Pirates Start Two-Game Road Trip Wednesday at Xavier

2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (13-7, 3-5 BIG EAST) vs. Xavier Musketeers (15-6, 5-3 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Wednesday, Feb. 1 \| 9 p.m. \| Cintas Center (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	WMCA 570 AM \| Pirate Sports Network (FREE)
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Xavier
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook

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Video Feature: Ismael Sanogo (Inside the BIG EAST on FS1)

After two solid weeks in South Orange, the Pirates are back on the road this week for a five-day trip that includes a Wednesday night stop in Cincinnati for a matchup with the Xavier Musketeers at 9 p.m. With the calendar turning to February, the Pirates will look to draw upon last season's experience when they went 6-1 with two victories over nationally ranked foes. The Musketeers, ranked No. 25 in this week's Coaches Poll, are 87-39 overall and 38-24 in conference games since joining the BIG EAST. The Pirates have defeated the Musketeers five times in that span, which is tied for second among the nine BIG EAST opponents for most victories over Xavier (Villanova has seven wins over XU, Creighton also has five).

Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery will call the action for the nationally televised FS1 broadcast, simulcast on FOX Sports GO. The dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).

Pirate Points
>> Junior Angel Delgado continued his historical season last Wednesday night, becoming the first player in BIG EAST history to pull down 20 or more rebounds in back-to-back conference regular season games; but the Seton Hall was outlasted by No. 11 Butler, 61-54, in a scrappy defensive bout at Prudential Center. With the game tied at 49-49, the Bulldogs converted a three-point play before Kamar Baldwin canned a shot from beyond the arc to take a 55-49 lead at 2:48. Kethan Savage then hit both free-throws on Butler's next possession to take a nine-point lead that effectively put the game out of reach for The Hall. Delgado finished with 12 points and a career-high 22 boards, while juniors Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez each added 12 points.

>> Delgado's 22 rebounds are the most by any Pirate since the school joined the BIG EAST in the 1979. He finished with 20 rebounds in the team's previous game vs. St. John's. Additionally, Delgado is one of four student-athletes from a "Power Basketball Six" conference since 1996 to have back-to- back 20-rebound games (courtesy of FOX Sports & Anthony Masterson):

Tim Duncan, Wake Forest (1996-97)
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma (2008-09)
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue (2016-17)

>> Seton Hall returns to Xavier Wednesday night carrying a two-game winning streak over the Musketeers including an 87-83 BIG EAST Tournament triumph in the last meeting between the teams. Xavier was ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll in each of the previous two contests, are receiving votes this week, and are ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. SHU leads the all-time series, 9-5, and is 5-3 under the direction of head coach Kevin Willard. Prior to Xavier joining the BIG EAST, the teams had not met since 1979. The Pirates are seeking their first win in Cincinnati since Feb. 1, 2014 when Fuquan Edwin led four SHU double-digit scorers with 18 points to snap a 13-game Xavier winning streak.

>> SHU has shown consistent ability to perform well against nationally ranked opponents, since head coach Kevin Willard's arrival in 2010-11. The Pirates have won five of their last eight games against nationally ranked opponents, dating back to Feb. 25 of last season:

Feb. 25, 2016 vs. Providence (No. 24 in Coaches Poll)
Feb. 28, 2016 vs. Xavier (No. 5 in AP/Coaches Polls)
March 11, 2016 vs. Xavier (No. 5 in AP/Coaches Poll)
March 12, 2016 vs. Villanova (No. 3 in AP Poll, No. 2 in Coaches Poll)
Dec. 13, 2016 vs. South Carolina (No. 16 in AP Poll, No. 15 in Coaches Poll)

>> As the Pirates continue to battle in BIG EAST play, they expect the league's best big man, Delgado, to assert his presence in the paint. He enters Wednesday as the nation's top rebounder with 12.9 per game, and has 5.7 more per game (107 total) than any other player in the BIG EAST. He is second in the country with 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. Earlier this season, he grabbed 13 offensive boards at Marquette, which is the most by any Pirates player in recent history and it is the first 13-offensive rebound game by a BIG EAST player since Kentrell Gransberry of USF had 13 vs. DePaul on March 3, 2007. He has four 20-point games this season, and is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.

>> The 6-foot-10 Dominican native is the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 38 (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 24 of the last 28 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 11-4 in 2016-17), and are now 30-8 during his career. Earlier this season, Delgado recorded 11 double-doubles in a row, averaging 16.3 points and 13.5 boards during the stretch.

