Saturday Showdown On Deck As No. 24 Pirates Welcome UConn To The Rock

Game 14: No. 24 Seton Hall Pirates (10-3, 1-2 BIG EAST) vs. Connecticut (10-3, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Jan. 8 • Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) • 12 p.m.
TV: FOX with Tim Brando & Donny Marshall
Web: FOX Sports App
Radio: WMCA 570 / Sirius 83 / XM 83 / SXM app 83 / Pirate Sports Network & TuneIn with Dave Popkin & Mike Nzei
Game Notes: Seton Hall | Connecticut
Follow Along: Instagram | Twitter | Live Stats
Game Sponsor: Delta Dental
Game Promotion: The first 500 students in attendance will receive a rally towel, courtesy of Delta Dental. It's Pork Roll vs. Taylor Ham Day! We're going to finally settle this debate!

The first 400 Seton Hall students will receive a voucher to redeem a FREE Pork Roll/Taylor Ham egg & cheese sandwich at the Bayonne Diner concession stand on the concourse behind section 1!
The Pork Roll/Taylor Ham egg & cheese sandwich will also be available for purchase at Bayonne Diner.
At halftime there will be a Pork Roll/Taylor Ham egg & cheese sandwich eating contest between fans who call it Pork Roll and fans who call it Taylor Ham. The winner of the contest will have the right to declare the meat's true name!

LISTEN LIVE on WMCA 570 with Dave Popkin & Mike Nzei

ENTRY POLICY

All fans must be masked in the Prudential Center unless actively eating or drinking. The updated policy can be found here.

MOBILE TICKETING

Moving forward all tickets to gain entry into men's and women's basketball home games will be fully digital, which will help to make entry to Prudential Center and Walsh Gymnasium safer and easier for fans.

This transition to digital ticketing through a smartphone will also help to make ticket transactions more secure while reducing fraud and counterfeiting. Tickets are accessible through the SHU Pirates Mobile App, available to all iOS and Android devices. For more information and to watch an informational video, click here.

CASHLESS POLICY
Cash will NOT be accepted at concession stands, retail locations or the Box Office.

Pay with a debit or credit card using tap to pay, chip or swipe, or mobile payment, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. For guests needing to convert cash to a card, Reverse ATMs are available with no fees by sections 1, 14, 125 and inside the Box Office Lobby.

BONUS "THING TO KNOW": BE PATIENT!
There are a lot of new features and initiatives at Prudential Center this season. Make sure you arrive early, have your tickets downloaded to your Apple wallet, and be patient as we all get used to the gameday experience.

NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Pirates are coming off of their first BIG EAST victory of the season, a 71-56 win at Butler on Jan. 4.
Seton Hall is 6-1 at Prudential Center this season.
The Pirates are 70-57 (.551) all-time and 37-18 (.673) since 2015-16 against BIG EAST competition at Prudential Center.
Prior to Tuesday, The Hall had been shorthanded without two key players in 7-2 graduate student Ike Obiagu (2.7 bpg, 2.3 ppg) and 6-10 junior Tyrese Samuel (10.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) due to COVID-19 protocol.
Despite being missing these two critical interior pieces, the Pirates lost two games to two ranked BIG EAST opponents by a combined 11 points.
Obiagu returned to the court and set the tone against the Bulldogs with eight points, three rebounds and two blocks.
Along with Obiagu and Samuel, Seton Hall was also missing three freshmen and one walk-on, leaving the Pirates with only eight scholarship players.
With Seton Hall's win over Rutgers on Dec. 12, Kevin Willard passed P.J. Carlesimo (213 wins) and is now in sole possession of second on Seton Hall's all-time wins list.
This is the first season in program history where the Pirates defeated two top 10 non-conference opponents in the regular season.
The Hall is one of only four programs in the country with multiple wins over top 10 teams this season (Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga).
The Pirates are one of only two teams along with Wisconsin (No. 3 Purdue, 74-69) in college basketball with a true top five road win (No. 4 Michigan, 67-65).
The Pirates lead the BIG EAST and rank ninth in the country in three-point percentage defense (26.2 percent).
The Pirates have held eight of its first 13 opponents to 65 points or less and currently rank 22nd in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.
Seton Hall is currently 26th in the NET, 27th in KenPom and 24th in the AP Top 25.
The Pirates are 104-17 (.860) since 2016-17 when they attempt more free throws than their opponent.
The Hall is 123-18 (.872) since 2015-16 when its lead gets to seven points.
Under Willard, the Pirates are 87-9 (.905) when they score 80 points or more.
Seton Hall was ranked in the AP Top 25 for the seventh consecutive week on Monday as the Pirates stayed in at No. 24.
The Hall is 4-3 all-time when ranked 24th in the AP Top 25.
Seton Hall is 177-65 all-time when ranked in the AP Top 25.
Graduate student Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) is averaging 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds with two double-doubles for the Pirates through three conference games.
Graduate student Bryce Aiken (Randolph, N.J.) has been a force in closing out games this season with 47 total points in the final five minutes of play through 12 games played.
Senior guard Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) averaged 21 points and five rebounds per game against Michigan, Ohio State and Texas and has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll three times this season.
Rhoden is 15 points away from becoming the 47th Pirate to score 1,000 career points.
Graduate Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) is now tied with Mike Nzei for most career games played at Seton Hall with 135.