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.
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.
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
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
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.
Seton Hall athletic director Joe Quinlan will reportedly be leaving the university at the end of the school year, Jerry Carino of the NJ Hoops Haven blog reported.
Jeremy Hazell knew it was going to be a good night from the moment he took his first shot Thursday night against Louisville.
Despite playing to a 17 point comeback in the second half to take a late lead, the Pirates were unable to hold off DePaul, losing 73-69 on Tuesday.
The women's basketball team lost their sixth straight game on Saturday when they fell to the Friars at Providence, 75-61. The Pirates are still seeking their first win in Big East play.
Holding guard Jeremy Hazell to 17 points – more specifically on 3-9 shooting from behind the arc – was the first game-changing factor.
To halt a four game losing streak, the Pirates beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 83-76 to secure their first Big East victory of the season. The win, gives the Hall double digit in wins with ten giving them an overall record of 10-5 and 1-3 in the Big East
The Pirates' hunt for their first Big East win will continue until at least Saturday, due to the 71-63 loss they suffered on Tuesday night against the No.13 UConn Huskies at the Gampel Pavilion.
The women's basketball team dropped their second straight Big East game to open up the conference season with a 79-38 loss at home to Syracuse Orange. The loss dropped the Pirates overall record to 8-7 and put the team last in the Big East at 0-2.
CANCUN, MEXICO- Faced with their final non-conference test of the season and needing a signature out-of-conference win, the Pirates fell to Virginia Tech in overtime, 103-94, from the Poliforum Benito Juarez.
On Saturday the women's basketball team lost their Big East opener at the Prudential Center in Newark to the number one ranked team in the country, the UConn Huskies.
More than likely, the Pirates did not envision their non-conference schedule being so difficult to navigate.
For the second time in four nights the Pirates took on an undefeated Big East team ranked inside the top 10 in the country, this time with the fifth ranked Syracuse Orange.
After opening up the season 9-1, their best start since 1988-1989, the Pirates began Big East conference play on Tuesday afternoon in front of a sold out Prudential Center with a loss to West Virginia, 90-84.
Solutions by The State News