Seton Hall University
Marquette
Players Mentioned
The Hall Starts Three-City Road Trip at Marquette
1/10/2017 2:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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| 2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (12-3, 2-1 BIG EAST) vs. Marquette Golden Eagles (10-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) |
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| Date/Time/Location | Wednesday, Jan. 11 |  7 p.m., Eastern  |  BMO Harris Bradley Center (Milwaukee, Wis.) |
| Television Broadcast | FS1 Â | Â FOX Sports GO |
| Radio Broadcast | AM970 The Answer |  Pirate Sports Network (FREE)  |  Sirius 134 |  XM 201 |
| Game Notes | Seton Hall  |  Marquette |
| Links | Live Stats |  Twitter |  Facebook |
Feature Story: Pivotal Pirate: Seton Hall's Delgado Doing It All (Gannett)
Getting to Know: Seton Hall's Rodriguez (BIGEAST.com)
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
                                                                                  – Lao Tzu
Only 30 percent of the teams in the BIG EAST Conference have been tasked with playing three consecutive road conference games this season, and the defending conference champion Seton Hall Pirates are one of them. And although some people may want to look ahead at the Monday night title game rematch between the Pirates and Villanova, the veteran Seton Hall student-athletes know that the only thing that matters is what is in front of them: a talented Marquette squad looking to exact revenge.
Having only played each other just 10 days ago in a game won by the Pirates with six points in the final 38 seconds, Seton Hall and Marquette meet again, this time on the Bradley Center floor in Milwaukee. The Pirates are going for a third consecutive BIG EAST victory; the Golden Eagles are looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat. The game will again represent a strong opportunity to gain a quality win; both teams are rated very well in the Kenpom, and both teams have an RPI in the top 100 (with The Hall sitting at 36).
The Hall is only 2-7 at the Bradley Center all-time, but both victories have come in the last two seasons, including an 83-63 victory last year. Wednesday's game will be nationally televised on FS1 and streamed on FOX Sports GO with Brian Anderson taking on play-by-play duties and Stephen Bardo delivering color. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 134, XM 201 and the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).
Pirate Points
>> Juniors Desi Rodriguez and Angel Delgado shot a combined 18-of-22 from the field for 45 points, and Seton Hall's defense held DePaul to only 28 percent shooting in the second half as the Pirates pulled away for an 87-56 BIG EAST victory over the Blue Demons Saturday on Kids Day at Prudential Center. Rodriguez made his first 10 field goal attempts and finished with 25 points in 24 minutes, while Delgado recorded his ninth-consecutive double-double with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 12 rebounds. For their efforts, Rodriguez was named BIG EAST Player of the Week, and Delgado earned a spot on the weekly honor roll for the fifth week in a row, announced Monday by the league office.
>> SHU takes on Marquette for the second time in the last 10 days and is seeking its fourth straight victory over the Golden Eagles after previously trailing the all-time series, 3-15. After going winless in its first seven attempts at Marquette, The Hall has won the last two meetings in Milwaukee by an average of 15.0 points. The Pirates rang in 2017 with an exciting 69-66 New Year's Day victory over the Golden Eagles in Newark. Junior Khadeen Carrington scored six points over the final 38 seconds and a staunch Pirates defense secured the tightly contested game that saw each team overcome an eight-point deficit.
>> Playing the same opponent twice in a short period of time can cause a variety of challenges for both teams, but the Pirates are no stranger to schedule quirks. Last season, The Hall was assigned Georgetown twice in 11 days, but emerged with a 69-61 home win and a 72-64 victory on the road. The Pirates had another schedule quirk in 2014-15 when they played Butler twice in three games. SHU fell in overtime at home before a setback at Hinkle Fieldhouse 12 days later.
>> Winning on the road in the BIG EAST is one of the most difficult tasks in college basketball, but Seton Hall has proven it has what it takes to get it done. The Pirates are 6-4 in their last 10 conference road games (6-3 in 2015-16), with an impressive 10.3 average margin of victory including wins over Marquette, Providence, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John's and DePaul.
>> Rodriguez is averaging 20.3 points over the last three games and is an invaluable asset to the Pirates. He is in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in points (13th- 15.5), rebounds (15th-5.3) and steals (12th- 1.3) per game. He is second on the team with 19 steals and third with 27 assists. He has had four 20-point games and two double-doubles this season including a 23-point, 11-rebound performance in an 82-58 victory over Quinnipiac in the AdvoCare Invitational. In addition to his Player of the Week nod on Monday, the Bronx native was named to the weekly honor roll on Nov. 21 after totaling 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals at Iowa. He scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half while shooting 7-for-8 from the field.
>> As the Pirates enter the thick of BIG EAST play, they are expected to continue to rely on their big man, Delgado, to make his presence known in the paint. He enters Wednesday as the conference's top rebounder with 11.7 per game, good for sixth in the nation, and has 4.2 more per game than any other player in the league. He has three 20-point games this season, is averaging 14.9 points, shooting 58.1 percent, and has 11 double-doubles in 15 games including in each of the last nine.
