The Hall Battles No. 2 'Nova Saturday on FOX

Saturday, February 18

Newark, N.J.

12:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Villanova

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Friday, December 19

Pirates Open BIG EAST Play at Providence on Friday Night

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Feb 18 (Sat)

12:30 p.m.

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2/17/2017 11:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (16-9, 6-7 BIG EAST) vs. No. 2 Villanova Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Saturday, Feb. 18 \| 12:30 p.m. (Doors at 11 a.m.) \| Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.)
Tickets	SOLD OUT except for limited $11 tickets will be available at Prudential Center box office Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
Television Broadcast	FOX Broadcast Network \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network (FREE)
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Villanova
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Other Important Information
Promotions	Coaches Cure CF \| Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Postgame Party

Feature: Double-Double! Seton Hall's Angel Delgado Leads Nation in Rebounding

Radio Interview: Kevin Willard on Inside the BIG EAST

A Saturday in February. A building with over 16,000 fans. National broadcast television. The BIG EAST Championship title game rematch.

Yes, tomorrow is a big game at Prudential Center as the Pirates look to build off the momentum gained from Wednesday night's win over No. 20 Creighton. They will host No. 2 Villanova in front of a sold out crowd, what will be the program's biggest crowd ever at The Rock and largest since 2004. The Hall's resume is already strong enough for NCAA Tournament consideration, but a victory over a 'Nova squad ranked No. 2 in the NCAA RPI and KenPom ratings would be a huge boost.

The FOX Broadcast Network telecast will be anchored by Gus Johnson, Donny Marshall and Lisa Byington. The dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 108, XM 201 and the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).

Pirate Points
>> Junior Khadeen Carrington went off for a career-high 41 points including 10 in the final 41 seconds as Seton Hall picked up an 87-81 victory over No. 20 Creighton Wednesday night at Prudential Center. Carrington's 41 points are the most by a Pirate since Jeremy Hazell posted 41 on Dec. 26, 2009 against West Virginia. In addition to his scoring production, Carrington also totaled seven assists, five rebounds and four steals on top of an 18-for-22 output at the free throw line. Meanwhile, junior Angel Delgado picked up his 20th double-double of the season with a 17-point 17-rebound showing on 7-of-11 shooting and notched his 1,000th career point in the process. Junior Desi Rodriguez was the third Seton Hall scorer in double-figures with 18 points.

>> The Pirates welcome No. 2 Villanova to Prudential Center Saturday afternoon in SHU's second of three home games in eight days. The last time an AP Top 2 team played Seton Hall at Prudential Center was Feb. 28, 2009 vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh. SHU is 10-1 at home this season and has been able to take advantage of conference opponents stepping into its gym in recent history. It is 11-4 in its last 15 BIG EAST home games and has won seven of the last eight, including victories over Marquette, DePaul, St. John's, Providence and Creighton this season and a victory over then No. 5-ranked Xavier in the 2015-16 home finale.

>> Prudential Center has been noticeably loud this season as attendance has surged and is expected to continue through the three remaining home games including today. In fact, today's crowd is expected to shatter the Prudential Center Seton Hall basketball attendance record of 13,569 set when Syracuse came to town on Feb. 6, 2012. The Pirates have called downtown Newark home since the 2007 season and have had seven games with attendance over 10,000 including the Garden State Hardwood Classic against Rutgers on Dec. 23. SHU is averaging an attendance of 7,712 during its 10 games at Prudential Center this season, up from 6,972 through 10 games in 2015-16.

>> Since head coach Kevin Willard's arrival in 2010-11, The Hall has shown consistent ability to perform well against nationally ranked opponents, and can pick up its 13th win over an Associated Press top-25 team during his tenure. Dating back to Feb. 25 of last season, the Pirates have won six of last their nine games against nationally ranked opponents, including two this 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)
Feb. 15, 2017 vs. Creighton (No. 20 in AP Poll, No. 22 in Coaches Poll)

>> Villanova leads the all-time series, 70-41, but Seton Hall is 27-26 on its home floor. SHU fell at The Pavilion earlier this season, but Willard and the Pirates have proven the ability to make in-season adjustments and take advantage of experience against BIG EAST competition. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Seton Hall is 12-4 when facing an opponent for the second or third time in the same season. In the third meeting between the teams last season, the Pirates took down the No. 3 ranked Wildcats, 69-67, in the BIG EAST Tournament Championship. Since the start of the new BIG EAST, Seton Hall is the ONLY team to defeat Villanova each season, and will have the opportunity to continue the streak this afternoon. Additionally, only one other team (Creighton) has defeated the Wildcats more than once since the conference realigned.

