SPORTS

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Men return hoping for some Irish luck

When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the Prudential Center on Thursday, they will be looking to take advantage of the Hall's recent struggles and move up in the Big East, while the Pirates will look to improve on their shooting and turn around a once promising season.The Pirates are welcoming their return back to Prudential Center as they have yet to win a conference game on the road this season.Notre Dame is currently tied with Marquette for seventh place in the Big East with a 6-5 conference record, 17-7 overall.Seton Hall has fallen to 13th place with a 3-7 conference record, 12-9 overall.The Fighting Irish are led by senior forward Harangody, who is averaging 24.5 points per game, which ranks third in the nation. He also notches 10.1 rebounds per game, ranking him second in the Big East behind Seton Hall sophomore Herb Pope's 10.9 per game. The Pirates were also outrebounded 50-31 in the 10-point loss to No. 2 Villanova on February 2nd, despite shooting 43 percent from the field.The Fighting Irish are coming off victories over Cincinnati and USF but lost five of their last eight games and have a 1-4 record on the road this season against Big East teams.In the last 10 meetings the Pirates are 1-9 against Notre Dame with their last win coming at home in 2003, 78-72.Notre Dame is a strong shooting team, ranking third in the Big East with a 47.5 team field goal percentage, second in three-point shooting with a 40.1percent mark, and sixth in scoring with 79.4 points per game.Aside from Harangody, who is making a strong case for the Big East Player of the Year award, junior forward Tim Abromaitis and senior guard Ben Hansbrough also are averaging double figures for the Fighting Irish.Abromaitis averages 16.5 points per game, with a .523 field goal percentage and a .486 percentage from behind the arc.Hansbrough is averaging 11.8 points per game, along with five assists per game and 3.7 rebounds per game.On Sunday, the DePaul Blue Demons will visit Newark attempting to improve on their 1-10 conference record and climb out of last place in the Big East.DePaul has an overall record of 8-15 and despite dropping their last five matchups, they have been improving. The Blue Demons nearly upset the No. 4 Syracuse Orange on Jan. 30, but fell by two, 59-57.DePaul is without their head coach Jerry Wainwright, who was fired on Jan. 11.This is the second year in a row where the Blue Demons are at the bottom of the conference. Last season, they did not win their first conference game until the Big East Tournament when they beat Cincinnati, 67-57. The Blue Demon's are led by senior guard Will Walker's 16.5 points per game.Junior Mac Koshwal also contributes 13.7 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game.The Pirates are 5-2 all-time against DePaul.Tipoff time is noon at the Prudential Center on Feb. 14th.Matthew Bryant can be reached at matthew.bryant@student.shu.edu.

Disaster strikes in Pitt loss

The Seton Hall Pirates lost their third straight game, falling on the road to No. 22 Pittsburgh, 83-58, on Saturday.

Women look to end struggles against Bulls

Pink Zone initiative continues at Hall

On Feb. 13 at Walsh Gymnasium, the Seton Hall women's basketball team will leave their traditional Pirate blue colored jerseys in the locker room.

Top track runners set for Big East finals

Both individual and relay team members on the track and field teams hit NCAA provisional times this weekend at the Collegiate Invitational in New York City.

Swept away in the Storm

The Seton Hall women's basketball team suffered a 21-point loss to No. 25 St. John's on Sunday at Walsh Gymnasium.

Panthers roll over Pirates

The Seton Hall Pirates lost their third straight game, falling on the road to the No. 22 University of Pittsburgh Panthers, 83-58, on Sunday.

Web Exclusive: Hockey helps Haiti

The Pirates ice hockey team played in the North Jersey Ice Thriller to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The game was played outdoors at the Englewood Field Club last Sunday Jan. 31, to raise money towards, UNICEF's Haiti relief fund.

Offense in need of help at Pitt

Finding a balanced, supporting cast on the offensive end – perhaps the storyline that has lingered over the Pirates' mediocre season to date – was back in the spotlight on Tuesday night at No. 2 Villanova.

Pirates get rematch with ranked Red Storm

The Seton Hall women's basketball team is looking to build on its first Big East conference win of the season over Villanova as they take on the No. 25 St. John's Red Storm on Sunday at Walsh Gymnasium.

Web Exclusive: Women's basketball tops Villanova, puts end to long losing streak

In a battle between the last two winless teams in the conference, the Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Villanova Saturday afternoon, 53-49, climbing out of the proverbial basement of the Big East.

Road losses drop Hall to 12-8

Looking for an upset against the nation's No. 2 team, the Seton Hall Pirates lost to Villanova, 81-71, on the road Tuesday night.

Hall dropped by No. 2 Villanova

Faced with the notion of playing the No. 2 ranked team in the country, the Seton Hall Pirates lost to Villanova. 81-71, on Tuesday night at The Pavillion on the campus of Villanova University.

Women's basketball snaps losing streak with win over Nova

The Seton Hall Pirates earned their first conference victory after defeating the Villanova Wildcats on Saturday afternoon, 53-49.

Pirates fall to USF Bulls in OT

One game after an upset win over the then No. 9 Pittsburgh Panthers, the Seton Hall Pirates lost a heartbreaker of their own the the University of South Florida Bulls in overtime, 76-74 on Thursday.

