Pirates Aim to Take Manhattan, Face Johnnies at MSG

2017-18 BIG EAST Game Seton Hall Pirates (19-9, 8-7 BIG EAST) at St. John's Red Storm (14-14, 3-12 BIG EAST)
Date/Time/Location	Saturday, February 24 \| 12 p.m. \| Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
Television Broadcast	FOX Broadcast Network \| FOX Sports GO
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| St. John's
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram
Sell Out Senior Day	SHUSeniorDay.com

The road can be unforgiving, but these battle-tested Pirates are ready for one more go at a true road game.

Saturday, coming off a road victory at Providence, the Pirates return to Madison Square Garden, their home away from home, but it will be a hostile crowd this time as St. John's fans will pack the world's most famous arena. The Hall has done well at MSG of late, winning nine of its last 13 games there, including the 2016 BIG EAST title, five wins over nationally ranked teams, and a true road win over the Johnnies back in 2016.

With only three games remaining, these games are critical towards determining who gets which BIG EAST Tournament seed. A win over St. John's or a Georgetown loss to Providence on Saturday will assure that the Pirates cannot finish any lower than seventh. Already in a three-way tie for fourth place at 8-7, the Pirates could create a third-place tie at Butler, which is 9-7 and idle this weekend.

Saturday's game will be nationally televised on the FOX Broadcast Network with Gus Johnson and Donny Marshall on the call and Holly Sonders serving as sideline reporter. Gary Cohen is off on Saturday, so Dave Popkin will slide in to play-by-play radio duties and will be joined by the swashbuckling Pirate himself, John Fanta, on color. It will air on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.

THINGS TO KNOW

Seton Hall can clinch a regular season sweep of St. John's win a with on Saturday at Madison Square Garden after defeating the Red Storm earlier this season on New Year's Eve in Newark.
The last time out, Khadeen Carrington scored 25 points and Myles Powell added 20 as Seton Hall defeated Providence, 89-77, in a game that started Wednesday night at Dunkin' Donuts Center, was suspended with 13:03 remaining due to unsafe floor conditions and was resumed Thursday afternoon at Providence's Alumni Hall. The Friars were within one with 8:50 remaining, but the Pirates led for the majority of the final stanza, and went 8-for-10 at the line over the final 1:25 to seal the win.
The core four offensive contributors for the Pirates - Delgado, Carrington, Rodriguez and Powell - have scored 63.0 points per game during BIG EAST play - 80.1 percent of the team's total points.
The current group of seniors is 7-3 at MSG, and over the last four seasons at The Garden, the Pirates have four wins over ranked opponents including a 2016 BIG EAST title:
- 03/11/16 - W, 87-83 vs. #5 Xavier
- 03/12/16 - W, 69-67 vs. #3 Villanova
- 12/12/16 - W, 67-64 vs. #16 S. Carolina
- 11/30-17 - W, 89-79 vs. #22 Texas Tech
The Pirates and Red Storm meet for the 99th time on Saturday. St. John's leads the all-time series, 59-39, but Seton Hall has won four of the last five meetings.
- 01/27/16 - W, 79-60 (H)
- 02/21/16 - W, 62-61(A)
- 01/22/17 - W, 86-73 (H)
- 02/11/17 - L, 70-78 (A)
- 12/31/17 - W, 75-70 (H)
In the most recent meeting, Carrington scored a game-high 24 points and Seton Hall connected on 13 three-pointers in a 75-70 win over the Johnnies on New Year's Eve at Prudential Center. The Pirates led by 10 at the break, but the Red Storm was resilient in the second half, and used a 15-2 run to come within two, 60-58. However, strong defense and timely free-throw shooting by the Pirates was key down the stretch. Desi Rodriguez hit a runner in the paint with 15.2 seconds remaining to seal the game.
Powell has been a road warrior all season, and is averaging a team-best 18.0 points over 10 road games while shooting 46.8 percent (36-for-77) from deep, 47.2 percent from the floor, and 80.0 percent (28-for-35) at the stripe. Powell has three consecutive 20-point road games and is averaging 25.0 points over the last three including a career-high 30 at Xavier on Feb. 14.
Head coach Kevin Willard is 7-5 all-time against St. John's.

