Seton Hall University
[1] No. 3 Villanova
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HALL WIN! Pirates Take Home Third BIG EAST Tournament Title
3/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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SETON HALL MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON RUN PRESENTED BY BARNABAS HEALTH
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NEW YORK - Mountain climbed, summit reached.
The Seton Hall Pirates are once again BIG EAST champions after sophomore Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) turned in a performance for the ages to lead The Hall past top-seeded Villanova, 69-67, in an instant classic BIG EAST Tournament final Saturday at a sold out Madison Square Garden.
Whitehead led all scorers with 26 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and was named the recipient of the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Tournament Most Valuable Player following the victory. Whitehead is the third Pirate ever to earn the honor; joining Oliver Taylor (1991) and Terry Dehere (1993) who captured the honor during Seton Hall's previous two conference tournament title runs.
For The Hall (25-8), sophomores Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ismael Sanogo (Newark, N.J.) also took home All-Tournament accolades. Carrington averaged 18.3 points and 4.3 rebounds with a pair of 20-point efforts while Sanogo posted 6.3 ppg (70.0 FG%), to go with a team-high 7.7 rpg and played high-level defense throughout the championship run.
The three second-year Pirates join an elite group of nine in program history that earned the honor before them and the three All-Tournament selections match the program record set last time SHU was crowned kings of the BIG EAST as Dehere, Arturas Karnisovas and Jerry Walker were recognized in 1993.
On Saturday against the No. 3 team in the nation, Sanogo filled the box score with eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) added 12 points and four steals while senior Derrick Gordon (Plainfield, N.J.) chipped in 10 points (4-of-6 FG) and three boards off the bench.
Villanova (29-5) entered the contest as the regular season champions and defending conference tournament champions with just seven losses in 60 games against BIG EAST competition in the last three years.
Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart led the way with 23 and 17 points respectively and joined the Pirate trio on the All-Tournament squad.
The matchup featured a duel of Co-BIG EAST Coaches of the Year Kevin Willard and Jay Wright with Seton Hall's Willard joining SHU Athletics Hall of Famer PJ Carlesimo as the only coaches ever to lead the program to a BIG EAST Tournament title.
Turning Point
After leading for over 68 minutes during quarterfinal and semifinal wins, The Hall played from in front for 18:31 of the first half and carried a 40-29 advantage into halftime.
SHU managed to stave off an early second half push from the top-seeded Wildcats as a jumper by Whitehead pushed the lead back to double-digits at 48-38 with 15:21 to play.
Villanova displayed its championship mettle by rattling off 12 of the next 14 points in the contest but with the game knotted at 50-50, the young Pirates proved their maturity level with five unanswered points of their own, countering the surge with the first of many answers the team would deliver down the stretch.
Dueling runs left the two teams level at 62-62 after Jenkins knocked down a tough jumper for VU with just under three minutes remaining.
From there, the eventual Tournament MVP went into takeover mode, scoring six of the Pirates' final seven points in the game to help bring the hardware back to South Orange.
Whitehead connected on yet another jumper to put the Pirates ahead, 64-62, but five-straight points from Villanova put Seton Hall in a three-point hole with less than one minute on the clock.
The Brooklyn product would not be denied and earned a trip to the line on the next possession where he hit 1-of-2 to help the Pirates inch closer. A terrific defensive stand on the ensuing trip down the floor that ended in a turnover from Hart gave SHU the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead.
That's when the Whitehead produced one of the most indelible moments in BIG EAST Tournament history. With the championship dream hanging in the balance, the standout sophomore drove baseline and hung in the air, through contact, banking one in off the window before crashing back down to earth.
He was rewarded with a trip to the line where he completed the old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Pirates back on top for good.
Jenkins misfired on a wing 3-pointer and Delgado denied a put-back attempt from Hart before securing the rebound and adding a final point from the charity stripe.
As a deep attempt from Ryan Arcidiacono fell short at the buzzer, the Pirates leapt into the air as BIG EAST champions.
Head Coach Kevin Willard on the team's fast start and ability to weather the Villanova run:
"I knew we would come out pretty good. We were pretty focused this morning at breakfast and the walk-through. With these guys sometimes you can tell a lot. We talked at halftime that they were going to make a run on us. I really think it was important the way the Creighton game went the other night. We had pretty much the same thing. We had to battle back.
So I think Ish said it at the under 6 or under 8 was we've been through this before; we know what's going to happen. Let's just get some stops. And they did it."
Tournament MVP Isaiah Whitehead on mindset prior to key 3-point play:
"This whole year Coach has been raving about just making winning plays and making winning plays. I really just attacked the basket. I felt I had an opportunity to score the ball. I mean, I saw Kris Jenkins coming over and I knew that he wouldn't be able to get in position fast enough for me to draw a charge. I just tried to lay it in on him."