Hall back on the map after win

Faced with another ranked opponent in their early Big East conference schedule, the Pirates upset the No. 9 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, 64-61, on Sunday at the Prudential Center.

Cove hosts Tierney of ESPN Radio

Men hit road, try to keep winning ways

With a win this past Saturday, Seton Hall accomplished a feat for the first time in the Bobby Gonzalez era: a defeat of a top 10 opponent. This week the Pirates have a chance to do something they have yet to accomplish this season: win a Big East game on the road. They will have two chances coming up as the Pirates are set to face South Florida and Villanova, respectively, in two pivotal conference match-ups. The Hall will head down to Tampa to take on the University of South Florida Thursday night. Seton Hall is 4-0 against the Bulls under Gonzalez and 1-0 at the USF Sun Dome. The most recent match-up was a 75-60 victory at the Prudential Center last season. Jeremy Hazell led the way for Seton Hall with 20 points while Dominique Jones and Augustus Gilchrist each scored 20 in the loss.The Pirates will once again have to contain Jones and Gilchrist, who will be back for South Florida. Jones, the Bulls' leading scorer at 21 points per game and reigning Big East Player of the Week, is coming off a school record setting performance. The junior guard exploded for 46 points in a 109-105 overtime win at Providence. He also flirted with a triple-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists. Gilchrist meanwhile is one of the most improved players in the Big East. He is averaging 18.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, an impressive jump from the 10.4 and 4.4 averages he held last time he faced off against the Pirates. A win would give the Pirates their first road win of the conference season, and it would also bring them back to .500 in the Big East after impressive back-to-back wins over Louisville and No. 9 Pittsburgh last week at the Prudential Center. Following Thursday's tip-off, the Hall will head to No. 3 Villanova to take on the Wildcats in what will be one of the most difficult roads games of the season.Villanova is currently ranked third in the nation, but after a 90-72 win last night against Notre Dame that ranking will most likely improve.A major reason the Wildcats will probably climb in rankings is because of No. 1 ranked Kentucky's 68-62 loss against the Univsersity of Southern Carolina on Tuesday night.The Pirates dropped a tough one last year to the then No. 18 Wildcats, falling 89-85 in overtime at The Rock. Eugene Harvey dropped 19 points and nine assists for the Pirates. Wildcats guard Scottie Reynolds scored 40 points on the strength of five three's and an efficient 15-16 from the free throw line. Reynolds is fifth in the Big East this season at 18.7 points per game leading a Villanova team that ranks first in the conference in scoring at 84.9 points per game. The key for the Hall in these two games and pushing forward the rest of the season may be the defensive effort. In the Pirates' three Big East wins they've held opponents to just over 71 points per game, while yielding 81.5 in their four losses. Coming off of a game in which they held No. 9 Pittsburgh to just 61 points and 20 turnovers, Seton Hall is going to have to repeat that strong defensive play if they want to be victorious this week.If the Pirates are able to succefssfully repeat that against Southern Florida and Villanova, then head coach Bobby Gonzalez may finally have the correct defensive formula for success. That will certainly be put to the test in the weeks to come, beginning Thursday night against USF.Zach Cziryak can be reached at zachary.cziryak@student.shu.edu

Mediocre season hits the halfway point

Going into Villanova on Saturday, the women's basketball team will be looking to put an end to their 10 game losing streak and in the process, win their first Big East Game.Saturday's game will feature the only winless teams in the conference against one another.Villanova (0-6, 11-8) is also seeking their first conference win after a three point loss to Louisville on Tuesday.The Wildcats were beating Louisville late going into the second half before they gave up eight unanswered points to end the game and lose.The closest the Wildcats have come to victory other than the Louisville game was on Jan. 12 when they lose by gour points to West Virgina.Both the Louisville and West Virginia games are the only Big East games in which the Wildcats have come within ten points of a win.Villanova is riding a six game in-conference losing streak of their own.Last season produced a close game in these two teams last meeting, a 54-51 win for Villanova.After the loss the Pirates dropped five more consecutive games before winning again, this time against Georgetown in the last game of conference play.The last time the Pirates beat Villanova was during the 2007-2008 campaign, 51-49.Villanova leads the all time series between the schools, 31-17.Big East play got off to an inauspicious start for Seton Hall when they opened the conference season with a dismal 91-24 loss to top ranked Connecticut at the Prudential Center. The Pirates have lost their first seven conference games by an average of just over 26 points per game. The closest they have come to victory was a four point loss to DePaul on Jan. 19. In recent years, Seton Hall has been no stranger to long losing streaks during conference play.The last time the Pirates lost at least seven conference games in a row was during their 10- game losing streak in the 2007-2008 season. The Hall also suffered an 11- game season ending losing streak for the 2005-2006 season.The Pirates at least have some individual achievements to take pride in despite the team's struggles. Junior guard Ebonie Williams recently became the 19th player in school history to score over 1,000 points in her career. Senior Nicole Emery moved into the top 10 for career blocks at Seton Hall, and sophomore Kandice Green is second in the Big East with eight double-doubles.Josh Jongsma can be reached at joshua.jongsma@student.shu.edu

Struggles continue as losing streak hits 10