The Scenario

At 8-7 in the league, the Pirates are in a three-way tie with Providence and Creighton for fourth place, a half game behind Butler for third place but only a game ahead of Marquette for seventh place. Seton Hall holds the tiebreaker with Providence by virtue of sweeping the regular season series. A win over St. John's or a Georgetown loss to Providence will assure the Pirates cannot finish any lower than seventh.

In the Polls

The Pirates head into Saturday receiving votes in USA Today Coaches Poll.

It is the fifth time this season the Pirates have not been ranked in either poll.

Earlier this season Seton Hall was No. 13 in the rankings, the highest since Jan. 2, 2001.

Seton Hall has been in the weekly national rankings 111 times in program history, and 11 times this season.

A Second Home

The Hall has enjoyed playing at its "home away from home" - Madison Square Garden over the past few seasons.

The current group of seniors is 7-3 at MSG

Over the last five seasons at The Garden, the Pirates are 9-4 and have five wins over ranked opponents including a 2016 BIG EAST title:

03/12/14 - W, 51-50 vs. Butler

03/13/14 - W, 64-63 vs. #3 Villanova

03/14/14 - L, 74-80 vs. Providence

03/11/15 - L, 56-78 vs. Marquette

02/21/16 - W, 62-61 vs. St. John's

03/10/16 - W, 81-73 vs. Creighton

03/11/16 - W, 87-83 vs. #5 Xavier

03/12/16 - W, 69-67 vs. #3 Villanova

12/12/16 - W, 67-64 vs. #16 S. Carolina

02/11/17 - L, 70-78 vs. St. John's

03/09/17 - W, 82-76 vs. Marquette

03/10/17 - L, 52-55 vs. #2 Villanova

11/30/17 - W, 89-79 vs. #22 Texas Tech

In the Under Armour reunion game this season on Nov. 30 against Texas Tech was one to remember. A late 20-9 run sparked by the play of Myles Powell led the Pirates to victory. Cheese finished with 19 points, hit a pair of dagger triples in the final minutes, and came up with a steal and fastbreak layup plus a foul with 1:20 remaining to stave off a Red Raider comeback attempt.

In last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal at The Garden, Angel Delgado nearly earned himself a triple-double, racking up 12 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists in a win over Marquette.

Building a Resume

The Pirates have already notched several key wins that will loom large down the road, including victories over nine teams currently in the KenPom Top-100:

Indiana - 74 (W, 84-68)

Vanderbilt - 84 (W, 72-59)

Texas Tech - 10 (W, 89-79)

Louisville - 38 (W, 79-77)

Creighton - 34 (W, 90-84)

St. John's - 75 (W, 75-70)

Butler - 20 (W, 90-87)

Georgetown - 94 (W, 74-61)

Providence - 76 (W, 73-57 / W, 89-77)

Not Intimidated

Seton Hall's senior class has had 12 true road wins with attendance over 8,500

01/10/15 at Creighton - 17,397

01/28/15 at Marquette - 14,917

12/30/15 at Marquette - 13,314

01/16/16 at Providence - 11,148

01/30/16 at Creighton - 17,924

02/21/16 at St. John's - 13,204

11/17/16 at Iowa - 10,391

02/04/17 at Georgetown - 10,142

03/04/17 at Butler - 9,100

12/03/17 at Louisville - 19,244

01/06/18 at Butler - 8,855

02/21/18 at Providence - 11,432

Finish Strong

The Pirates pride themselves on defense, and have proven the ability to hold off late pushes by the opposition.

In fact, Seton Hall is 61-6 in its last 67 games (dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season) when holding a lead of seven or more at any point in the contest.

Shooters Shoot

The Pirates have shot 50.0 percent or better in nine games and 40.0 percent or better in 27 of 28 games this season.

Down the Stretch We Go

There is no question that games this time of year simply mean more. In the past, there has been a direct correlation between Seton Hall's success in February and March, and reaching the NCAA Tournament. During these two months, the Pirates have an incredible 70-32 combined record in the 11 seasons the program reached the NCAA Tournament.

