The Hall Tangles with No. 17 Louisville on Sunday

2017-18 Seton Hall Non-Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (6-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) at No. 17 Louisville (4-1, 0-0 ACC)
Date/Time/Location	Sunday, December 2 \| 4 p.m. \| KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
Television Broadcast	ESPN2 \| WATCHESPN
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Louisville
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook

Before we go any further, you have to watch this video.

Now that you've been able to smile and/or hold back tears, let's get to business. The Pirates are heading to a once-familiar land. A land with 22,000 fans. A land where visiting teams don't win very often.

But it's a land that this Seton Hall team will not be intimidated by. These Pirates have won at Creighton, Butler, Providence, Marquette and St. John's under hostile conditions. They will be prepared to handle what comes their way Sunday when they face Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center. This is The Hall's first appearance in Louisville since 2013 when the two teams were both in the old BIG EAST. Seton Hall has not defeated the Cardinals since 2010. But a win would give the Pirates a second straight victory over a nationally ranked team, a fourth win over a KenPom top 100 team and a first true road win of the year.

Tip time is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN, simulcast on WatchESPN, with Mike Crispino and Seth Greenberg on the call. As usual, the dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will deliver the radio broadcast on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.

THINGS TO KNOW

• The Seton Hall Pirates visit the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday afternoon to take on the No. 17 Louisville Cardinals in the first true road game of the season for The Hall.

• The matchup will be the second-consecutive game for the Pirates against a team in the AP top-25.

• On Thursday night, Seton Hall went on a late 20-9 run with daggers from sophomore Myles Powell to take down No. 22 Texas Tech, 89-79, in the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden.

• Senior Desi Rodriguez scored a game-high 24 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field and a 7-for-7 performance at the line. Powell was on an absolute tear in the second half, scoring 17 of his 19 points and shooting 6-for-8.

• Expectations are high for the Pirates this season, who have 90 percent of their scoring and rebounding back 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.

OFF THE BAT

• Head coach Kevin Willard returns to Louisville where he was the associate head coach from 2005-07 and an assistant from 2001-05. It is the first matchup between the former BIG EAST foes since the No. 10 Cardinals hosted the Pirates on Feb. 23, 2013, and came away with a 79-61 victory behind Gorgui Dieng's 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds. Sophomore Aaron Cosby paced the Pirates with 17 points.

• Louisville is part of a challenging 2017- 18 non-conference slate for the Pirates that includes matchups against six teams currently in the KenPom Top-100. The Hall squares off with four teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, including Louisville and VCU next Saturday.

• Angel Delgado, the Division I active leader in double-doubles (54), 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. So far this season, he is averaging 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.

• 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.

#PiratePursuit

The 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.

On Sunday, the Pirates are playing in their first true road game of the season.

Last year, in the road opener, Seton Hall handed Iowa a 91-83 defeat in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Up to the Challenge

Since head coach Kevin Willard's arrival in 2010-11, The Hall has shown consistent ability to perform well against nationally ranked opponents.

On Sunday, the Pirates can pick up their 16th win over an Associated Press top-25 team during Willard's tenure.

Against No. 22 Texas Tech on Thursday, Seton Hall picked up its first win over an AP ranked team during the non-conference regular season since last year's Under Armour Reunion, when the Pirates toppled No. 16 South Carolina, a team that eventually reached the Final Four.

In the Polls

The Pirates enter the weekend receiving the most votes out of any team not ranked in the AP Top-25 poll, and 21st in the KenPom ranking.

Seton Hall has been in the weekly national rankings 103 times in program history, and 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

Building a Resume

The Pirates have a challenging non-conference slate that features matchups against six teams in the KenPom Top-100:

Indiana - 80 (W, 84-68)

Rhode Island - 51 (L, 74-75)

Vanderbilt - 62 (W, 72-59)

Texas Tech - 19 (W, 89-79)

Louisville - 23

VCU - 87

A total of four non-conference opponents reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17 including Louisville, Vanderbilt, Rhode Island and VCU.

The Pirates have gone 10-2 during non-conference play in each of the past three years.

Halftime Adjustments

Over the past three games the Pirates are averaging a +11.7 scoring margin over the final 20 minutes.

The defense has been locked in, as opponents are shooting just 28.6 percent (26-of-91) from the field and 16.7 percent (5-of-30) from three-point range during the second half of the previous three games (Vanderbilt, Rhode Island, Texas Tech).

The Pirates have won two games this season when trailing at the break, and are shooting 49.0 percent from the field in the second half.

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 50-3 in its last 53 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.

Offensive Showcase

The Pirates unloaded some serious offensive power Thursday night against No. 22 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden.

Entering the game, the Red Raiders were leading the country in field goal percentage defense (33.5), were third in scoring defense (55.3), and had not given up 70 or more points in any of their first six games.

However, the Pirates, playing at their "home away from home," finished with 89 points, shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field, and was a season-best 11-for-20 from long range (55.0 percent).

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 20-for-48 (41.7 percent).

He took control of Thursday night's game against Texas Tech when it mattered most. With 2:05 to go in the game, Cheese banged a three to push the lead to nine. He later made an acrobatic layup, then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and converted a layup while being fouled with 1:20 left. In all, he finished with eight of the team's final 10 points.

When Powell gets hot, the Pirates feed off his energy and seem to play better as a collective. In fact, they are 10-5 over the course of his career when he makes three or more treys.

Cheese scored a season-best 21 points and went 5-for-7 from long range against Rhode Island on Thanksgiving, and was 4-for-8 against Texas Tech. He has scored in double-figures all seven games this year.

He has been piping hot from long range during the second half of games this season, shooting an incredible 50.0 percent (10-for-20).

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).

His "clutch gene" was never more present than when he hit a dagger triple at No. 13 Butler to upset the Bulldogs on Senior Day, 70-64, in the regular-season finale.

In a World of His Own

Desi Rodriguez has been elite this season.

He is averaging a team-best 18.7 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, shooting 50.5 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from long range, and 76.7 percent from the free throw line.

The Pirates are now 5-0 when Rodriguez is the team's leading scorer, and he has three 20-point games already this season, and 14 during his career.

The Bronx native was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll on Nov. 20 after averaging 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the team's wins over Indiana and NJIT.

Pirates at the Point

Carrington's transition to point guard this season has been a success thus far, as he leads the team with 29 assists and has just 12 turnovers.

He has furthermore committed only 13 fouls while playing a team-high 207 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.

Seton Hall has finished with an even or positive assist-to-turnover ratio in six of seven games.

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.

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).

Against Vanderbilt earlier this season, Delgado was held without an offensive rebound, snapping a streak of 71 games with one or more offensive boards.

He has grabbed one or more offensive rebounds in 102 of 105 career games.

Scoop n' Score

The Pirates have scored 118 points off 115 turnovers through the first seven games of the season, and have won the turnover battle in five of seven games.

The Pirates have won nine consecutive games when they register a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and 14 of the last 15.

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

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 264-218 this season, and have had a positive margin in 11 of the last 12 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 270-182.

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 23rd on the all-time scoring leaderboard with 1,392 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.

Against Rhode Island, his presence in the second half allowed the Pirates to get back in the game, as they limited the Rams to just 21 points on 25.8 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.

He was also a major factor in holding Vanderbilt scoreless for an 11-minute stretch in last Friday's victory, while contributing eight rebounds and four blocks.

New Kid on the BLOCK

Freshman Sandro Mamukelashvili made his presence felt 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.

Against NJIT 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.

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 (1,114) and double-doubles (54), and is the only active 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound player in the country.