>> Carrington will look to piggyback off his career night against Creighton Wednesday night. His 41-point output is the most of any BIG EAST player this season and nine more than any other individual scorer in a conference game. It is tied for 14th all-time in a BIG EAST conference game, and is only the 26th time in league history that anyone has scored 40 or more in a conference game. It is furthermore the first 40-point game for a Pirate since Sterling Gibbs scored 40 against Illinois State on Nov. 24, 2014. It is also the most points since Jeremy Hazell posted 41 versus West Virginia on Dec. 26, 2009. Additionally, it is tied for the most points in a BIG EAST game in school history, joining:

Jeremy Hazell vs. West Virginia (Dec. 26, 2009)
Terry Dehere vs. St. John's (Feb. 17, 1993)
Marco Lokar vs. Pittsburgh (Feb. 20, 1990)

>> The Brooklyn native has the ability to drive it to the rim or shoot it from long range, and is fifth in the conference with 17.6 points per game. He has 10, 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but two contests this season, 55 times throughout his career. Carrington has also been clutch in late-game situations. He scored 10 points and went 6-for-6 from the line over the final 41 seconds to edge Creighton on Wednesday, and finished with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the second half alone. He also scored five points in an overtime win against Providence on Feb. 8. For the season, he is averaging 10.2 points during the second half on 49.4 percent shooting, and leads the team in scoring during the final five minutes of game time. Another crucial factor for the Pirates of late has been Carrington's ability to take good care of the ball. He owns a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last nine games with an even or positive ratio in 11 of 13 league contests.

>> Though grossly underrated in the national scope, the Best Big Man in the BIG EAST™, Delgado, resides in South Orange. He enters Saturday as the nation's top rebounder with 13.2 per game, and has 6.5 more per game (153 total) than any other player in the conference. He has five 20-point games this season including a career-best 26 at Georgetown, and is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. He earned recognition on the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll for the eighth time this season after averaging 16.0 points and 12.5 rebounds last week, including a 19-point, 15-rebound performance in an overtime win over Providence. He has put on a show for the Pirate faithful this season, averaging 18.5 points and 15.5 rebounds in home games.

>> The big man is posting truly historic numbers in his junior campaign, and has aligned himself with some of the elite rebounders in school and conference history. The 6-foot-10 Dominican native posted 21 points and 20 rebounds against St. John's at home and 12 points, 22 boards versus Butler. His performance in the St. John's game marked the first 20-20 game for The Hall since Eddie Griffin vs. Saint Peter's on Nov. 27, 2000 and just the 14th to occur in any BIG EAST regular season conference game. Delgado's 22 rebounds against Butler are the most by any Pirate since the school joined the BIG EAST in 1979. 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. 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)

>> Through 12 conference games this season Delgado has pulled down a staggering 14.5 rebounds per game - 7.7 more than any other player in the league, and has five of the top six individual rebounding performances in the BIG EAST. The conference record for rebounding average in a single season is 14.0 (Jerome Lane, Pitt). He is averaging 11.22 rebounds through 48 career BIG EAST games, which is currently second best in league history.

>> Juniors Carrington, Delgado and Rodriguez have been the driving force behind the success of Seton Hall basketball this season. They provide 65.0 percent of the team's scoring, and are the only three teammates in the top-10 in scoring during conference play. They have the opportunity to be mentioned among the best classes in program history. Carrington became the 41st student-athlete in school history to reach 1,000 career points earlier this season, and is now 30th on the all-time scoring list with 1,193 points. Delgado reached the milestone Wednesday night and sits in 42nd with 1,005 career points. Rodriguez is 17 points away from reaching the 1,000-point threshold. If all three reach 1,000 career points in 2016-17, they will become only the second trio 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 team.

>> The versatile swingman Rodriguez has had the hot hand offensively for the Pirates in BIG EAST play. He leads the team and is sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.5 points per game) during league play, and is shooting 45.2 percent (33-of-73) from beyond the arc. He has made 2.5 triples per game in the team's 12 BIG EAST contests, fourth most in the conference. Prior to league play, Rodriguez was 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range.

