Seton Hall University
DePaul
Players Mentioned
Pirates Head West to Face DePaul Saturday
2/24/2017 12:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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| 2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (17-10, 7-8 BIG EAST) vs. DePaul Blue Demons (9-19, 2-13 BIG EAST) |
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| Date/Time/Location | Saturday, Feb. 25  | 2 p.m., Eastern | Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Ill.) |
| Television Broadcast | FOX Sports Networks |  YES Network  |  FOX Sports GO |
| Radio Broadcast | AM970 The Answer  |   Pirate Sports Network (FREE) |
| Game Notes | Seton Hall  |  DePaul |
| Links | Live Stats |  Twitter |  Facebook |
After a successful three-game homestand that included two victories over top-20 RPI teams, Seton Hall hits the road for a Saturday matinee with DePaul, which is coming off a huge road win at Georgetown. The Pirates are seeking to get back to .500 in BIG EAST play; a victory would put them at 8-8 with two games to go. The win would go a long way towards helping separate the glut of teams in the middle of the conference standings. The Hall is in a tie with Providence for sixth place, but is only two games behind Creighton for third, one game behind Marquette and Xavier for fourth, one game ahead of eighth-place St. John's and only two games ahead of ninth-place Georgetown.Â
The game will be regionally televised through FOX Sports Networks and on the YES Network in the Metro New York area with Brian Custer and Dickey Simpkins on the call. Gary Cohen is off on Mets duty this weekend, so Dave Popkin will handle play-by-play and Jon Schaeffer will provide color on the radio broadcast which will air on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).
Upon return, the Pirates will host Georgetown next Tuesday on Senior Night. In addition, the BIG EAST Tournament championship trophy will be on tour at Seton Hall next Monday and Tuesday.
Pirate Points
>> Junior Angel Delgado secured his ninth straight double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds as Seton Hall continued to bolster its tournament resume with a 71-64 victory over Xavier at Prudential Center Wednesday night. Junior Desi Rodriguez scored 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and became the 43rd Pirate in school history to score 1,000 career points. Freshman Myles Powell scored eight points and senior Madison Jones filled the box score for the Pirates with seven points, three assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals without a turnover.
>> While Seton Hall's BIG EAST record currently stands at 7-8, its NCAA Tournament resume (see page 4) remains strong and received a big boost from beating a Xavier squad Wednesday that sits at No. 22 in the NCAA RPI and No. 38 in the KenPom. It was the Pirates' fourth victory against a team currently in the NCAA Top 50 RPI and second over a team in the top-30 in the last three games. As of Thursday, Feb. 23, only 28 teams in the nation have at least four top-50 RPI victories on their resume this season.
>> The Pirates head to Chicago seeking a season sweep of DePaul for the second year in a row. The Pirates defeated the Blue Demons, 87-56, at Prudential Center on Jan. 7 when Delgado and Rodriguez shot a combined 18-of-22 from the field for 45 points. Rodriguez scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the first half alone. He was 5-of-5 from three-point range and 9-for-9 from the field over the first 20 minutes, and was later recognized as BIG EAST Player of the Week.
>> In the last meeting between the teams at Allstate Arena, Isaiah Whitehead delivered 33 points, five rebounds and five assists as The Hall closed the regular season with an 80-66 triumph at DePaul. The Pirates have a 13-6 lead in the all-time series and are 4-5 on the road. Head coach Kevin Willard is 7-4 overall and 3-3 on the road against the Blue Demons.
>> 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 13-5 when facing an opponent for the second or third time in the same season.
>> The Pirates have endured several tightly contested games that have come down to the wire. SHU is tied for the league lead with five games decided by three points or fewer, the most in a single season under head coach Kevin Willard. The Pirates also played five such games during the 2013-14 campaign.
>> Though grossly underrated in the national scope, the Best Big Man in the BIG EASTTM, Delgado, has been a game-changer for the Pirates. He enters Saturday as the nation's top rebounder with 13.1 per game, and has 6.4 more per game (167 total) than any other player in the conference. He has six 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 ninth time this season after posting a pair of double-doubles while averaging 18.0 points and 14.5 rebounds last week. No other player in the conference has more than five appearances on the Honor Roll.
>> 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.
>> Through 15 conference games this season Delgado has pulled down a staggering 14.3 rebounds per game - 7.6 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 11.27 rebounds through 51 career BIG EAST games, which is currently second best in league history. The single season BIG EAST total rebounds record is 231 (Luke Harangody, Notre Dame), and Delgado currently has 214.
