shooting more than 20 percent better at the line than he did last season and more than 12 percent better than his career average.
- Big man Ike Obiagu is shooting at a 59.5 percent clip from the line after shooting just 31.6 percent from the stripe as a freshman at Florida State.
- After an up-and-down junior campaign, Myles Cale has become a more consistent performer and a team leader on and off the court for the Pirates.
- Cale’s 48.6 shooting percentage from the field ranks ninth in the BIG EAST and he ranks 12th with 13.5 points per contest and seventh with a 43.9 three-point FG percentage in conference games.
- A starter in all 16 games this season, Cale was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Dec. 28 after dropping a career-high 30 points against Georgetown on Dec. 23.
- Cale has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games and has 11 double figure scoring games this season, already three more than his final total from last year.
- Shavar Reynolds, Jr.’s Seton Hall career began as a scrappy role player. He has since turned himself into one of the BIG EAST’s top point guards and one of Seton Hall’s most important players.
- He ranks in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in assists (3rd, 4.6 assists per game), steals (4th, 1.8 spg) and three-point percentage (8th, 42.1).
- He’s also developed into a go-to shot maker in big spots for the Pirates.
- His propensity to hit big shots started with his game-winning three-pointer vs. St. John’s in 2018-19. It returned on Dec. 6 at Penn State when he hit a three with under 50 seconds left in overtime to put the Pirates ahead for good, 93-91.
- Reynolds, Jr. buried a go-ahead three-pointer for the second time this season at Marquette with 42.1 seconds left in The Hall’s 70-63 victory.
- In the win over Iona, Reynolds, Jr. dished out a career best eight assists to go along with five steals and five points.
- Reynolds, Jr. posted a career-high 17 points, shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and dished out eight assists against No. 21 Oregon.
- Reynolds, Jr.’s workmanlike nature can be credited to his upbringing – his mother, Teekemia, is a social worker and his father, Shavar, Sr., is a retired U.S. Navy Master at Arms who served for 21 years.
RHODEN IS EXPLODIN’
- Jared Rhoden is contributing in multiple areas for the Pirates this season and is picking up where he left off late last season.
- He currently ranks in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (8th, 15.86points per game), rebounding (t-10th, 6.8 rpg) and free-throw percentage (3rd, 84.4).
- The Baldwin, N.Y. native also ranks fifth in the conference with 5.6 defensive rebounds per game.
- He put up 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting with four rebounds and four assists at No. 3 Villanova on Jan. 19.
- After averaging 14 points and four boards while the leading the Pirates with 18 points in the win over DePaul on Jan. 9, Rhoden was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season.
- Rhoden was first named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 28 after posting his third double-double of the season and matching his career high with 26 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Georgetown on Dec. 23.
- Rhoden registered his second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career with game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Wagner on Dec. 8.
- He was two boards shy of a double-double in the comeback win at Penn State where he grabbed eight rebounds, put up 15 points and chipped in three assists and two steals.
- Rhoden erupted with a career-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds against the Gaels, his first double-double of the season.