Seton Hall Pirates: Big East Tournament Run

0:00On March 11th, Seton Hall Pirates faced the Creighton Blue Jays today in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tip off is at 2.30 p.m. Eastern on NBCSN. The pirates enter with a 20 and 11 record while Creighton sits at 15 and 16. Seton Hall holds a slight all-time edge at 17 wins to 15, including a tournament victory back in 2016. Coach Shaheen Holloway earned, Big East coach of the year honors unanimously, joining a select group with Seton Hall ties. Junior Guard Bud Clark made the all-big East 2nd team and all-defensive team, leading the pirates with 12.4 points per game and ranking 3rd in the conference with two stills per game. The team is hit 20 wins in 8 of the last 11 seasons, matching a program record for win improvement at plus 13. Fans are buzzing about Seton Hall's turnaround from last place preseason predictions to doubling their win total. They've notched big victories over number 23 NC State in Maui and at Kansas State.

1:01Picked low, the pirates have exceeded expectations, finishing higher than projected in nine of the last 11 years. Defensively Seton Hall ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense at 65.1 points allowed, steals at 9.3 per game and blocks at 5.7. Freshman Najai Hines leads with 2.3 blocks per game, eyeing the Big East lead. They're 14 in 1 when scoring 70 or more and lead power 5 teams with 8 comeback wins from halftime deficits. Meanwhile, the pirates offense has heated up, shooting 46% over their last 10 games after a mid-season slump. With stars like Tajwan Simkin stepping up big off the bench, they're poised for a deep tournament run as the number 4 seed, just like their stum. The title winning squad in 1991.