>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native is the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 34 (third most in the country), and when he delivers one, good things happen for The Hall. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won 23 of the last 24 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 10-1 in 2016-17), and are now 29-5 during his career. He is averaging 17.0 points and 12.7 boards during his nine-game double-double streak. The last Pirate to double dip in 10 straight games was Eddie Griffin in 2001.
>> The Hall has been dominant down low all season, and leads the BIG EAST in several rebounding categories. SHU has out-rebounded its opponent in 13 of 15 games and leads the BIG EAST with 40.1 boards per game and is second with a +6.8 rebounding margin. It also leads the league with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game and pulled down a season-best 18 against South Carolina. The Pirates are outscoring opponents in the paint by 10.8 points per game (558-396).
>> Effort on the offensive glass has led to 13.5 second chance points per game, 4.4 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 60 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 37 times, which is 61.7 percent of total chances. The team has scored 77 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 35.0 percent of all available chances, the best the BIG EAST. Additionally, The Hall has done a nice job on the defensive glass. It limited Columbia and Creighton to just four offensive rebounds, and allowed just six against Rutgers, who entered the game averaging 15.7 offensive boards.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 41.3 percent from the field, the best field goal defense in the conference, and are 31.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Pirates held Creighton, the nation's top three-point shooting team, to just 5-for-16 from deep. Last Saturday, SHU kept DePaul 16.5 points under its season scoring average and improved to 6-0 when opponents shoot under 40 percent.
>> The Pirates have shown the ability to finish games strong. They are 4-1 when trailing at halftime and are shooting 50.9 percent (234-of-460) in the second half overall, and 54.1Â percent (186-of-344) during the 12 games they have won. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 6.4 in the final frame while scoring 41.3 points. Meanwhile, Seton Hall and its strong defense have also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 36-1 in their last 37 games (dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season) when holding at least a seven-point lead at any point in the contest.
>> The Hall is paced offensively by Carrington, who is second in the BIG EAST with 18.7 points per game. The team's most consistent scorer has seven 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all 15 games thus far and 47 times throughout his career. He is shooting 48.3 percent (99-of-205) from the field and 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for third in the BIG EAST.
>> Carrington currently has a team-high 1,032 career points (38th all-time in school history), and became the 41st student-athlete in school history to reach the 1,000-point threshold after a 27-point performance at Creighton. Earlier this season he passed former teammate and current Brooklyn Nets guard, Isaiah Whitehead, with 17 points against Columbia. Delgado (57th- 850 points) and Rodriguez (60th- 829 points) will have the opportunity to break into the top-50 all-time scoring list later this season.
>> Largely considered one of the top defenders in the BIG EAST, and described by head coach Kevin Willard as the team MVP day in and day out, junior forward Ismael Sanogo has also proved his worth on the glass and is on a rebounding tear. He is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game over his last 10 contests and pulled down a career-high 16 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on Dec. 23. He also grabbed 12 boards in a victory over then-ranked No. 16 South Carolina at The Garden. In his latest defensive triumph, Sanogo had a critical steal in the final seconds of the first matchup with Marquette, and prevented the Golden Eagles from even attempting a game-tying shot.
>> Freshman sharp shooter Myles Powell has shown flashes of brilliance through the first 15 games of his career. He posted an impressive season-best 26 points in SHU's victory at Iowa (11/17), just three games into his career, to snap the Hawkeyes 41-game home winning streak over non-conference foes. He went 9-for-14 from the field, 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Nov. 21. He is one of only three Pirates freshmen since 2008 to score at least 25 points in a game, joining Jeremy Hazell, who did it four times in 2008, and Isaiah Whitehead, who accomplished it vs. Rutgers in December 2014. He has canned three or more triples in five different games this year.
>> A valuable role player in the back court, senior Madison Jones leads the team with 3.3 assists per game. In his debut with the Pirates he dished out a career-high 10 helpers en route to a 91-70 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. He posted a career-high 15 points versus Delaware, and ranks eight in the BIG EAST with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and sixth with 1.7 steals per game.
>> Sophomore forward Michael Nzei leads the team with nine blocks and is a blistering 70.7 percent (29-of-41) from the field over 18.5 minutes per game off the bench. He has also shown the ability to throw it down and is second on the team with five dunks this season.
>> SHU has seen consistent scoring from Carrington, Rodriguez and Delgado. The junior trio has combined to post 63.8 percent of the total scoring output for the Pirates. Additionally, SHU is 10-2 this season when they all score in double figures.
>> Seton Hall faced a difficult non-conference schedule with six games against members of the "Basketball Power Six" conferences and came away with a 4-2 record. Seton Hall is one of 10 "Basketball Power Six" teams (out of 75) to secure four non-conference wins or more so far over other "Basketball Power Six" schools:
- 1. Creighton – 6
- 2. Butler, UCLA, Wisconsin – 5
- 5. SETON HALL, Xavier, Kansas, Baylor, Virginia, Clemson – 4
>> Furthermore, five of Seton Hall's six non-conference games against the "Basketball Power Six" came on the road, where the Pirates came away with three victories (Iowa, California, South Carolina). Among the 75 "Basketball Power Six" schools, the Pirates' three road/neutral victories ranked in a tie for fourth:
- 1. Creighton – 5
- 2. Butler, UCLA – 4
- 4. SETON HALL, Wisconsin, Virginia, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Kentucky, Arizona
