No. 20 Pirates Face Off With URI in NIT Semifinals

Thursday, November 23

Brooklyn, N.Y.

6 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Rhode Island

Tickets

11/21/2017 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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2017 NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals No. 20 Seton Hall Pirates (4-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Rhode Island Rams (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Date/Time/Location	Thursday, November 23 \| 6 p.m. \| Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Tickets	Ticketmaster.com
Television Broadcast	ESPNU \| WatchESPN
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Sirius 108 \| XM 201 \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Rhode Island
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook

It's Holiday Tournament Time!

The Pirates are making the short trip to Brooklyn, the home of senior point guard Khadeen Carrington, to participate in the NIT Season Tip-Off, and it begins with a semifinal clash against the Rhode Island Rams, who are coached by a Pirates alumnus - the one and only Dan Hurley. The winner of this game advances to Friday's title round against either Vanderbilt or Virginia.

The Pirates have a rich history with the NIT Season Tip-Off, making four previous appearances, including runs to the title game in 1987 and 1992. Naturally, both times the Pirates advanced to the title game, they went on to enjoy NCAA Tournament bids a few months later. The Pirates finished as the runner-ups in both 1987 and 1992, and thus that makes 2017 an opportunity to finally hoist the trophy.

The game time is technically 6 p.m., but with the Vanderbilt-Virginia game beginning at 4 p.m., it is highly unlikely that the game will tip at 6. Stay tuned to ESPNU and the @SetonHallMBB twitter page for updates on a tip time. When the game does begin, be sure to watch on ESPNU or WatchESPN with Mike Crispino and LaPhonso Ellis on the call. As usual, the dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will deliver the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 108, XM 201 and the Pirate Sports Network.

THINGS TO KNOW
• The No. 20 ranked Seton Hall Pirates head into this year's NIT Season Tip-Off with an unblemished record after taking care of Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, Indiana and NJIT in four home games at Prudential Center in eight days to begin the season.

• Senior Desi Rodriguez scored a game-high 19 points to continue his hot streak to begin the season, and the Seton Hall bench contributed 32 points including 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from freshman Sandro Mamukelashvili on Saturday afternoon to deliver NJIT a 82-53 setback at The Rock. Mamukelashvili also added nine rebounds and four blocks.

• The Pirates are 4-0 for the first time since 2014-15 when the team won its first seven games.

• The Pirates return 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding from a team that won 21 games in 2016- 17, advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament semifinal, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

• Led by eighth-year head coach Kevin Willard, the Pirates welcome back an incredible senior class that has the only active trio of 1,000 point scorers in Division I - Khadeen Carrington, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez.

• Seton Hall was ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll entering the season for the first time since 2000-01 when it came in at No. 10, and was picked to win the BIG EAST.

OFF THE BAT

• Thursday is the first meeting between the Rams and the Pirates since game No. 4 of the 2012 season for Seton Hall, when junior Gene Teague scored 21 points and the Pirates overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat Rhose Island in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, 60-55, held inside Mohegan Sun Arena.

• The 2017-18 non-conference slate for the Pirates includes potential matchups against six teams currently in the KenPom Top-100 including Rhode Island and both Virginia and Vanderbilt. The Hall will square off with four teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including both games at the NIT Tip-Off, in addition to Louisville and VCU.

• Angel Delgado, the Division I active leader in double-doubles (53), was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team pick after leading the nation in rebounding in 2016-17, pulling down an astonishing 13.1 boards per game.

• Carrington and Delgado were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST first team, and Rodriguez earned an honorable mention nod. The Pirates were picked second behind Villanova in the league's preseason poll.

• The Pirates will either face Vanderbilt or Virginia on Friday night. If it's Vandy, it will be only the second all-time meeting, the first going to the Commodores in 1967. Seton Hall is 3-0 all-time against UVA, all on neutral courts, most recently in 2007.

#PiratePursuit
The No. 20 Pirates have flourished in the program's previous two seasons to the likes of which the program has not seen in over 20 years, and they are in pursuit of a truly special 2017-18 campaign.
The program has gone to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since reeling off four straight appearances from 1991-94.
Last year's campaign secured the program's first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1992-93, and first back-to-back BIG EAST Conference winning seasons since 2003-04.

