Seton Hall University
Butler
Players Mentioned
Pirates Post Huge Comeback to Topple No. 13 Butler
3/4/2017 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS - Down 10 points on the road to No. 13 Butler with 7:03 remaining in the game, the Seton Hall men's basketball team closed the game out on a 23-7 run, punctuated by junior Khadeen Carrington's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) layup and freshman Myles Powell's (Trenton, N.J.) dagger three-pointer as the Pirates upset the Bulldogs, 70-64, Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse to notch their second consecutive 20-win season.
The win improved Seton Hall's record to 20-10 overall and 10-8 in the BIG EAST, the second straight winning conference record for head coach Kevin Willard. Seton Hall has not had back-to-back winning BIG EAST seasons since 2003-04 and has not had back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1992-93.
The Pirates have earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament and will face No. 4 seed Marquette Thursday at Madison Square Garden at 2:30 p.m., live on FS1 and AM970 The Answer.
Junior Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) led all scorers with 21 points, and junior Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) continued to stake his claim as the Best Big Man in the Nation after generating 20 points, 16 rebounds and four assists for his 12th consecutive double-double and 23rd in the last 24 games.
Butler (23-7, 12-6 BIG EAST) was led by Kelan Martin, who had 19 points.
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COUNT IT BABY! (20-10, 10-8 BIG EAST) #HALLin pic.twitter.com/jv4Q0sZw68
— Seton Hall MBB (@SetonHallMBB) March 4, 2017
Turning Point
After the first half was a game of runs with each team holding eight-point leads, it was Butler who wrested control of the match mid second half as Martin drained a triple in the corner to put the Bulldogs up, 57-47, with 7:03 to go.
Seton Hall called timeout to regroup, and from there on out it was all Pirates. A Delgado jumper got the game back to within single digits, and less than two minutes later, Carrington sank a three-pointer, and Rodriguez hit a pair of free throws to pull The Hall within one, 57-56, with 4:36 to go.
Butler was up three, 59-56, when Powell tied the game with his first triple of the day. Kamar Baldwin immediately put the Bulldogs back up with a layup, but Carrington was there to respond with another punch back, this time a tough jumper near the elbow to knot the score at 61-61 with 3:18 left on the clock.
After Seton Hall forced a stop, Carrington's three-point attempt was off the mark, but Delgado muscled through three Butler defenders to grab the offensive rebound and hit a put-back layup to put the Pirates up two, 63-61, with 2:26 remaining.
Martin then struck again for Butler, calmly drilling a three-pointer with 1:58 to play, giving Butler the advantage one more time, 64-63.
But Carrington was there to again make the tough basket in traffic with 1:26 remaining on the clock as the Pirates went back up, 65-64. The Hall followed with excellent defense as Andrew Chrabascz missed a three-point attempt, and on the ensuing possession, Carrington found Powell for the dagger triple in the corner to put The Hall up four, 68-64.
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CHEESE. ONIONS. THE PERFECT COMBO! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/0069uzBIwj
— Seton Hall MBB (@SetonHallMBB) March 4, 2017
The two teams traded turnovers before a Martin three-point attempt missed the mark. Carrington was fouled, and he swished two free throws to ice the upset win for Seton Hall.
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Inside the Numbers
- Seton Hall shot 49 percent from the field (25-for-51) in the game and connected on 7-of-18 three-point attempts. The team was 13-for-16 from the free throw line.
- Butler shot 40.4 percent (21-for-52), but the Pirates did an outstanding job on the Bulldogs in the second half, holding them to 31 percent (9-for-29) overall and 18.2 percent from three (2-for-11).
- Seton Hall out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 35-24, and used 10 offensive rebounds to generate 16 second chance points. The Hall has out-rebounded its opponent in 23 of 30 games this season and is 16-7 in those games.
- Delgado recorded his 12th consecutive double-double and 23rd in the last 24 games with his 20 points and 16 rebounds. He was 9-for-12 from the field and also contributed four assists. This was his fifth BIG EAST game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season.
- Rodriguez led The Hall with 21 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. It was his seventh 20-point game in BIG EAST play this season, and he leads the team with 17.3 points per game in conference.
- Carrington played just a few seconds under 40 minutes in the game and finished with 17 points, including 11 points in the 23-7 game-closing run.
News & Notes
- This was Seton Hall's third win over a nationally ranked opponent this season and first on the road. The Pirates also had wins over then No. 16 South Carolina and then No. 20 Creighton. Seton Hall's last road win over a nationally ranked team came on Jan. 14, 2016 at No. 12 Providence.
- This also represents Seton Hall's fourth victory over teams currently making up the NCAA RPI top-50. Other wins include Creighton, South Carolina and Xavier. The Hall has three other wins against teams currently ranked between 51 and 60: Providence, Marquette and California.
- The victory gives Seton Hall its first back-to-back 20-win seasons since rattling off three consecutive 20-win seasons from 1990-93.
- It is also Seton Hall's first back-to-back winning seasons in the BIG EAST since back-to-back 10-6 marks in 2003 and 2004.
- The Hall snapped a five-game losing streak to Butler and defeated the Bulldogs in a conference game for the first time ever.
- Delgado not only became the BIG EAST rebounding champion, but has also set the conference record for most single-season rebounds (253) and single-season rebounding average (14.1) in conference games. The previous rebounding average record was 14.0 by Pittsburgh's Jerome Lane in 1987.
All Hail the new KING of @BIGEASTMBB Rebounding! @angelluis45 #HALLin pic.twitter.com/IgJiLGkIWb
— Seton Hall MBB (@SetonHallMBB) March 5, 2017
Up Next
It's Tournament Time. The 2016 BIG EAST Tournament champion Pirates look to defend their title next week as they commence play in the 2017 tournament as the No. 5 seed, facing No. 4 seed Marquette Thursday at Madison Square Garden at 2:30 p.m. Justin Kutcher, Jim Jackson and Steve Lavin are the FS1 broadcast team, and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.
Pirate Blue will have a pregame reception at Hudson Station Bar & Grill Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and fans can register for the event online now.