>> Named BIG EAST Player of the Week Monday afternoon, Carrington will look to rebound from an off shooting night on Wednesday and get back to the form he displayed against Creighton on Feb. 15. He 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 the Bluejays. The 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 performance at the free throw line. 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 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 17.3 points per game. He has 11, 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but three contests this season, 56 times throughout his career. Carrington has also been clutch in late-game situations. For the season, he is averaging 10.0 points during the second half on 49.2 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 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last 11 games with an even or positive ratio in 13 of 15 league contests.
>> Juniors Carrington, Delgado and Rodriguez have been the driving force behind the success of Seton Hall basketball this season. They provide 65.5 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 1,220 points. Delgado reached the milestone Feb. 15 vs. Creighton, and sits in 39th with 1,049 career points. Rodriguez reached 1,000 points after Wednesday's 22-point outing. The three juniors are only the 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 team.
>> The versatile swingman Rodriguez has the ability to explode through the lane or let it rip from beyond the arc. He has seven 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 his 25-point performance in the first meeting with DePaul in which he made each of his first 10 field goal attempts. He is shooting a team-best 42.9 percent (36-of-84) from beyond the arc and making 2.4 triples per game in the team's 15 BIG EAST contests, the fourth most in the league. Prior to conference play, Rodriguez was 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range. The Bronx native has been outstanding in road games this season. He is averaging 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and is shooting 48.9 percent from long range over the team's eight road contests. Affectionately known as #DunkinDesi, Rodriguez has thrown down 12 dunks this season and 35 for his career.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. The Pirates held Providence, St. John's, Georgetown and Butler to under 40.0 percent shooting; and SHU is 8-1 on the season when opponents shoot under 40 percent. Furthermore, the team has recorded six or more steals in 13 of 15 conference games. Seton Hall and its strong defense has also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 40-1 in their last 41 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 is an invaluable asset on both ends of the floor. He is eighth in the BIG EAST with 6.0 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. In Wednesday's win over Xavier, the team was +19 when he was on the floor, the best plus/minus among all players.
>> Freshman Myles Powell has shown the ability to be a dynamic scorer and dangerous three-point threat in his first collegiate season. Just three games into his rookie campaign 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 10.6 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. Perhaps his best game of the season was against Xavier on Feb. 1. He totaled eight points, nine assists, a career-high five steals, five rebounds, and turned the ball over just once. He is seventh in the BIG EAST with a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth in steals (1.7). During BIG EAST play, he is eighth in the league with 3.6 assists per game. Jones and Carrington are the only backcourt duo averaging at least 3.5 assists per game during BIG EAST play.
>> 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 27 games (including 11 of 15 league games), is 14th in the country and leads the BIG EAST with 40.3 boards per game and is 20th in the nation with a +6.6 rebounding margin. It is also atop the league standings and 17th in the nation with 13.3 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 6.3 points per game.
>> 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 leads the country with 4.8 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 12.9 second chance points per game, 3.6 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 130 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 72 times, which is 55.4 percent of total chances. The team has scored 145 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 35.4 percent of all available chances, the second-best in the BIG EAST.
>> The Pirates have shown resilience all season. They have six wins when trailing at halftime and three wins when trailing by 10 or more at any point in the contest. SHU is shooting 48.7 percent (373-of-766) in the second half overall and 52.2 percent (245-of-469) in the second half of 17 wins this season while limiting opponents to 40.6 percent shooting. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 3.1 in the final frame while scoring 39.1 points.
>> Although the Pirates rely heavily on disciplined play on the defensive end, much of their success this season has been predicated on their ability to make shots and get to the free throw line. SHU is 13-0 when it out shoots opponents and 12-2 when it has more free throw attempts. Additionally, the Pirates are 14-6 when shooting 40.0 percent or better and 5-1 when they shoot 70.0 percent at the line.
>> Sophomore forward Michael Nzei has been a valuable contributor in the post all season and has made six starts in a row. 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. His sound defense and efficient offense has earned him 17.6 minutes per game. Nzei is second on the team with 15 blocks and is a blistering 69.2 percent (45-of-65) from the field, which would rank second in the BIG EAST if qualified. 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 44 (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 28 of the last 35 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 15-7 in 2016-17), and are now 34-11 during his career. Delgado is on a nine game double-double streak, averaging 18.3 points and 15.4 boards during the stretch.
>> Delgado is currently fifth in school history with 977 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 in the first meeting with Xavier. 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:
- Walter Dukes (1950-53) - 1,697
- Glenn Mosley (1973-77) - 1,263
- Ken House (1969-72) - 1,149
- Nick Werkman (1961-64) - 1,036