1987-88: 6-2

1988-89: 6-3

1990-91: 4-3

1991-92: 9-2

1992-93: 9-1

1993-94: 4-4

1999-00: 5-4

2003-04: 7-4

2005-06: 6-4

2015-16: 7-2

2016-17: 7-3

Trio of Veteran Scorers

Between Rodriguez, Carrington and Delgado, the Pirates have an incredible trio of experienced scorers - the three have a combined 4,839 career points.

All three are Top-20 all-time scorers in the history of the program, with Carrington leading the trio (10th), followed by Rodriguez (15th) and Delgado (20th).

No other class in program history has more than one player on the Top-20 all-time scoring list

Each also has significant experience scoring in double-figures:

Delgado - 85 times

Carrington - 82 times

Rodriguez - 77 times

We Go As He Goes

Seton Hall is 35-14 all-time and 8-1 this season when Carrington connects on two or more three-pointers.

Delgado Can Swing It

Angel Delgado's ability to distribute the ball and find the open man has been one of the most important aspects of his game, and has allowed the Pirates offense to click.

He is averaging 2.9 assists per game this season, the most among any non-guard in the BIG EAST.

During league play, he has had four games with five or more assists.

Dependable Desi

Desi Rodriguez has been the most consistent offensive contributor and elite all season.

On Monday, Rodriguez was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth time this season after averaging 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists against Xavier and DePaul. He was 54.3 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from long range.

He is averaging a team-best 18.1 points per game, good for eighth in the BIG EAST. He is shooting 50.4 percent (191-for-379) from the field and 38.0 percent (52-for-137) from long range.

The Pirates are 11-3 this season when Rodriguez is the team's leading scorer, and 35-14 all-time when he scores at least 15 points.

A New King

Angel Delgado had already cemented his name in the BIG EAST record book entering the season. But at DePaul on Jan. 28, with his second rebound, BIG EAST career rebound No. 702, he broke Syracuse's Derrick Coleman's (1986-90) all-time BIG EAST career rebound record that had stood for 28 years.

The big man is also second on the BIG EAST's all-time rebounding average list (11.55) behind only Michael Smith (Providence, 1991-94, 11.66 rpg).

Delgado is comfortable putting up eye-popping rebounding numbers. In 2016-17, he recorded over 200 more rebounds than any other player in the BIG EAST, and set the conference's single-season conference-games only rebounding record (253). He also set the BIG EAST single season conference-games only record for rebounding average (14.1).

In seven career games against St. John's, Delgado is averaging 12.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and is shooting 52.8 percent from the floor.

Limiting Turnovers

The Pirates have done a great job of protecting the basketball over the last five games, averaging just 9.2 turnovers.

For the year, the Pirates average 13.0 giveaways, and have 448 assists to 364 turnovers (1.2 ratio).

Against Marquette on Feb. 7, Seton Hall totaled 15 assists and had just four turnovers, the fewest number of giveaways in at least the last 10 years. In the last 10 years, Seton Hall has only had two other games in which it committed five or fewer turnovers:

5 vs. Saint Peter's (11/29/10 - W, 69-49)

5 vs. Connecticut (02/14/09 - L, 54-62)

Getting to the Line is Key

The Pirates are 30-4 over the last 34 games and 15-2 this season with they have more free-throw attempts than their opponent.

Rebounding on Both Ends

Delgado's ability to rebound on both ends of the floor has earned him national attention.

He was named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, as well as the Senior CLASS Award.

Delgado's 4.1 offensive boards per game so far this season is good for sixth in the country. Overall, Delgado's 11.8 rebounds per game are also fifth-best in the nation.

Against Vanderbilt earlier this season, Delgado was held without an offensive rebound, snapping a streak of 71 games with one or more offensive boards.

He has grabbed one or more offensive rebounds in 123 of 126 career games and 93 of the last 94.

Delgado leads the BIG EAST in offensive, defensive, and total rebounding.

As a team, Seton Hall leads the BIG EAST in offensive rebounding (12.7 per game), and pulled down a season-high 21 against DePaul last Sunday, leading to 22 second-chance points.

Owning the Glass

It helps to have the best rebounder in the country, but rebounding is truly a team effort, and the Pirates have proven the ability to dominate.

The Pirates have had a positive margin in 24 of the last 33 games dating back to last season.

The Pirates score an average of 36.9 points in the paint and allow just 30.0 per game.

