Seton Hall lands quality non-conference win over Wichita State (VIDEO)
Seton Hall landed its best win of the non-conference slate on Saturday afternoon with an 80-76 overtime victory over Wichita State.
Desi Rodriguez had 18 points, followed by Isaiah Whitehead with 17. Fred VanVleet had a game-high 19 points for the Shockers. Ron Baker added 16.
On paper, beating a team that entered the game 5-4 hardly counts as a quality win, but the Shockers were ranked in the top-15 to begin the season before injuries to VanVleet and Anton Grady sent them plummeting out of the rankings. Wichita State looked like it was back on the right track last Saturday when VanVleet returned to the lineup for a 67-50 win over Utah.
And given what we've seen from Wichita State over the past two seasons, even fans with a passing interesting in college hoops knows this is a good win for Seton Hall.
Just last month, the Pirates suffered an 80-77 loss to Long Beach State in the Charleston Classic. And the score wasn't even really that close. Sure, Seton Hall made a furious comeback attempt in the final minutes, but its defense allowed the 49ers to shoot 55 percent from the field and open up a 16-point lead midway through the second half. That loss had other negative consequences, as well.
It sent the Pirates on the wrong side of the bracket, meaning they lost an opportunity to play Virginia, ranked No. 6 in the nation at the time. Add in a loss to George Washington, which looks like the favorite in the Atlantic 10, and Seton Hall was lacking for quality wins as league play approaches.
With conference play beginning in less than two weeks, four teams in the Big East -- Xavier, Butler, Villanova and Providence -- has established themselves in the top tier. But who rounds out the top-5? Seton Hall has certainly throw its name into the conversation.
BIG win for @SetonHallMBB over Wichita State, so obviously the Pirates were FIRED UP https://t.co/sLjsIdhYHz
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) December 19, 2015
