The Hall to Celebrate Senior Night Tue. vs. G'Town

2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (18-10, 8-8 BIG EAST) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (14-15, 5-11 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Tuesday, Feb. 28 \| 6:30 p.m. \| Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.)
Tickets	Ticketmaster.com \| Prudential Center Box Office \| (973) 275-4255
Television Broadcast	FS1 \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network (FREE)
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Georgetown
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook
Promotions	Senior Night \| BIG EAST Trophy Tour (on the concourse at 5:30 p.m.)

Senior Night. The final home game for two Pirates student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the program. At 6:10 p.m., tomorrow, the Pirates will honor Michael Dowdy, Jr. (Chicago, Ill.) and Madison Jones (Raleigh, N.C.) and then at 6:30 p.m., they and their teammates will battle Georgetown in yet another crucial BIG EAST game for The Hall.

The Pirates are currently in a four-way tie for fourth place in what has proven to be one of the most competitive conferences in the country. They are only one game back of third place but only one game ahead of eighth place. A win over the Hoyas Tuesday would go a long way towards securing a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament.

Brian Custer and Bill Raftery will have all the action on the FS1 national broadcast, simulcast online via FOX Sports GO. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will deliver the radio broadcast on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 145, XM 201 and the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).

Be sure to arrive to the game early to see the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament championship trophy on the concourse and be in your seats by 6:10 p.m., for the ceremony.

Pirate Points

>> Junior Desi Rodriguez led four Seton Hall 15-point scorers with 19 on 8-of-15 shooting, and Angel Delgado recorded his 10th consecutive double-double as the Pirates used clutch end-of-game free throw shooting to top DePaul, 82-79, Saturday at Allstate Arena. In addition to Rodriguez's 19, junior Khadeen Carrington poured in 18 points and had six assists against only two turnovers. Delgado finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Myles Powell scored 13 of his 15 points in a red-hot first half.

>> Seton Hall has now won five of its last seven games and has gotten back to the .500 mark in conference play for the first time since being 2-2 on Jan. 11. With two games remaining in the regular season, the BIG EAST standings have created madness for potential tournament seeding, as only two games currently separating third place from eighth place with the Pirates smack dab in the middle tied with three other teams at 8-8. Here's what we know: the Pirates cannot be the No. 1, 2, 9 or 10 seeds. A win over Georgetown tonight will ensure that the Pirates also cannot finish any lower than seventh. They will not be able to clinch a top-six seed tonight.

>> While Seton Hall's BIG EAST record currently stands at 8-8, its NCAA Tournament resume (see page 4) remains strong and received a big boost from beating a Xavier squad last Wednesday that sits at No. 26 in the NCAA RPI and No. 38 in the KenPom. It was the Pirates' third victory against a team currently in the NCAA Top 50 RPI and second over a team in the top-30 in the last four games. SHU has been consistent and does not have any "bad losses" as the team is 9-0 against teams in the KenPom top-100 and 10-1 against RPI top-50 teams. The lone loss came at Madison Square Garden against St. John's, who is currently ranked No. 126 in RPI standings.

>> Georgetown visits Prudential Center Tuesday night with a 56-46 advantage in the all-time series with the Pirates. Earlier this season at the Verizon Center, junior Angel Delgado dominated by scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, and junior Desi Rodriguez scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with 1:06 remaining in overtime as SHU earned a 68-66 victory for its first BIG EAST road win of the season.

>> The Hall is 11-2 at home in 2016-17 and has been able to take advantage of conference opponents stepping into its gym in recent history. It is 12-5 in its last 17 BIG EAST home games and has won eight of the last 10, including victories over Marquette, DePaul, St. John's, Providence, then No. 20 ranked Creighton and Xavier this season. In the last meeting between the teams in Newark (Feb. 7, 2016), Delgado totaled 19 points and 13 boards and Isaiah Whitehead poured in 16 with five rebounds and four assists. Junior Ismael Sanogo finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.

>> Fans have packed "The Rock" all season and SHU is averaging an attendance of 8,416 during its 12 games at Prudential Center this season, up from 7,075 through 12 games in 2015-16. The Pirates have called downtown Newark home since the 2007 season and have now had eight games with attendance over 10,000 including a record-breaking crowd of 16,733 on Feb. 18 vs. Villanova, and the Garden State Hardwood Classic against Rutgers on Dec. 23 (10,481).

>> 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 14-5 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 has played in six BIG EAST games decided by three points or fewer in 2016-17, the most in a single season under head coach Kevin Willard. SHU is 4-2 in such games, and is 6-2 overall in games decided by three points or fewer. Additionally, eight of the last nine games have been decided by single digits.

>> Though grossly underrated in the national scope, the Best Big Man in the BIG EAST™, Delgado, has been a game- changer for the Pirates. He enters Tuesday as the nation's top rebounder with 13.0 per game, and has 6.4 more per game (171 total) than any other player in the conference. He has six 20-point games this season including a career- best 26 in the first meeting between the teams 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 10th time this season after posting a pair of double-doubles and averaging 20.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in wins over Xavier and DePaul last week. No other player in the conference has more than five appearances on the Honor Roll. In 13 home games this season, Delgado is averaging 19.0 points and 15.0 rebounds while shooting 60.9 percent.

>> 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 16 conference games this season Delgado has pulled down a staggering 14.0 rebounds per game, 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 11.25 rebounds through 52 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 224.

>> The team's leading scorer and one of the most dynamic guards in the BIG EAST, Carrington has taken charge lately. 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 Creighton on Feb. 25. 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.

>> 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 17.4 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 10.1 points during the second half on 49.0 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 12 games with an even or positive ratio in 14 of 16 league contests. Over his last six games he is averaging 19.6 points, 4.3 assists and only 1.6 turnovers.

>> 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 29th on the all-time scoring list with 1,238 points. Delgado reached the milestone Feb. 15 vs. Creighton, and sits in 38th with 1,065 career points. Rodriguez is the latest Pirate to join the club and is 40th with 1,032 points. 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 41.1 percent (37-of-90) from beyond the arc and making 2.3 triples per game in the team's 15 BIG EAST contests, the fifth 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. 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 14 of 16 conference games and tied a season high with 10 at DePaul Saturday. Seton Hall and its strong defense has also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 41-1 in their last 42 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 5.8 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 last Wednesday's win over Xavier, the team was +19 when he was on the floor, the best plus/minus among all players. On Saturday, he was a +9 in eight minutes played, which was a team-best +43 when prorated over 40 minutes.

>> 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.

>> 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. During BIG EAST play, he is ninth with 3.6 assists per game, fourth with 1.8 steals, and seventh with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jones and Carrington are the only backcourt duo averaging at least 3.5 assists per game during BIG EAST play.

>> 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 4.7 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 12.6 second chance points per game, 3.2 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 132 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 74 times, which is 56.1 percent of total chances. The team has scored 149 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 34.7 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 48.9 percent in the second half overall and 52.4 percent in the second half of 18 wins this season while limiting opponents to 41.5 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 14-0 when it out shoots opponents and 13-2 when it has more free throw attempts. Additionally, the Pirates are 15-6 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 seven 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 69.7 percent (46-of-66) 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.

>> Delgado is currently fifth in school history with 987 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, he is just 13 rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. Only four players in program history have reached 1,000-rebounds: Walter Dukes (1950-53) - 1,697; Glenn Mosley (1973-77) - 1,263; Ken House (1969-72) - 1,149; Nick Werkman (1961-64) - 1,036.