Seton Hall University
Georgetown
Players Mentioned
Saturday Matinee Awaits Pirates at Georgetown
2/3/2017 2:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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| 2017 BIG EAST Conference Game Seton Hall Pirates (13-8, 3-6 BIG EAST) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (13-10, 4-6 BIG EAST) |
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| Date/Time/Location | Saturday, Feb. 4 | 12 p.m. | Verizon Center (Washington, D.C.) |
| Television Broadcast | FS1 | FOX Sports GO |
| Radio Broadcast | WMCA 570 AMÂ | Pirate Sports Network (FREE) |
| Game Notes | Seton Hall  |  Georgetown |
| Links | Live Stats |  Twitter |  Facebook |
Video Feature: Ismael Sanogo (Inside the BIG EAST on FS1)
Seton Hall begins the second half of the BIG EAST conference schedule this Saturday in a critical contest against the Georgetown Hoyas. Both teams have six conference losses and are eager to begin an ascent up the standings. In fact with the tight glut of teams between fifth and ninth, the Pirates can move up two spots in the standings with a victory. Georgetown is a long-standing opponent for the Pirates, who trail the all-time series, but have beaten the Hoyas in four of the last six matchups.
Joe Davis and Len Elmore will call the action for the nationally televised FS1 broadcast, simulcast on FOX Sports GO. FOX will have a pregame show beginning at 11:30 a.m. The dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on Sirius 108, XM 201 and the Pirate Sports Network (available at SHUPirates.com and the SHU Pirates Mobile App).
Pirate Points
>> Freshman sharp-shooter Myles Powell matched his career high in scoring with 26 points, but Seton Hall came up one basket short against nationally ranked Xavier as Trevon Bluiett's jumper with 4.4 seconds remaining broke a 70-70 tie and handed the Pirates a 72-70 defeat Wednesday at Cintas Center. Junior Angel Delgado delivered his 16th double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 boards. The leading scorer in BIG EAST play, junior Desi Rodriguez poured in 16 points, while senior Madison Jones filled the box score with eight points, nine assists, five rebounds and a career-high five steals.
>> The Hall enters Saturday in pursuit of its third consecutive victory over Georgetown, who leads the all-time series, 56-45. The Pirates have won two of the last three at the Verizon Center including last season's 72-64 victory on Feb. 17. Junior Khadeen Carrington and Isaiah Whitehead combined for 40 points and the Pirates limited Georgetown to 37.7 percent shooting. Head coach Kevin Willard enters Saturday's meeting having won five of nine matchups with the Hoyas by an average margin of 11.8 points.
>> The versatile swingman Rodriguez has had the hot hand offensively for the Pirates in BIG EAST play. In fact, he leads all players in scoring (18.3 points per game) during league play, and is shooting 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from beyond the arc. He has made a conference-best 3.0 three- pointers per game over the team's nine BIG EAST games. Prior to conference play, Rodriguez was 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three-point range.
>> The Bronx native 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.
>> It is no secret that the heartbeat of Seton Hall is paced by the best big man in the BIG EAST, Delgado. He enters Saturday as the nation's top rebounder with 12.9 per game, and has 5.9 more per game (117 total) than any other player in the conference He has four 20-point games this season, and is one of two players in the top-15 in the BIG EAST in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
>> Delgado 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 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)
>> The SHU backcourt is led by junior guard Khadeen Carrington, who is ninth in the BIG EAST with 16.6 points per game. The Brooklyn native has the ability to drive it to the rim or shoot it from long range. He has eight 20-point games and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, 51 times throughout his career. Carrington currently has a team-high 1,101 career points (34th all-time in school history), and became the 41st student-athlete in school history to reach the 1,000-point threshold after a 27-point performance at Creighton. Rodriguez (47th - 933 points) and Delgado (48th - 930 points) are also climbing the all-time scoring chart and will have the opportunity to join the 1,000-point club later this month.
>> 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 third in the BIG EAST with 6.5 rebounds per game and pulled down
a career-high 16 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic victory over Rutgers on Dec. 23. He also grabbed 12 boards in a victory over then-ranked No. 16 South Carolina at The Garden. Sanogo played a crucial role in limiting the BIG EAST's fifth leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds of St. John's (17.3 points per game), to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting on Jan. 22. Against Butler, he totaled a season-best three blocks and matched a career-high four steals.
>> SHU prides itself on defensive tenacity and it shows. Opponents are shooting just 42.1 percent from the field, the third-best field goal defense in the conference; and SHU is 6-1 when opponents shoot under 40 percent. The team's 7.2 steals per game are good for second most in the BIG EAST.
>> Powell has shown the ability to be a dynamic scorer and dangerous three-point threat through the first 21 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 Wednesday 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 seven different games this year and is averaging 11.0 points per game.
>> During non-conference play, Jones proved he could be a valuable contributor in the backcourt this season. Now that BIG EAST play is in full swing, he has shown the ability to be a true impact player for the Pirates with innate defensive awareness and leadership at the point. On Wednesday at Xavier, Jones totaled eight points, nine assists, a career-high five steals, five rebounds, and turned the ball over just once. He dished out nine assists at Marquette on Jan. 11, and leads the BIG EAST during conference play with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is fifth in the league in assists (3.8) and fourth in steals (1.7). Additionally, Jones has provided more assists than turnovers in each of the last seven games.
>> 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 16 of 20 games (including six of eight league games), and leads the BIG EAST with 41.0 boards per game and is 22nd in the country with a +6.9 rebounding margin. It is also atop the league standings and 15th 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 8.4 points per game (738-560).
>> 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 third in the country with 4.6 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 13.2 second chance points per game, 4.0 more than opponents. Delgado has grabbed 96 offensive rebounds, and the Pirates have scored on the ensuing opportunity 51 times, which is 53.1 percent of total chances. The team has scored 102 second chance points off his offensive boards alone. The Pirates grab an offensive board on 35.7 percent of all available chances, the best in the BIG EAST.
>> In addition to their offensive rebounding prowess, the Pirates have done a nice job on the defensive glass. It limited Columbia, Creighton and Providence to just four offensive rebounds, and allowed just six against Rutgers, who entered the game averaging 15.7 offensive boards. As a team, SHU holds opponents to an offensive rebound on only 25.1 percent of available chances.
>> The Pirates have shown the ability to finish games strong. They have four wins when trailing at halftime and are shooting 49.5 percent (313-of-632) in the second half overall and 54.6 percent (201-of-368) during the 13 games they have won. Additionally, SHU is outscoring opponents by 3.5 in the final frame while scoring 39.8 points. Meanwhile, Seton Hall and its strong defense have also proven to be well equipped at holding leads. The Pirates are 37-1 in their last 38 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.
>> Sophomore forward Michael Nzei is a valuable contributor in the post off the bench. He is second on the team with 14 blocks and is a blistering 67.3 percent (37-of-55) from the field over 17.4 minutes per game off the bench. He has also shown the ability to throw it down and is second on the team with nine dunks this season.
>> In addition to all of his other statistical achievements this season, Delgado is also the BIG EAST's active leader in double-doubles with 39 (second most in the country), and when he delivers one, good things happen for The Hall. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won 24 of the last 29 games when he doubles up (13-0 in 2015-16, 11-5 in 2016-17), and are now 30-9 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 seventh in school history with 893 career rebounds and is producing numbers that rank alongside SHU legends Nick Werkman (1961-64), Herb Pope (2009-12) and Mark Bryant (1984-88). His seventh rebound this afternoon would make him the seventh player in school history to reach 900 rebounds. 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
