Pirates Head to MSG to Face Creighton in BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal

SETON HALL PIRATES (20-11, 10-10) vs. CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (15-16, 9-11)

Date/Time: Thursday, March 12 • 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Site: New York, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden
TV: NBCSN • John Fanta, Donny Marshall & Caroline Pineda
Online: Peacock
Radio: SHU Pirates Mobile App • Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
SHUPirates.com • Varsity Network App
Seton Hall All-Time vs. Creighton: 17-15 (Streak: W1)

NOTES YOU NEED TO KNOW

Seton Hall is 33-41 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament and is 3-1 as the No. 4 seed.
Seton Hall has been the No. 4 seed twice: 1991 and 2024. The Pirates went the distance as the No. 4 seed in 1991, winning the BIG EAST title behind heroics from Most Outstanding Player Oliver Taylor.
The Pirates and Bluejays have met once before in the BIG EAST Tournament, coming in the 2016 Quarterfinals when Seton Hall defeated Creighton, 81-73, en route to a BIG EAST title.
The Hall is 19-12 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament when playing as the higher seed.
Head Coach Shaheen Holloway became the fourth Seton Hall coach to be named BIG EAST Coach of the Year. joining Kevin Willard (2016, Co-Coach), Louis Orr (2003) and P.J. Carlesimo (1988, 1989).
Holloway, who earned the award unanimously, is the fourth former-BIG EAST player to win Coach of the Year. Ironically enough, all four have Seton Hall ties: Dan Hurley (2023), Willard and Orr.
Junior guard Budd Clark was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Defensive Team on Sunday.
Clark led Seton Hall with 12.4 ppg during the regular season and his 2.0 steals per game slots third in the conference.
The Pirates have now won 20 games in eight of the past 11 seasons.
Seton Hall's eight 20+ win campaigns since 2013-14 is tied for the third-most in the BIG EAST.
The Pirates' +13 win improvement from last season matches a program record (1990-91, 1950-51).
Seton Hall currently is tied with Stephen F. Austin for the third-largest win improvement in the nation this season, only trailing Green Bay (+14) Miami (+17).
The Pirates also improved by eight wins in BIG EAST play alone, tied for the third-best turnaround in league history.
Shaheen Holloway, now in his eighth season as a head coach, has exceeded his team's conference preseason poll selection seven times.
The Pirates program as a whole has met or finished higher in the standings than their preseason projection in nine of the last 11 years, including this season.
Seton Hall is one of two teams in the nation to rank inside the top-11 in both steals and blocks average (Utah Valley).
The Pirates lead all Power 5 schools in combined steals and blocks.
Budd Clark is fourth in the BIG EAST with 2.0 steals per game in conference games.
Najai Hines ranks 17th in the nation and second among all freshmen in blocks per game (2.2).
Hines is looking to become the first freshman to lead the BIG EAST in blocks since St. John's Kassoum Yakwe in 2015-16. Hines currently ranks second with 2.3 blocks per game overall.
The Pirates are 11th in the nation in scoring defense (65.1), 11th in steals per game (9.3) and seventh in blocks per game (5.7).
Seton Hall is 14-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
The Pirates have held 23 of their 31 opponents this season to under 70 points and are 17-6 in those games.
Furthermore, they've held 14 foes to 65 or less points and are 12-2 in such games.
The Pirates lead Power 5 teams with eight wins this season after trailing at halftime.
Clark had one of the best games by a college player on Feb. 11 vs. Providence, scoring 31 points to go with eight assists and five steals.
Clark is the first BIG EAST player since at least 1996-97 to compile such a stat line in a regulation game. He is the first BIG EAST player to do it in any game since Jonny Flynn (34 pts, 11 ast, 6 stl) in the six-overtime classic against UConn in the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament.
It was the first 30-point performance by a Pirate since Jared Rhoden, who scored 30 against Xavier on Feb. 26, 2022.
Tajuan Simpkins has been essential to the Pirates' success this season, averaging 11.8 points and shooting 47% FG in Seton Hall's 20 wins this season.
Shaheen Holloway is one of 51 coaches in the nation to be coaching at his alma mater.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO LATELY

Seton Hall's offense has turned a corner late in the season, shooting 46 percent as a team over its last 10 games.
This stretch came on the heels of a four-game losing streak which saw The Hall shoot above 40 percent just once.
The Hall held Georgetown to just 27.3% FG on Feb. 21, their best defensive effort against a BIG EAST foe since holding DePaul to just 22% FG on Jan. 30, 2024.
The win over the Hoyas gave Seton Hall its eighth win when trailing at halftime this season, most among power conferences.
Seton Hall defeated Providence back on Feb. 11, 87-80, completing its first season sweep of the Friars since 2017-18.
Seton Hall overcame a halftime deficit for the second straight game in a 69-64 win over Marquette on Jan. 31.
Tajuan Simpkins tied his career-high with 27 points and knocked down five 3-pointers in the win over Xavier on Jan. 28.
Simpkins had the most points off the bench by a Pirate since Kadary Richmond, who also scored 27 as a reserve on Jan. 8, 2022 against UConn.
Simpkins' five made three-pointers off the bench are the most by a Pirate non-starter since Jamir Harris (6) against Nyack on Dec. 4, 2021.
Picked to finish last in the BIG EAST before the season, the Pirates have already more than doubled last year's win total and have scored double-digit signature wins over No. 23 NC State in Maui as well as on the road at Kansas State.