Pirates Sweep Away Golden Eagles

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action today at the Prudential Center as they took on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Before the game, we had the chance to speak to our good friend Jack Goods. Jack’s answers can be found on our previous post, but we would again like to extend a big thank you to him for all of his insight. The Pirates ended up cruising to a 79-62 victory against Marquette.

The first half was very closely contested. The teams traded buckets early on in the game. Luke Fischer and Angel Delgado both came out aggressive and led their teams in the first half. The Pirates were looking to stifle freshman sensation Henry Ellenson. Ellenson was coming off a huge game against Butler where he put up 32 points and 10 rebounds. The Pirates did a good job of frustrating Ellenson in the first half, and it helped to slow down the attack of the Golden Eagles. A Khadeen Carrington layup with 5:28 remaining in the half gave the Pirates a 9 point lead. However, Marquette would chip away at the lead and go into halftime trailing the Pirates 34-31.

The Golden Eagles were led in the first half by Luke Fischer who posted 11 points and 4 rebounds as well as 3 assists. Henry Ellenson added 4 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Jajuan Johnson chipped in 5 points for Marquette in the first half. The Golden Eagles shot 42.4% from the field in the first half and 22.2% from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles turned the ball over 7 times in the first half.

The Pirates were led in the first half by Angel Delgado who had 8 points and 6 rebounds. Isaiah Whitehead added 7 points, and Desi Rodriguez grabbed 8 boards. Khadeen Carrington led the Pirates with 5 assists in the first half. Derrick Gordon posted 8 points as well in the first half to share the team lead with Delgado. The Pirates shot 43.8% from the field in the first half and 25% from beyond the arc. They turned the ball over 6 times but had 12 assists in the first half.

The first half of the second half was still a game that was up for grabs. Immediately to start the half Henry Ellenson would knock down a three pointer and tie the game. The Pirates would build a lead, but Marquette would keep cutting it down. With 11:05 left in the game, Jajuan Johnson would hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 3. Isaiah Whitehead, Derrick Gordon, and Khadeen Carrington would each hit three pointers in the next 3 possessions and the Pirates would stretch the lead to 10 points. The Pirates would ultimately build an 18 point lead and end up winning by a score of 79-62.

The Golden Eagles were led overall by Luke Fischer who scored 17 points, grabbed 6 boards, and dished out 3 assists. Jajuan Johnson added 15 points and 4 rebounds. Henry Ellenson had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Duane Wilson had 8 points for Marquette. The Golden Eagles shot 40.7% from the floor and 26.3% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado who put up 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Isaiah Whitehead also had a great game with 21 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Derrick Gordon and Khadeen Carrington each posted 13 points for the Pirates. Isaiah Whitehead also blocked 3 shots on the night. The Pirate shot 50% from the floor and 35.3% from beyond the arc.

With the loss the Golden Eagles fall to 15-8 overall and 4-6 in Big East play. With the win the Pirates improve to 16-6 overall and 6-4 in Big East play. Marquette will now head to Cincinnati to take on the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday. The Pirates will host the Georgetown Hoyas at the Prudential Center on Saturday.

A big thank you again goes out to Jack Goods! He can be followed on twitter @GoodsOnSports. He is a great follow and a terrific journalist! Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates players performed at a high level. We will have full coverage of the Georgetown game on Saturday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

PPI vs Marquette (2)

Pirates Open Up Conference Play, Dispatch Golden Eagles

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates opened Big East play against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Prior to this game we had the privilege of talking to Jack Goods. Jack provided us with some great info. You can see his answers to our questions in our previous post. Jack told us some things to watch for and really helped us with our research on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Jack told us to watch for Luke Fischer and Henry Ellenson, the two big men for Marquette. He anticipated that Marquette would try and get the ball in their hands as much as possible and he was definitely right. After a tight start to the game, the Pirates came out with an 83-63 victory.

The first half was a very closely contested affair. The Pirates led for most of the half but never built a solid lead. After a pair of free throws by Desi Rodriguez, the Pirates led by 11, which was their largest lead of the first half with 14:42 to go. Haanif Cheatham and Jajuan Johnson helped Marquette cut into the lead and eventually they would take a 1 point lead into halftime. At the break the Golden Eagles led the Hall 40-39.

The Golden Eagles got a huge first half from freshman Haanif Cheatham. He led Marquette with 15 points and 2 steals. He helped cut into the lead and eventually give Marquette the lead. Henry Ellenson had a monster half on the boards as he grabbed 10 rebounds. The freshman has really been a huge player for Marquette this year. Jack Goods told us that Ellenson has generated the most noise at Marquette since Dwyane Wade. He told us that Ellenson has done it all and he is still finding his way. He will continue to get better and the rest of the Big East should be on watch. Jack proved to be quite accurate when saying Marquette should work the ball through Fischer and Ellenson. Marquette was 0-6 from 3 in the 1st half.

The Pirates were led in the first half by Desi Rodriguez with 14 points. Isaiah Whitehead added 11 points, and Khadeen Carrington chipped in 6 rebounds. Ismael Sanogo added 5 rebounds for the Hall and played stellar defense on Henry Ellenson.

The second half was all Pirates. Seton Hall wasted little time in reclaiming the lead, and then took over in the second half to dominate the Golden Eagles. With 7:39 remaining in the game, Duane Wilson hit two free throws to cut the lead to 9. From there the Pirates went on a 14-3 run to pull away for good. The Pirates played a great game despite committing 20 turnovers on the night. Ismael Sanogo and Khadeen Carrington had big dunks in the 2nd half. Isaiah Whitehead distributed the ball well, and the Pirates cruised to an 83-63 win.