Against DePaul last Sunday, Seton Hall posted a dominating 48-31 effort on the glass, including 21 boards on the offensive end.

Sharing is Caring

Against St. John's on Dec. 31, the Pirates assisted on 19 of their 24 made field goals, the highest percentage of assists to field goals this season.

A total of five different Pirates have recorded five assists or more in a single game this season (Carrington, Delgado, Powell, Rodriguez, Walker).

The Pirates have won 19 of 24 games when they register a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and 24 of the last 30.

Seton Hall has finished with an even or positive assist-to-turnover ratio in 22 of 28 games this year.

Double-Double Machine

Angel Delgado is tied for 20th on the NCAA all-time leaderboard for career double-doubles.

With his 69th career double-dip against Providence, he passed Larry Bird (Indiana State), David West (Xavier) and Paul Millsap (Louisiana Tech).

Tom Gola, La Salle - 96

Tim Duncan, Wake Forest - 87

Kenneth Faried, Morehead State - 86

Ralph Sampson, Virginia - 84

Derrick Coleman, Syracuse - 83

Lionel Simmons, La Salle - 83

Malik Rose, Drexel - 80

Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati - 79

Michael Brooks, La Salle - 79

Jerry Lucas, Ohio State - 78

Mel Counts, Oregon State - 78

Lew Alcindor, UCLA - 78

Shawn Long, Louisiana-Lafayette - 75

Keith Lee, Memphis - 74

David Robinson, Navy - 74

Don May, Dayton - 72

Bill Walton, UCLA - 72

Paul Silas, Creighton - 71

Gary Winton, Army - 71

Hank Finkel, Dayton - 69

Angel Delgado, Seton Hall - 69

One of the All-Timers

Carrington has a natural scoring ability that ranks him among the all-time greats at The Hall.

Last Sunday he became just the third player in the last 29 years to break into the Top-10 on the all-time scoring list at Seton Hall, joining Jeremy Hazell (2007-11) and Andre Barrett (2000-04) as the most recent additions. He now has 1,705 career points, and also ranks 15th on the all-time assists leaderboard with 363.

Against Xavier, he also passed Fuquan Edwin (2010-14) for 10th in program history for made three-point field goals.

In seven career games against St. John's, Carrington is averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

Second-Half Heroics

On Dec. 28 the Pirates pulled off a 13-point second half comeback win over Creighton, and an 11-point second half comeback win at Butler on Jan. 6. Seton Hall also trailed Georgetown by 10 in the first half on Jan. 13, but won by 13 points. It has been stellar in the second half all season.

Over the final 20 minutes, Seton Hall is shooting 47.7 percent while holding opponents to 43.0 percent shooting from the field.

One of the main reasons the Pirates have been able to create separation during the second half this season has been their three-point field goal defense. Opponents are shooting just 34.8 percent (104-for-299) from long range over the final 20 minutes.

Some Wine With That?

Myles Powell, AKA "Cheese", has had a tremendous sophomore campaign, and is shooting 41.2 percent (77-of-187) from three-point range.

He scored a career-high 30 points against Xavier on Feb. 14 on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor.

Against Georgetown on Jan. 13, Cheese filled the box score with a game-high 19 points, five rebounds, and a career-high six steals.

Earlier this season against Texas Tech, Powell also took control when it mattered most. With 2:05 to go in the game, Cheese banged a three to push the lead to nine. He later made an acrobatic layup, then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and converted a layup while being fouled with 1:20 left. In all, he finished with eight of the team's final 10 points.

Cheese has scored in double-figures in 25 of 28 games this year.

He is already 12th all-time in school history with 143 career three-point field goals.

Powell has connected on a three-point bucket in 55 of 61 career games and has made five or more on six occasions.

Filling the Box Score

Ismael Sanogo is one of the most well-rounded players in the BIG EAST, and although not all of his skills are reflected in the statistics, he does an outstanding job of checking the boxes.

He has had seven games this season with at least one point, rebound, block, assist and steal.

At Georgetown on Feb. 10, the Newark native finished with six points, 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals.

Against Providence this week he finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

In five career games against St. John's he is averaging 2.2 assists while shooting 6-for-12 from the floor.