Hoist the colors! The Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament on Saturday, topping North Texas 72-58. After being snubbed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the Pirates elected to play in the NIT. Their season will continue in the other postseason tournament that started in 1938.
The Pirates were almost bounced in the first round by St. Jospeph's but came out on top in overtime to face North Texas. The Mean Greens' offense was completely shut down by Seton Hall's defense the entire game, only shooting 35% from the field.
The offense took a little time to get going as North Texas held a 14-8 lead early in the first half. As always, when Shaheen Halloway's bunch plays that kind of lights-out defense, their offense eventually takes over the game. The Pirates went on a 10-0 run to end the first half, capped off by a massive buzzer-beater by Isaiah Coleman to give Seton Hall a 33-24 lead heading into the break.
Dre Davis and company kept the lead throughout the second half, outpacing the Mean Green 39-34 en route to the win. The game's story was Coleman, who provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the Pirates, scoring 14 points.
Davis led the team in scoring with 18 points, while Kadary Richmond had a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.
What's Next for Seton Hall?
The Pirates now awaits the winner of Boston College and UNLV, who play Sunday at 9:30 p.m. UNLV shocked second-seeded Princeton in the opening round and looked to stay hot against BC to meet the Pirates in a possible battle of former Big East conference foes in the quarterfinals.
Sure, this is only the NIT and may be less as sweet as making a run in the March Madness Tournament, but for Seton Hall, an NIT Championship will show the Selection Committee just how big of a mistake they made leaving them out.
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