The Hall Opens BIG EAST Play Wednesday at Creighton

2017 BIG EAST Opener Seton Hall Pirates (10-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) at No. 10 Creighton Bluejays (12-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Wednesday, Dec. 28 \| 8 p.m., Eastern \| CenturyLink Center (Omaha, Neb.)
Television Broadcast	FS2 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network (FREE) \| Sirius 83 \| XM 386
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Creighton
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook

It all starts over again.

The 2016 BIG EAST Tournament champion Pirates have gone through the rigors of their difficult non-conference schedule, and now it's time to focus on the task at hand - defending their crown. The Hall will face a stiff task in Game No. 1 of 18 as it faces No. 10 Creighton at CenturyLink Center Wednesday night. It is Seton Hall's second game against a nationally ranked opponent this season, and the Pirates are riding a five-game winning streak against nationally ranked programs. The Bluejays come into the game undefeated and are eighth in the nation in scoring at 89.8 points per game.

Steve Physioc and Nick Bahe will have the nationally televised broadcast call on FS2 and FOX Sports GO. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will call the action on the radio for AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 83, XM 386 and the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).

Pirate Points

>> Seton Hall improved to 10-2 and wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 72-61 victory over visiting Garden State Hardwood Classic rival Rutgers in front of a capacity crowd last Friday night at Prudential Center. Junior Angel Delgado was named Joe Calabrese Most Valuable Player after finishing with 19 points and 16 rebounds to notch his sixth-straight double-double. Junior Khadeen Carrington collected his sixth 20-point performance of the season and junior Ismael Sanogo pulled down a career-high 16 boards to go along with three steals, two blocks and two assists.

>> At the conclusion of the 2015-16 non-league slate, the Hall has now played 81 consecutive regular season non-conference games without losing two in a row, a streak that dates back to head coach Kevin Willard's debut season with the Pirates in December 2010. Overall, Willard is 66-19 (.776) in non-league games and 44-4 (.917) in non-league home games at SHU. Additionally, the Pirates are riding a 20-game home winning streak over non-conference opponents with a +21.6 average margin of victory. It is the fifth time in Willard's seven seasons that the team has been 10-2 or better through the first 12 games, including each of the last three.

>> SHU opens BIG EAST play looking deliver No. 10 Creighton its first loss of the season. The Pirates have fared well of late against the Bluejays in Omaha, winning the last two meetings at CenturyLink Center. Seton Hall is one of only three BIG EAST teams (Villanova, Providence) to win at Creighton since the Bluejays entered the conference in 2013. SHU is 10-4 all-time against Creighton and is 4-3 in the BIG EAST era.

>> An 81-73 victory in the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals for The Hall in the last meeting between the teams on March 20, 2015 earned the eventual Champions a trip to the semifinals. Isaiah Whitehead and Carrington combined for 51 points and played a key role on both ends of the floor in an 8-0 run over the final 1:10 to capture the win.

>> Willard has had the team focused and prepared for BIG EAST openers during his tenure with the Pirates. He has led SHU to a 5-1 record in openers that includes several memorable performances:

W, 73-72 at DePaul (2013) – Fuquan Edwin delivers a game-winning layup with 6.9 seconds remaining
W, 81-80 (2OT) at Providence (2014) – Sterling Gibbs connects on two free throws with four seconds remaining for the win
W, 78-67 vs. St. John's (2015) – Sterling Gibbs scores 25 points and the Pirates defeat nationally ranked No. 15 St. John's
W, 83-63 vs. Marquette (2016) – All five starters score in double figures, led by Desi Rodriguez's 19, as Pirates throttle Marquette in
biggest margin of victory over the Golden Eagles in the all-time series

>>Tonight's game against the nationally ranked Bluejays will put a Seton Hall winning streak on the line. The Pirates have won their last five games against nationally ranked opponents, dating back to Feb. 25 of last season. This includes three consecutive victories against Associated Press top-five teams. During the Kevin Willard era, the Pirates have won eight games against AP top-10 teams:

Jan. 25, 2011 at No. 9 Syracuse, 90-68
Jan. 3, 2012 vs. No. 8 Connecticut, 75-63
Feb. 21, 2012 vs. No. 9 Georgetown, 73-55
March 13, 2014 vs. No. 3 Villanova, 64-63
Jan. 3, 2015 vs. No. 6 Villanova, 66-61 (ot)
Feb. 28, 2016 vs. No. 5 Xavier, 90-81
March 11, 2016 vs. No. 5 Xavier, 87-83
March 12, 2016 vs. No. 3 Villanova, 69-67

>> Entering league play the Pirates are expected to continue to rely on their big man, Delgado, to flex his muscles in the paint. He enters Wednesday's opener as the conference's top rebounder with 11.8 per game, good for sixth in the nation. He has two 20-point games this season, is averaging 14.7 points, and has double-dipped in each of the last six games. On Monday, he was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll for the third-consecutive week.

>> The 6-foot-10 big man is the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 31 (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 21 straight when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 8-0 in 2016-17), and are 27-4 during his career.

>> The Hall has been dominant down low all season, and is outscoring opponents 460-298 and averaging 13.5 more points in the paint per game than opponents. Most dominantly, the team outscored FDU 52-18, and Iowa, 50-24, in the paint. Additionally, SHU has out-rebounded its opponent in 10 of 12 games and leads the BIG EAST with 40.2 boards per game and is second with a +6.3 rebounding margin. SHU also leads the BIG EAST with 13.0 offensive rebounds per game and pulled down a season-best 18 offensive boards against South Carolina. Effort on the offensive glass has led to 13.6 second chance points per game, 4.8 more than opponents.

>> The Hall is paced offensively by junior Khadeen Carrington, who is fourth in the BIG EAST with 19.3 points per game. The team's most consistent scorer has six 20-point games and has poured in 17 or more points in 10 of 12 games thus far. He is shooting 48.6 percent (84-of- 173) from the field and 50.0 percent (28-of-56) from three-point range. His three-point percentage is good for fifth in the BIG EAST.

>> Carrington currently has a team-high 983 career points (42nd 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 on Wednesday night.

>> The versatile junior swingman Desi Rodriguez is an invaluable asset to the Pirates with 14.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He is second on the team with 18 steals and third with 20 assists. 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. The Bronx native 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 16 rebounds against Rutgers, and is third in the BIG EAST with 7.1 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, 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.

>> A valuable role player in the back court, senior Madison Jones leads the team with 3.4 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 seventh in the BIG EAST with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

>> SHU has seen consistent scoring from Carrington, Rodriguez, Powell and Delgado. The quartet has combined to post 77.4 percent of the total scoring output for the Pirates. Additionally, SHU is 8-1 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 4-0 when trailing at halftime and are shooting 50.1 percent (174-of-347) in the second half overall, and 54.2 percent (155-of-286) during the 10 games they have won. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 6.1 in the final frame while scoring 41.6 points. Meanwhile, Seton Hall and its strong defense have also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 34-1 in their last 35 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.

>> 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 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 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: