The Hall Battles Rutgers for Jersey Bragging Rights

2016 Garden State Hardwood Classic Seton Hall Pirates (9-2) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11-1)
Date/Time/Location	Friday, Dec. 23 \| 6:30 p.m. \| Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.)
Tickets	SOLD OUT \| Limited $11 tickets available at Prudential Center Box Office Friday at 11 AM
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network (FREE) \| XM 381
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Rutgers
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Garden State Hardwood Classic
Promotions	Take Pictures with the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy & with Pirate Santa on the concourse prior to the game
Postgame	Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy & Joe Calabrese MVP Award Presentation

South Orange vs. Piscataway. Blue vs. Red. BIG EAST vs. Big Ten. Private vs. Public.

Prudential Center will be the place to be Friday night when Seton Hall and Rutgers renew their rivalry in the 68th all-time meeting between the two schools and the third installment of the Garden State Hardwood Classic. The Rock is sold out for the first time this season, and if you do not have tickets to the game, FS1 or FOX Sports Go will be the place to watch as Brian Custer and Donny Marshall bring you all the action. For radio aficionados, Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be on the airwaves at AM970 The Answer, XM 381 or the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).

Pirate Points

>> College basketball in the state of New Jersey runs through South Orange. The Pirates have dominated intra-state competition, compiling a 159-60 (.726) record over Garden State foes. They are furthermore 96-25 (.793) against teams in the state as a BIG EAST member and have averaged a +14.3 margin of victory.

>> Conceived as a way to accentuate the colorful rivalry between the two most high-profile teams in the state, the Garden State Hardwood Classic and its associated trophy debuted in 2014-15; adding yet more meaning to the annual matchup between Seton Hall and Rutgers. The inception of the Garden State Hardwood Classic has seen Seton Hall rewrite the rivalry record books with two consecutive wins by margins in excess of 20 points. On December 5th, 2015, Angel Delgado earned Joe Calabrese MVP honors as SHU raced to an 84-55 win that kept the custom-made trophy in South Orange and marked the largest victory in the history of the series.

>> The Pirates hosted the inaugural installment on December 6th, 2014 at the Prudential Center, overwhelming the Scarlet Knights in an 81-54 victory; ensuring that the trophy would reside in South Orange for the next year. Isaiah Whitehead tallied 25 points to earn Joe Calabrese MVP honors in the first-ever classic. Eighteen of the previous 21 meetings between the teams had been decided by six points or less or in overtime. Since joining the BIG EAST, Seton Hall is now 30-17 against RU and holds a 38-29 all-time advantage over its Big Ten rival to the south.

>> Rivalry quick facts:

Teams have played in every season since 1994-95
Schools separated by approximate 27-mile drive
Eighteen of last 21 meetings decided by six points or less or in overtime
Garden State Hardwood Classic was announced and trophy was unveiled at joint press conference held at the Skylark Diner in Edison, N.J. - a local landmark
The custom-made hardware that was handcrafted from wood salvaged from the Asbury Park boardwalk in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and features the names of the winners engraved on the back
Trophy stands 32 inches high and weighs 33 pounds
Current eight-year agreement between the two teams runs through 2020

>> SHU improved to 9-2 on Saturday night as junior Angel Delgado (Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic) posted his fifth consecutive double-double, tied a career-best 22 points, and pulled down 15 rebounds to secure The Hall's fifth-straight victory, 81-68, over visiting Delaware in a non-conference matchup at Prudential Center. The Pirates had a season low eight turnovers and four different players registered double-digit points.

>> The Hall has played 80 consecutive regular season non-conference games without losing two in a row, a streak that dates back to Willard's debut season with the Pirates in December 2010. Overall, Willard is 65-19 (.774) in non-league games and 43-4 (.915) in non- league home games at SHU. Additionally, the Pirates are riding a 19-game home winning streak over non-conference opponents with a +17.9 average margin of victory. Willard is 5-5 against the Scarlet Knights, but has won the last three by an average of 20.7 points.

>> It is the fourth time in Willard's seven seasons that the team has been 9-2 or better through the first 11 games, including each of the last three.