>> Rodriguez has been a consistent scorer for the Pirates and has the ability to explode through the lane or let it rip from beyond the arc. He has had six 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. He scored a career-high 30 points at Marquette and was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 9 after a 25-point performance against DePaul in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts. Affectionately known as #DunkinDesi, Rodriguez has thrown down 11 dunks this season and 34 for his career. He is 12th in the conference in scoring (15.5 ppg) and 17th in rebounding (5.3 rpg).

>> 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 8-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The Pirates have played their best basketball at home, shooting 48.5 percent while limiting opponents to 39.6 percent. Furthermore, the team's 6.9 steals per game are good for third most in the BIG EAST. Seton Hall and its strong defense has also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 39-1 in their last 40 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.

>> 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 fifth in the BIG EAST with 6.3 rebounds per game and pulled down a career-high 16 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on Dec. 23. In the first meeting with St. John's, Sanogo played a crucial role in limiting the BIG EAST's sixth leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds (17.2 points per game), to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.. After missing two games due to injury, he returned to the hardwood Wednesday night looking sharp. During his first four minutes back on the court the Bluejays were held scoreless. He grabbed seven boards and the team was +16 over his 24 minutes of action.

>> Freshman Myles Powell has shown the ability to be a dynamic scorer and dangerous three-point threat through the first 25 games of his career. Just three games into his rookie season he put up 26 points in SHU's victory at Iowa (Nov. 17) 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. Powell scored 26 and made a career-best 10 field goals at Xavier Feb. 1 including a 6-of-12 mark from three-point land. He is one of only two Pirates since 2008 to have multiple 25-point games as a freshman, joining Jeremy Hazell. He has canned three or more triples in eight different games this year and is averaging 10.8 points per game.

>> With innate defensive awareness and leadership at the point, senior guard Madison Jones has shown the ability to be a true impact player in BIG EAST competition. In perhaps his best game of the season against Xavier on Feb. 1, Jones totaled eight points, nine assists, a career-high five steals, five rebounds, and turned the ball over just once. He is fifth in the BIG EAST with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio and fifth in steals (1.6). During BIG EAST play, he is sixth in the league with 3.5 assists per game. He has been effective at home, averaging 4.2 assists with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.

>> 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 21 of 25 games (including 11 of 13 league games), is fourth in the country and leads the BIG EAST with 41.4 boards per game and is 17th in the nation with a +7.2 rebounding margin. It is also atop the league standings and 17th in the nation with 13.6 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 6.8 points per game (864-694).

>> One of the most critical aspects of the Pirates' offense is its ability to produce second chance points. That effort is led by Delgado, who is second in the country with 4.7 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. Effort on the offensive glass has led to 13.0 second chance points per game, 3.4 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 117 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 62 times, which is 53.0 percent of total chances. The team has scored 126 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 35.6 percent of all available chances, the second-best in the BIG EAST.

>> The Pirates have shown resilience all season. They have five wins when trailing at halftime and three wins when trailing by 10 or more at any point in the contest. SHU is shooting 48.2 percent (343-of-712) in the second half overall and 51.9 percent (231-of-445) in the second half of 16 wins this season while limiting opponents to 40.5 percent shooting. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 3.1 in the final frame while scoring 39.0 points.

>> Sophomore forward Michael Nzei has been a valuable contributor in the post off the bench all season, and is expected to make his seventh start of the season Saturday afternoon. He proved worthy of starter minutes earlier this season at the AdvoCare Invitational by averaging 14.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in a pair of starts. Nzei is second on the team lead with 15 blocks and is a blistering 68.8 percent (44-of-64) from the field over 18.0 minutes per game. He has also shown the ability to throw it down and leads the team with 13 dunks.

>> In addition to all of his other statistical achievements this season, Delgado is also the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 43 (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 27 of the last 33 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 14-6 in 2016- 17), and are now 33-10 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.

>> Delgado is currently fifth in school history with 952 career rebounds and is producing numbers that rank alongside SHU all-time greats. He is now the leading rebounder in school history during the BIG EAST era. Furthermore, Delgado became the seventh player in school history to reach 900 rebounds following a 17-rebound performance at Xavier on Feb.1. He is on pace to reach 1,000 career boards later this season. Only four players in program history have reached the 1,000-rebound milestone: