MBB Faces Syracuse, Wednesday
3/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2013 BIG EAST Championship
#12 SETON HALL (15-17, 3-15) at
#5 SYRACUSE (23-8, 11-7)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Madison Square Garden - New York, N.Y.
2:00 p.m. ET
2013 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHP - SYRACUSE
Seton Hall enters the 2013 BIG EAST Championship as the 12th seed and defeated #13 USF in the first round, 46-42, in overtime on Tuesday. With the win, it'll face fifth-seeded Syracuse on Wednesday at 2:00 pm. Syracuse enters the BIG EAST Championship having lost four of their last five games including a 61-39 loss at Georgetown in their regular season finale on Saturday. SHU is 2-4 all-time against Syracuse in the BIG EAST Championship. Most recently, Seton Hall lost to Cuse in the second round of the 2009 tournament. In 1993, the Pirates defeated the Orange in the title game.
TV: ESPN - Mike Patrick & Len Elmore
RADIO: WSOU 89.5 FM - Chris Paizis & Brendan Borthwick
VIDEO STREAM: Watch ESPN - Mike Patrick & Len Elmore
AUDIO STREAM: Pirate Sports Network - Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
PIRATES SHOCK USF
Seton Hall trailed by eight points with less than three minutes left in regulation, but rallied and shocked USF in overtime, 46-42, to advance to Wednesday's second round. The Pirates improve to 2-0 all-time against USF in the annual championship event. They also defeated the Bulls in the first round of the 2009 tournament. Fuquan Edwin led all scorers with 17 points.
STOUT DEFENSE
Seton Hall's defense was turned up after halftime vs. USF. The Pirates held the Bulls to just 17.9% shooting (5-for-28) in the second half and just 18.2% (2-for-11) in overtime. The Pirates also held USF without a field goal for a stretch of 9:47 in the second half. For the entire game, Seton Hall shot 40.9% from the field, compared to just 24.2% for USF.
IN THE CLUTCH
Fuquan Edwin started the game vs. USF just 3-for-11 from the field, but turned it up in the game's waning moments. The 6-foot-6 swingman scored the final six point in regulation and his driving layup with 18 seconds left tied the game at 37 and forced overtime. In the extra session, Edwin scored the last four points of the game. His layup with just under a minute left gave SHU a 44-42 lead and his free throws with one second left iced the game for the Pirates.
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Seton Hall is 23-30 all-time at the BIG EAST Championship. It has won two tournaments championships, 1991 and 1993. The Pirates have won at least one game in four of the last five tournaments. Last season, SHU defeated Providence, 79-47, in the first round, before falling to eventual tournament champion Louisville, 61-55, in the second round. The Pirates are 12-11 all-time in first round games.
HONORABLE MENTION
Junior Fuquan Edwin was named an All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention for the 2012-13 season. Edwin led the Pirates in scoring with 16.6 points per game, which ranked seventh in the conference. His .421 three-pointer shooting percentage was fourth-best in the BIG EAST and the fourth highest single-season % in Seton Hall history.
AT THE GARDEN
Seton Hall is 75-95 all-time at Madison Square Garden, which is a .438 winning percentage. Most recently, the Pirates fell 71-67 to St. John's on Jan. 27. Last March, the Pirates split a pair of games at the 2012 BIG EAST Championship, defeating Providence, and losing to Louisville.
AMICABLE SEPARATION
Big East Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco announced on March 8 that after several weeks of cordial and professional discussions, a definitive agreement has been reached that will enable a mutually-beneficial separation of some of the league's current members and allow an orderly formation of a new conference by the seven basketball schools. The separation will become effective on July 1, 2013. The seven schools forming the new conference include Seton Hall, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's and Villanova.
FROM THE BIG EAST PRESIDENTS
The Presidents of the Big East Conference formally approved an agreement that will allow the seven basketball schools - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova - to establish a new conference that will begin play in the 2013-14 academic year under the "Big East" name.
