Game 3: Pirates 67 Wolverines 65
A Seton Hall Men's Basketball recap of the program defining win vs the Michigan Wolverines
Your Seton Hall Pirates went on the road to Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday night on a collision course with the #4 Michigan Wolverines. With a 9PM tip-off and FS1 broadcast seemingly all eyes were on the Pirates as they looked to shock the world. And they did just that.
First Half
From the opening tip Seton Hall made it evident that they weren’t here to lie down and take it from the highly touted Wolverines. Early offense from Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden made sure of that as the Pirates led 8-6 at the U16 timeout in this defensive struggle. Scoring droughts were the name of the game in the first half as both teams went cold and when one would wake up the other responded in kind keeping this one close throughout. Michigan’s all-world big man Hunter Dickinson stole the show down the stretch as he took over on both ends towards the end of the first half imposing his will against a Seton Hall team that lacks the length of previous iterations (Romaro Gill isn’t ducking through that doorway any time soon) but to make up for that the Pirates’ perimeter defense has been lethal. Michigan shot 0-7 from downtown in the first half but despite that led the game 31-28 at the break.
Second Half
If Seton Hall was going to win this game they were going to need to find a way to limit Hunter Dickinson without also allowing the Michigan shooters to find quality looks from outside while also somehow finding consistency on the other end of the floor. Early returns were not promising as Michigan stretched their lead to double digits and less than three minutes into the second half Seton Hall was down 39-29. Seton Hall and Michigan would trade baskets for a bit as the dynamic transfer duo of Jamir Harris and Alexis Yetna kept this game from getting way too out of hand but it seemed these efforts were in vain as the Wolverines took a 45-34 lead with 14:46 remaining. But this Seton Hall team, calling upon the same grit and determination that the 2015-16 and 2019-20 teams showed, fought back and fought back hard. Everybody contributed but Tray Jackson and Jared Rhoden especially were the big sparks as Seton Hall kept chipping away and responding to everything Michigan tried to do but it was Bryce Aiken who nailed a three pointer with 4:35 remaining to finally tie the game at 57. With the crowd erupting after a DeVante' Jones three put Michigan back out in front the Pirates just got back to work with Rhoden cutting it to 60-59 with a layup and then Ike Obiagu tying us up yet again with a clutch free throw. After another bout of trading makes Bryce Aiken stepped to the line with 1:15 remaining to try and give Seton Hall their first lead since it was 25-24 Pirates with 3:46 left in the first half. He missed the first but nailed the second and it was 63-62 Seton Hall. Hunter Dickinson went to the line and not only tied it but put Michigan back up 64-63 as the stress and anxiousness for both teams was likely shooting through the roof. Bryce Aiken brought the ball up the court and was promptly fouled by Michigan’s DeVante’ Jones and nailed both from the charity stripe to give Seton Hall a 65-64 lead and this was followed up by masterful defense from Seton Hall and after a few more free throws (including a crucial miss by Michigan) the Pirates were victorious.
Aftermath
A historical win for Seton Hall that put the College Basketball world on notice and Pirates fans on cloud 9. SHU got 37 points off of the bench including 13 from Bryce Aiken and Tray Jackson and 8 from Jamir Harris. Jackson also added 6 rebounds and had an all around great performance back in his home state. Jared Rhoden was the MVP as his 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block were monumental. Ike Obiagu also had 4 blocks and his lone point was a crucial free throw make as well. Seton Hall’s perimeter defense excelled holding Michigan to 3-15 from downtown. Once again it would do the Pirates well to improve their stroke from the free throw line as they shot 55.6% on 18 attempts. This was the 10th all time win for Seton Hall against a team ranked in the AP Poll Top 5 and their first on the road in a non conference game. With the win Seton Hall moves to 3-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season as well.
Up Next
After the thrilling win Seton Hall will stay on the move heading south to Ft. Myers, Florida to take on #19 Ohio State on Monday, November 22nd in the Ft. Myers Tip-Off tournament. The game will start at 6PM and be televised on FS1.