Pirates Head West For NIT Clash At Colorado

Game 33: Colorado Buffaloes (17-16, 8-12 Pac-12) vs. Seton Hall Pirates (17-15, 10-10 BIG EAST)
Tuesday, March 14 • 11 p.m. • Boulder, Colo. • CU Events Center (11,064)
TV: ESPN2 • Roxy Bernstein & Noah Savage
Web: www.WatchESPN.com
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App / Pirate Sports Network / Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
Game Notes: Seton Hall | Colorado
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NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Seton Hall men's basketball team will make its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 2011-12 on Tuesday when the Pirates travel to third-seeded Colorado for an 11 p.m. first round game on ESPN2.
Seton Hall has played in a national postseason tournament in six of the last seven seasons (five NCAA, one NIT).
The Pirates are 8-18 all-time in NIT games and won the NIT championship in 1953.
Tuesday's game marks the first ever contest between Seton Hall and Colorado.
This will be Seton Hall's first road game vs. a Pac-12 team since Dec. 22, 1985 when the Pirates defeated Stanford in overtime, 76-75.
Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway is the first head coach to lead the Pirates to a postseason berth in his first season since Tommy Amaker guided The Hall to the NIT in 1997-98.
Holloway was a sophomore on that 1997-98 squad.
Holloway's first season is statistically stacking up to be the best in program history among rookie head coaches:

Most Wins
1. Shaheen Holloway (2022-23) - 17
2. George Blaney (1994-95) - 16
3. Tommy Amaker (1997-98) - 15
Richie Regan (1960-61) - 15

Most BIG EAST Wins
1. Shaheen Holloway - 10
2. Tommy Amaker - 9
3. George Blaney - 7
Kevin Willard (2010-11) - 7

Holloway's six true road wins are the most for a first-year head coach at Seton Hall since Bill Raftery registered five road wins in 1970-71.
Despite starting 0-3 in BIG EAST play, Holloway took a group of four returners and five newcomers and guided The Hall to a .500 record in league play for the eighth consecutive season.
Seton Hall has played one of the most difficult schedules in DI as KenPom ranks the Pirates' slate the 28th toughest and its NET SOS ranks 34th.
The Pirates have played with only eight healthy scholarship players the last two games, which includes a dominant 82-58 win at No. 20 Providence on March 4.
The win marked the 11th time this season that Seton Hall has held a team under 60 points.
The Pirates rank 77th in the NET with four Quad 1 wins (Memphis, Rutgers, UConn, Providence) and a 6-13 record against the first two quadrants.
Seton Hall ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (65.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (41.6 pct) and three-point defense (31.2 pct).
In BIG EAST play, Seton Hall ranks second in scoring defense (67.6 ppg) and third in field goal defense (43.2 pct) and three-point defense (32 pct).
Seton Hall also ranks second in the BIG EAST and 34th nationally in steals per game (8.3 spg).
The Pirates rank 22nd in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.
The Pirates are 16-4 this season when they hold their opponents to under 70 points.
Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) is the anchor of Seton Hall's defense and he has the most blocks of any active player in a power conference with 372.
Ndefo's 62 blocks this season ranks ninth all-time in a single season at Seton Hall.
After missing six games with a right ankle sprain, junior Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) is averaging 12.5 ppg on 20-of-26 shooting from the floor (77 pct) and 6-of-8 shooting from three over the last four games.
Senior Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) has blossomed under Holloway, setting career highs in scoring (10.9 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg), field goal percentage (55 pct.), steals (36) and assists (24).
Starting point guard Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has missed the last four games with a back injury that he suffered seven minutes into the game at No. 20 UConn on Feb. 18.
Filling the void at point guard for Richmond is high school teammate Femi Odukale (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who's averaging 14 points, 7.0 boards and 4.7 assists over the last three games.