One of the top teams in the country, says the Associated Press and the USA Today Poll. Chris Beard of Texas believes that Number 23 ranked Seton Hall is better than their ranking indicates.
The Pirates and their fans agree with the former Texas Tech head coach.
What felt like a contest typically featured in March, head coach Kevin Willard and the Seton Hall Pirates were able to take down the Texas Longhorns 64-60 in a loud environment that featured a packed-out lower bowl in the Prudential Center on Thursday night in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Tonight’s victory for Seton Hall puts the Big East Conference as a whole this season at 79-21 for all 11 teams during the 2021-22 season through the first month of play.
The Pirates faithful were able to see Myles Cale for the first time inside the Prudential Center for the first time since the Yale contest on November 14, since Cale rolled his ankle against Ohio State in the Fort Myers tournament. Cale played the underdog role where the defense of the Longhorns was focused on Aiken and Rhoden.
They forgot about THE Myles Cale for the Pirates.
Cale also drained a pair of triples early in the first half to enlighten the Pirates faithful even more. The Middletown, Delaware native recorded a 50% clip from the floor, shooting 4-for-8, with five boards, one assist, one steal, and ten total points. Cale even drained a three, where he would be assessed a technical foul for taunting in the face of Courtney Ramey.
Speaking of rolled ankles, the Pirates lost center Ike Obiagu within the first few minutes of the contest due to a rolled ankle, where he never returned to the competition.
But not to worry, forward Alexis Yetna ensured to defend the paint and even tally some much-needed points when most necessary. The 6’8″ graduate forward tallied a double-double with 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Obiagu’s stead, which was crucial in the victory tonight.
ALEXIS YETNA TIES IT UP‼️@AlxsYtn_7 knocks down the three to tie it up for @SetonHallMBB at halftime 👏 pic.twitter.com/TePGSfhJiR
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 10, 2021
Graduate guard Bryce Aiken, who missed the Saturday contest against Nyack, made his return due to a bout with the flu but was struggling to start the game, where he shot 0-for-5 from the floor. Aiken did, record a pair of assists but missed four triples.
When the Pirates needed him the most, Aiken came through with 10 points in the second half, a pair of rebounds, and one steal. He even hit a three-pointer to put the Pirates ahead 62-58 with just 33 seconds to go, following a Timmy Allen bucket to make the nail-biting case even worse for the Pirates at 59-58 just a few moments earlier.
That's 5️⃣ in a row for @BryceAiken! @SetonHallMBB is battling it out and up by 2 pic.twitter.com/xtwayAEMbg
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 10, 2021
Seton Hall’s victory tonight marked the second AP Top 10 victory in the country, with a win over No. 4 Michigan and now No. 7 Texas. The only other program to record a pair? Gonzaga, who took down the Longhorns as mentioned earlier and the UCLA Bruins earlier this year.
In addition, head coach Kevin Willard tallied win number 212, which ties for second-most in Pirates history, with the legendary P.J. Carlesimo.
The Seton Hall Pirate faithful came out in droves tonight, as the student section was beyond deafening at times. Rumor had it that the Pirates box office was still selling tickets for the Top 25 contest as near as this morning. But eventually sold out and made their voices known in the post-COVID era that excited the Pirates bench and administration.
#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/55RioEJwjE
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 10, 2021
Following the Rutgers victory over No. 1 Purdue tonight, the Pirates will be welcoming in a Scarlet Knights program coming off one of the most significant victories in their existence, on Sunday evening for another edition of the Garden State Hardwood Classic to the Prudential Center beginning at 7:30 pm, on FS1.