>> The Pirates will look to stay hot in their final non-league game on the 2016-17 docket, and will lean on Delgado, who was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second-consecutive week after a 13-point, 12-rebound performance in a victory over then-ranked No. 16 South Carolina at The Garden on Dec. 12 in addition to Saturday's performance against Delaware. In addition, he has been chosen as the MET Writers Player of the Week. He has recorded a double-double in each of the last five contests and is averaging 17.2 points and 12.8 rebounds during that stretch.

>> The 6-foot-10 big man is the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 30 (third most in the country), and when he delivers a double-double, good things happen for The Hall. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won 20 straight when he double dips (13-0 in 2015-16, 7-0 in 2016-17), and are 26-4 during his career.

>> The Hall is paced offensively by junior Khadeen Carrington, who is fourth in the BIG EAST with 19.2 points per game. The team's most consistent scorer has five 20-point games and has poured in 17 or more points in nine of 11 games thus far. He is shooting 50.0 percent (79- of-158) from the field and 50.0 percent (25-of-50) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for fifth in the BIG EAST.

>> Carrington currently has a team-high 963 career points (43rd all-time in school history), and passed former teammate and current NBA player with the Brooklyn Nets, Isaiah Whitehead, with 17 points against Columbia. He has the chance to become Seton Hall's 41st 1,000-point scorer later this month.

>> Junior swingman Desi Rodriguez is an invaluable asset to the Pirates and is 12th in the BIG EAST with 14.5 points per game and seventh with 6.1 rebounds per game. He has had two 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. He was named to the weekly BIG EAST 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.

>> Largely considered one of the top defenders in the BIG EAST, junior forward Ismael Sanogo proved his worth in the team's 60-57 victory over Cal, limiting top Golden Bears scorer Ivan Rabb to just eight points and 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) shooting from the field. Entering the game, Rabb had averaged 17.5 points per game and was shooting 59.1 percent. Sanogo pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds against South Carolina, and is sixth in the BIG EAST with 6.1 boards per game.

>> Freshman sharp shooter Myles Powell has shown flashes of brilliance through the first 11 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 and 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.

>> Another valuable addition in the back court this season is graduate transfer from Wake Forest, Madison Jones, who 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 in Saturday's win over Delaware, and ranks seventh in the BIG EAST with a 1.9 assist-to- turnover ratio.

>> SHU has seen consistent scoring from Carrington, Rodriguez, Powell and Delgado, and is one of only two teams in the BIG EAST (Creighton) to have four players averaging 12.0 points per game or more. The quartet has combined to post 77.3 percent of the total scoring output for the Pirates. Additionally, SHU is 7-1 this season when the junior trio of Carrington, Rodriguez and Delgado score in double figures.

>> The Pirates have shown the ability to finish games strong. They are 3-0 when trailing at halftime and are shooting 49.8 percent (158- of-317) in the second half overall, and 54.3 percent (139-of-256) during the nine games they have won. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 4.8 in the final frame while scoring 40.9 points. Meanwhile, Seton Hall and its strong defense have also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 33-1 in their last 34 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 has been dominant in the paint all season and is outscoring opponents 426-280. It is averaging 13.2 more points in the paint per game than opponents, and outscored FDU 52-18, and Iowa, 50-24, in the paint. Additionally, SHU has out-rebounded its opponent in nine of 11 games and leads the BIG EAST with 40.2 boards per game and a +6.3 rebounding margin.

>> SHU leads the BIG EAST with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game and pulled down a season-best 18 offensive boards against South Carolina. Effort on the offensive glass has led to 13.1 second chance points per game, 3.6 more than opponents.

>> Both Seton Hall (9-2) and Rutgers (11-1) come into this contest with strong non-conference records, though the two teams reached this point with very different paths. The experienced Pirates, which are 32nd among the 75 Basketball Power Six Schools in Kenpom Strength of Schedule, have played five games against Basketball Power Six teams, all of them coming on the road or on a neutral court, and have come away with a 3-2 record, including Kenpom top-75 wins over Iowa, California and South Carolina. The Scarlet Knights have zero wins against the Kenpom top-175, and in fact, have played only one team among the Basketball Power Six and the Kenpom top-175, a 73-61 loss at Miami (FL). Rutgers' Kenpom strength of schedule ranks last among the Basketball Power Six Schools and 350th out of 351 schools in Div. I.