All-Tournament honoree Ismael Sanogo on the team's outstanding defense:
"We just went out there and played our hearts out. We knew it was going to come down to a last-second shot. Kris Jenkins was hitting some unbelievable shots. And we just -- it was just grit. We knew we had to go out there and defend."
Sanogo on being a local product helping Seton Hall back to prominence:
"It's like a dream come true. Who would have ever thought a kid from Newark would make it to play at Seton Hall and make it into the NCAA and win a Big East championship. I'm telling you now I sure didn't. I didn't think I was going to be this far in life right now. I'm just so glad that Coach gave me an opportunity to play here. I want to thank him and the coaching staff."
Inside the Numbers
- Whitehead's 70 total points over the three games are two more than Terry Dehere scored over three contests en route to MVP honors in 1993. He finished the tournament with averages of 23.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 5.7 apg. After just four appearances at the tournament, he is four points shy of cracking the school's top-10 list for points at the event with 82
- The unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection has now scored 20+ points in seven-straight games, helping The Hall to a 6-1 record over the stretch.
- His 26-point effort was the fifth time a Pirate topped the mark in the last three days with the other two coming from Carrington in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. At the tournament, the two Brooklyn products combined for 125 of the team's 237 points.
- Rodriguez matched the sixth highest single game total by a Pirate at the BIG EAST Tournament with his four steals
- For the tournament, the Pirates shot 50.8 percent from the floor (84-166) while holding Creighton, Xavier and Villanova to a combined 38.8 percent (76-196)
- Seton Hall improved to 21-0 when leading at halftime this season and 89-14 when ahead at the break in six years under Kevin Willard . SHU is also unbeaten in the 25 games in which it has built a lead of seven or more at any point in the contest
- SHU had scored 80+ points in three of the last four games entering the day but is now 7-3 this season when scoring 69 points or less
News & Notes
- Seton Hall now owns three BIG EAST Tournament titles, tied with St. John's for second-most among current members of the conference. Georgetown's seven conference tournament championships are the most among the league's 10 teams
- Seton Hall defeated AP Top-5 opponents on consecutive days, eliminating No. 5 Xavier in the semifinals before outlasting the third-ranked Wildcats in the final. It is the second time The Hall has taken down a third-ranked Villanova team at the BIG EAST Tournament in the last three years (W, 64-63 - 2014 Quarterfinals)
- The two wins over No. 3 Villanova represent the only two victories in program history over an AP top-three opponent
- Prior to Friday, Seton Hall had never beaten two AP top-five opponents in the same season. In the last two weeks, the Pirates have now defeated a fifth-ranked Xavier team twice and added another with the win over Villanova in Saturday's title tilt. For the season, SHU boasts five victories over ranked teams, four of which came against AP top-12 teams
- The victory was the 10th for the Pirates against an RPI Top-100 opponent this season and the third in the last two weeks over an RPI Top-10 foe. Seton Hall has not lost a game to an opponent outside the RPI Top-100 this season
- T he 25 overall victories are the most for The Hall since finishing 28-7 overall in 1992-93 and match the third-highest single season total in program history (104th season)
- The Hall will head into the NCAA Tournament with a 5-1 record on a neutral floor after having also won its last two games at the Gildan Charleston Classic in November
- The matchup was the fifth between SHU and VU at the BIG EAST Tournament all-time. Seton Hall now holds a 3-2 advantage and each of the last four meetings have now been decided by two points or less
Up Next
Seton Hall has clinched the 10th NCAA Tournament berth in school history and its first since 2006.
The Pirates now await their destination for the first and second rounds which will be announced as part of the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday. The show is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and can be viewed live on CBS as well as NCAA.com
The Seton Hall men's basketball program and Pirate Blue will be hosting a selection show party Sunday inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium on the university's South Orange campus. Doors will open to the public at 4:30 p.m.
The party - as well as the women's basketball selection show festivities scheduled for Monday - is exclusive to all season ticket holders as well as Pirate Blue members who have donated $100 or more.
If you are not a Pirate Blue member or a season ticket holder, you can donate a minimum of $100 now to gain access to these exclusive events. Seton Hall student season ticket holders are also invited, but are asked to register through the S.H.I.P.S App.
There is limited space for these events, so we are asking season ticket holders and Pirate Blue members to fill out the form below to RSVP. Season ticket holders can reserve spots for the same number of season tickets they have in their account. Pirate Blue members can reserve space for up to four people.
TO REGISTER ONLINE, CLICK HERE