In the Polls
The Pirates enter Thursday as the AP No. 20 ranked team, and is 28th in the KenPom ranking.
Seton Hall has been in the weekly national rankings 103 times in program history, and now three times this season after previously finishing the 2015-16 campaign at No. 20.
This year marked the fourth time Seton Hall was ranked in the preseason top 25
2017-18: No. 23
2000-01: No. 10
1992-93: No. 6
1991-92: No. 9
Of the 103 all-time rankings, this is the fifth time Seton Hall has been ranked No. 20, and the first since the 2015-16 season final poll.
Seton Hall's all-time record as an AP nationally ranked team is 146-48 (.753).

NIT Season Tip-Off
The Hall is competing in the NIT Season Tip-Off for the first time since the 2005-06 season, when the Pirates were bounced by Duke in the first round in Durham, N.C.
The Pirates are 7-4 all-time in the tournament, and are looking to win two NIT Tip-Off games in the same season for the third time in program history, and first time since they defeated Delaware and Tennessee in consecutive games during the historical 1992-93 season.
The Pirates reached the title game in both 1987 and 1992.
Seton Hall's in-season tournament record is 14-6 dating back to 2011-12, and the program has won 21 total in-season tournaments in school history.
Last season, the Pirates went 1-2 in the AdvoCare Invitational with losses to Florida and Stanford and a win over Quinnipiac.
In the 2016 Fox Sports Pearl Harbor Invitational picked up important wins over Hawaii and Cal.

Early Opportunities
The Pirates have a challenging non-conference slate in 2017-18 that features matchups against six teams currently in the KenPom Top-100:
Indiana - 91
Rhode Island - 57
Virginia - 7 or Vanderbilt - 53
Texas Tech - 17
Louisville - 27
VCU - 95
A total of four potential non-conference opponents reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17 including Louisville, Vanderbilt, Rhode Island, Virginia and VCU.
The Pirates have gone 10-2 during non-conference play in each of the past three years.

Unmatched Senior Scorers
Between Delgado, Rodriguez, Carrington and Sanogo, the Pirates entered 2017-18 with the most senior points returning in the country:
Seton Hall - 3,816 points - four players
Idaho - 3,736 points - six players
Purdue - 3,392 points - four players
Xavier - 3,088 points - three players
Bucknell - 3,026 points - three players
Drake - 2,988 points - six players

A Helping Hand
The experience and skill of seniors Carrington and Delgado and improved decision-making from Powell in his second season has led to a combined 44 assists and 20 turnovers between the trio.
Carrington's transition to point guard this season has been a success thus far, as he leads the team with 21 assists and six steals, and has furthermore committed only seven fouls while playing a team-high 111 minutes of lockdown defense.
In the season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Pirates assisted on 22 of their 33 made field goals, which is the most in a game since Jan. 28, 2015 when the Pirates registered 23 at Marquette.

Scoop n' Score
The Pirates have scored 82 points off 74 turnovers through the first four games of the season and have won the turnover battle in each game.
SHU has been particularly effective at creating havoc while taking care of the ball on its offensive end, culminating in positive assist-to-turnover ratios in three of the first four games, which also included an even ratio against Indiana.
The Pirates have won eight consecutive games when they register a positive assist-to-turnover ratio including 13 of the last 14.

HOLD THE DOOR!
The Pirates pride themselves on defense, and have proven the ability to hold off late pushes by the opposition.
In fact, Seton Hall is 48-3 in its last 51 games (dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season) when holding a lead of seven or more at any point in the contest.

Big Man, Big Expectations
By now, it is no secret that Angel Delgado is one of the best players in the country. His on-court dominance has garnered national attention, and his play has earned him preseason All-America honors from multiple outlets including the Associated Press.
The Dominican native led the country with 13.1 rebounds per game last season, and was a unanimous First Team BIG EAST selection and AP All-America honorable mention
Currently, Delgado is the NCAA's active career leader in rebounds (1,087) and double-doubles (53).
In 2016-17, he recorded over 200 more rebounds than any other player in the BIG EAST, and set the conference's single-season rebounding record (253).