>> With the excellent start to his junior campaign, Delgado has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in BIG EAST history. He is averaging 10.86 rebounds through 44 career conference games, and is currently fifth in league history. Through eight conference games this season he has pulled down a staggering 14.6 rebounds per game - 7.6 more than any other player in the league. Career BIG EAST rebounding leaders:

Michael Smith, Providence (1991-94) - 11.66 RPG
Kentrell Gransberry, USF (2006-08) - 11.00 RPG
Derrick Coleman, Syracuse (1986-90) - 10.95 RPG
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh (2007-09) - 10.94 RPG
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2014-present) - 10.86 RPG

>> Delgado is currently seventh in school history with 880 career rebounds and is producing numbers that rank alongside SHU legends Nick Werkman (1961-64), Herb Pope (2009-12) and Mark Bryant (1984-88). He is only the seventh Pirate in program history to record a 20-rebound game, and the first since Pope vs. Syracuse on Jan. 8, 2011. He is on pace to reach 1,000 career rebounds later this season. Only four players in program history have reached the 1,000-rebound milestone:

Walter Dukes (1950-53) - 1,697
Glenn Mosley (1973-77) - 1,263
Ken House (1969-72) - 1,149
Nick Werkman (1961-64) - 1,036

>> Junior swingman Desi Rodriguez is averaging a league-best 18.6 points per game in BIG EAST play through the team's first eight games, and is 25- of-51 (49.0 percent) from 3-point range during that span. He is in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring (12th- 16.1), rebounding (15th- 5.3) and steals (13th- 1.2) per game. He is second on the team with 24 steals and third with 36 assists. He has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. He was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after a 25-point performance against DePaul on Jan. 7 in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts. Affectionately known as #DunkinDesi, he has thrown down 11 dunks this season and 34 for his career.

>> The Hall is paced offensively by junior guard Khadeen Carrington, who is seventh in the BIG EAST with 17.2 points per game. The team's most consistent scorer has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, 51 times throughout his career. Carrington currently has a team-high 1,095 career points (34th 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. Rodriguez and Delgado are tied for 48th on the all-time scoring list with 917 career points, and will have the opportunity to join the 1,000-point club later this month.

>> 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. He is third in the BIG EAST with 6.8 rebounds per game 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. Sanogo played a crucial role in limiting Shamorie ponds of St. John's (17.2 points per game) to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting on Jan. 22. Last Wednesday, he totaled a season-best three blocks and matched a career-high four steals against No. 11 Butler.

>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 42.0 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 6-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The team's 7.2 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST. The Pirates are the only team with three players in the top-15 in the conference in steals: senior Madison Jones (8th-1.6), Carrington (14th-1.2) and Rodriguez (15th-1.2).

>> 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 16 of 19 games (including six of seven league games), and leads the BIG EAST with 40.6 boards per game and is 19th in the country with a +7.3 rebounding margin. It is also atop the league standings and 23rd in the nation with 13.5 offensive rebounds per game. Earlier this season the team pulled down a season-best 27 at Marquette. The Pirates are outscoring opponents in the paint by 9.3 points per game (684-508).

>> Effort on the offensive glass has led to 13.4 second chance points per game, 4.2 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 90 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 49 times, which is 54.4 percent of total chances. The team has scored 99 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 36.1 percent of all available chances, the best in the BIG EAST. Additionally, The Hall has done a nice job on the defensive glass. It limited Columbia, Creighton and Providence to just four offensive rebounds, and allowed just six against Rutgers, who entered the game averaging 15.7 offensive boards. As a team, SHU holds opponents to an offensive rebound on only 25.1 percent of available chances.

>> The Pirates have shown the ability to finish games strong. They have four wins when trailing at halftime and are shooting 49.5 percent (299-of-604) in the second half overall and 54.6 percent (201-of-368) during the 13 games they have won. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 3.9 in the final frame while scoring 39.9 points. Meanwhile, Seton Hall and its strong defense have also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 37-1 in their last 38 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.

>> Powell has shown flashes of brilliance through the first 20 games of his career. He posted an impressive season-best 26 points in SHU's victory at Iowa (Nov. 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 six different games this year and is averaging 10.2 points per game.

>> A valuable role player in the back court, Jones leads the team and is seventh in the BIG EAST with 3.6 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 sixth in the BIG EAST with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and eighth with 1.6 steals per game. Jones has more assists than turnovers in each of his last six games.

>> Sophomore forward Michael Nzei is second on the team with 13 blocks and is a blistering 67.3 percent (37-of-55) from the field over 17.1 minutes per game off the bench. He has also shown the ability to throw it down and is second on the team with nine dunks this season.