The Pirates were led overall by Desi Rodriguez. The sophomore tallied 19 points and 5 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington added 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 16 points and 7 assists, and Angel Delgado added 11 points and 11 rebounds. As previously mentioned, Ismael Sanogo did a great job defending Henry Ellenson down low.

Marquette was led by Haanif Cheatham with 17 points. Freshman Henry Ellenson posted 13 points and 14 rebounds. He is a force to be reckoned with in the Big East. Luke Fischer added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Marquette was ice cold in the second half as they only put up 23 points.

With the loss the Golden Eagles drop to 10-3 on the year and 0-1 in Big East play. The loss snaps the 9 game winning streak for Marquette. With the win the Pirates improve to 11-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Big East. Marquette will head to Washington D.C. to take on Georgetown on Saturday. The Pirates will head home to take on DePaul on Saturday.

Big thanks again to Jack Goods for all his help. He is a tremendous journalist and a great person to follow on twitter. He can be found at @GoodsOnSports. He also writes for the Marquette Tribune. Thank you again Jack!

Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates players shined in the Big East opener. We will have full coverage of the DePaul game on Saturday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

PPI vs Marquette

Inside the Enemy Ship: Marquette Golden Eagles

Marquette Sweet Tweet billboard

Welcome to our last “Inside the Enemy Ship” of the 2015, where we will be talking about the Pirate’s last game of 2015, against the Marquette Golden Eagles on December 30th in Milwaukee.

We had the pleasure of speaking to a Mr. Jack Goods, a Marquette student who not only covers Marquette athletics, but the Milwaukee Bucks, and every team in the wintry tundra of Buffalo as well. He was king enough to spend some time talking to us about the upcoming game.

BBA: When the season started, where did you see the Golden Eagles season going?
GOODS: The expectations were a bit mixed coming into the season. Head coach Steve Wojciechowski landed a top-ten recruiting class, but we knew those players would be thrown into a tough position immediately. I felt they would finish somewhere around the middle of the conference, would squeak into the tournament but would fall in the first round. I was one of the most pessimistic on our staff.

BBA: What do you think of the Golden Eagles (as of time of writing) 8-2 record?
GOODS: Marquette scheduled some of the worst teams in college basketball, so you have to take the 8-2 record with a grain of salt. The Golden Eagles have played four teams in the 300s in KenPom, and will play one more when they face Stetson in the middle of the conference season. They are a difficult team to figure out, likely due to that youth. They’ve been blowing out a lot of these lower ranked teams, yet still show signs of struggle when it comes to shooting and turnovers. I’d say this team has issues playing down to their competition, which should change once conference play starts.

BBA: Which player should the Seton Hall Pirates be the most worried about meeting on the court? Why?
GOODS: “This one is pretty obvious, as freshman power forward Henry Ellenson was ESPN’s fifth overall recruit for a reason. He’s got six double-doubles in Marquette’s 11 games, and has the overall talent to really dominate. He’s strong in the paint, can run the floor like a guard, can shoot the midrange and has some outside ability (although he hasn’t been very consistent from three-point range). Ellenson is the type of player that is just efficient, even during his worst games. You’ll look down at the stats, and realize he already has 15 points without doing anything too flashy. Henry is the best recruit Marquette has landed since Doc Rivers, and he’s expected to be a top 10 pick in next year’s NBA draft if he decides to leave. With a young guard unit, the offense runs through him and redshirt junior center Luke Fischer. If Seton Hall wins the battle in the paint, it will be tough for Marquette to win.

BBA: Do you think the Golden Eagles should be ranked as of now?
GOODS: I don’t think Marquette should be near the Top 25 right now, because they haven’t really proved anything. The Golden Eagles best wins aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Wisconsin isn’t the team they were last year, and had lost a couple nights before to UW-Milwaukee. LSU looked like a good win at the time, but the Ben Simmons led Tigers have sputtered since then. Arizona State is No. 51 in the KenPom as of Monday night. Big losses to Belmont and Iowa to open the season will keep Marquette out of the Top 25 until BIG EAST play, despite the Golden Eagles getting one vote in last week’s media poll.

BBA: How do you view the Wisconsin Badgers?
GOODS: Wisconsin has gotten a lot of attention the past two years since they’ve been more successful than Marquette. The state as a whole likely has a closer connection to the Badgers because Wisconsin is a public school. Anyone who went to a Wisconsin state school feels they have a personal connection to the mothership of the system. That being said, there are a lot of people who are Marquette and Wisconsin fans too. When the Golden Eagles are successful, you see at least Milwaukee as a whole get behind them.

BBA: Where do you see the Golden Eagles in the overall Big East hierarchy?
GOODS: Marquette isn’t on the same level as Villanova and Georgetown, but it is certainly one of the more historic basketball programs in the BIG EAST. National title in 1977, three final four appearances, 31 tournament appearances and the school has arguably three of the top ten shooting guards in the NBA in Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Wesley Matthews. That’s a pretty good resume. They are probably in the second tier of the conference in history, and minus the last two years have been a shoe-in to make the tournament.

BBA: Final Score Prediction?
GOODS: 78-68 MU

Once again, big thank you again goes to Jack Goods, who can be found on Twitter @GoodsOnSports and on his website http://jackgoods.weebly.com/. Jack is a truly gifted journalist, and we encourage all our readers to check out some of the amazing stuff he has written.

The Pirates take on the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee at 7 PM on Fox Sports 1. As always, Hazard Zet Forward.