Hot Cheese!
The man called "Cheese" - Myles Powell, has a smooth and savory stroke from long range, and is leading the Pirates in three-point buckets, shooting 10-for-26 (38.5 percent).
When Powell gets hot, the Pirates feed off his energy and seem to play better as a collective. In fact, they are 9-4 over the course of his career when he makes three or more treys.
The Trenton native had himself an impressive debut campaign in 2016-17, finishing with 10.7 points per game while leading the team in free throw percentage (81.7).
In perhaps his biggest moment of the 2016-17 season, Cheese drilled a dagger three with 35 seconds to go at No. 13 Butler to ultimately seal the upset win for The Hall.

#DowntownDesi
One of the best parts of Desi's game is his ability to provide outside scoring.
He is shooting a team-best 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc, and is leading the team with 17.0 points per game while averaging 26.5 minutes.
He has been red hot to begin the season, and has been the top scorer in three of four games.
The Bronx native was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll this week after averaging 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the team's two wins last week.
Owning the Glass
It helps to have the best rebounder in the country, but rebounding is truly a team effort, and the Pirates have proven the ability to dominate.
The Pirates have out-rebounded opponents 153-115 this season, and have had a positive margin in each of their last nine games dating back to last season.
In 2016-17, The Hall out-rebounded its opponent in 26 of 33 games and went 17-9 in said contests.
In 13 games last year, the Pirates registered a double-digit rebounding advantage.
The Pirates have out-scored opponents in the paint this season 158-90.

Deeno Doing Deeno
Whether it is dribble-drive and slash to the hoop, or filling it up from long range, Khadeen Carrington has a natural scoring ability that ranks him among the all-time greats at The Hall.
Currently, Carrington is 26th on the all-time scoring leaderboard with 1,363 career points.
The Brooklyn native has scored 20 or more points 18 times in his career, and led the Pirates with 17.1 points per game last season.
He put on one of the best individual performances in program history with a career-high 41 points, capped by a last-second steal and breakaway slam, in an 87-81 home win over No. 20 Creighton last year.

Do Not Pass Sanogo
Largely considered one of the top defenders in the BIG EAST, Ismael Sanogo throughout his career has played a crucial role in shutting down top opponent scorers and limiting teams to below their scoring average.
Last season, he held the BIG EAST's fifth leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds (17.3 ppg), to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. He also helped limit Villanova to 55 points in the conference semifinal, over 20 points below its average.

New Kid on the BLOCK
Freshman Sandro Mamukelashvili made his presence felt on Saturday with four blocks in SHU's 82-53 win over NJIT at Prudential Center.
No Pirate had more than three in a game last season, and Mamukelashvili has five already through his first four collegiate contests.
In Saturday's win he also registered 11 points and nine rebounds.
The seven collective blocks for the team against NJIT were the most since it turned away seven against Central Connecticut State on Nov. 13, 2016, the second game of the season last year.
Dazzling Debuts
Freshmen Myles Cale, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jordan Walker each played 18 or more minutes in their collegiate debut vs. FDU, and put on an efficient and effective display.
Cale led the rookies in scoring with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while filling the box score with five rebounds, four assists without a turnover, two steals and a block.
Walker was a perfect 2-for-2 from distance and finished with seven points, while Mamukelashvili totaled eight points and six rebounds (five offensive).
Additionally, all three freshman knocked down a three-pointer, and shot a combined 5-for-7 from downtown.

That's Usin' Your Noggin'
Junior Mike Nzei is one of the brightest all-around student-athletes at Seton Hall, and the economics major is a two-time All-Academic BIG EAST selection.
Unsurprisingly, his intellect translates to the court in terms of his efficiency and shot selection.
He led the team in field goal percentage in 2016-17, shooting an incredible 65.1 percent from the field (54-of-82), and would have been second in the BIG EAST if he registered enough attempts to qualify.

1,000 Point Club
Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington entered the season as the only trio of returners with 1,000 or more career points
In fact, all three reached the milestone in 2016-17, becoming only the program's second trio of 1,000-point scorers to be active in the same season, joining John Morton, Daryll Walker and Ramon Ramos of the program's historical 1988-89 national runner-up season
Delgado is the NCAA's active leader in career rebounds (1,087) and double-doubles (53), and is the only active 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound player in the country