Seton Hall Basketball: Pirates roll past NC State in First Round

The Seton Hall Pirates didn’t dominate, but they still comfortably escaped their First Round game against the NC State Wolfpack.

Seton Hall sure knows how to make a comfortable win seem like a close game.

The Pirates opened their NCAA Tournament run against the NC State Wolfpack on Thursday afternoon, prevailing 94-83.

While the final score suggests a close game, the truth is Seton Hall had it in hand the whole time. After scoring the game’s first bucket, they never surrendered the lead, taking charge for all 40 minutes.

A key to this game was foul trouble from each team’s key big men. Both Angel Delgado and Omer Yurtseven struggled with fouls for Seton Hall and NC State, respectively. The former made the most of his minutes, though, scoring 13 points and bringing down nine rebounds.

The latter scored just two points with two rebounds, succumbing to the defensive pressure provided by Delgado.

Allerik Freeman stepped up for a major way in the Wolfpack, scoring 36 points. But it wasn’t enough.

Senior Khadeen Carrington led the way for Seton Hall, dropping 26 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range and 11-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe. Desi Rodriguez also had a strong game, dropping 20 points despite coming off the bench due to an ankle injury.

Seton Hall made it a point to fly to the free throw line. They attempted an astonishing 39 shots from the charity stripe, connecting on 31 of them. That persistent effort to go to the foul line – fouling out three members of the Wolfpack in the progress – could be a blueprint for future success.

Seton Hall’s seniors live to fight another day, winning the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2004.

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The road from here only gets harder for the Pirates; their next game comes against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, as Seton Hall attempts to knock off a No. 1 seed.