Seton Hall hasn't made things easy in returning to The Associated Press men's college basketball poll for the first time in four years
The Pirates jumped into Monday's latest poll at No. 25, marking the
program's first appearance in the rankings since sitting at No. 20 almost exactly four years earlier. That sets up an immediate marquee matchup against No. 3 UConn on Tuesday as part of the national AP Top 25 schedule before hosting Butler on Saturday.
And it comes after the Pirates (14-2, 4-1 Big East) rallied from double-digit deficits after halftime for three straight games, the last coming in Saturday's win at Georgetown.
“They just kept playing,” coach Shaheen Holloway said after one of those wins against Creighton.
And that's been good enough for this bunch.
Seton Hall enters the week ranked No. 9 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency by allowing 93.9 points per 100 possessions, as well as 15th in Division I by holding opponents to 38.5% shooting this year. The Pirates are also ranked ninth by KenPom by forcing a turnover on 22.4% of all possessions.
The Pirates have also shown offensive balance with three double-digit scorers, led by A.J. Staton-McCray's 12.3 points per game, and four others averaging at least 6.9 points.
Yet the Pirates' resilience has been a strength, too.
Seton Hall has trailed by double-digit margins after halftime in all three games since losing to Villanova on Dec. 23: down 10 at Marquette with 12:56 left on Dec. 30, down 16 to Creighton with 15:53 left on Jan. 4 and down 11 at Georgetown with 14:15 left.
And the Pirates won all three.
“We're never going to let up,” junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark said after the Creighton comeback. “We’re resilient, we’re going to fight until there’s zero seconds on the clock. It doesn’t matter if we’re up 20, down 20, we’re just trying to find a way to win.”
No. 8 Nebraska and No. 10 Vanderbilt are among the five unbeaten teams left in Division I as mid-January approaches.
The Cornhuskers (16-0) moved up two spots Monday to match the program's highest ranking set in February 1966. They carry the nation's longest active win streak (20 games) into Tuesday's visit from Oregon and Saturday's trip to Northwestern — matchups with teams holding a combined 1-9 record in Big Ten play.
The Commodores (16-0) visit Texas on Wednesday, then return home to host 19th-ranked reigning national champion Florida on Saturday.
Virginia had the week's biggest jump, climbing seven spots to No. 16 during a successful start to Ryan Odom's coaching tenure. The Cavaliers (14-2) have lost just once since Thanksgiving, falling in triple overtime at rival Virginia Tech on Dec. 31.
Virginia will have two road tests this week. First comes Tuesday's trip to No. 20 Louisville. Then comes Saturday trip to SMU, which was ranked No. 24 last week before falling at now-ranked Clemson and at No. 6 Duke — the latter seeing the Mustangs give the Blue Devils fits despite playing without top scorer Boopie Miller due to illness.
Saint Louis, Kansas and Miami (Ohio) are the teams to watch from just outside the poll.
The Billikens (15-1) have won nine straight games entering home games this week against Fordham and Richmond as they try to stay unbeaten in the Atlantic 10.
The Jayhawks (11-5) fell out of the poll Monday for the second time this season after a weekend loss at West Virginia. They'll have a marquee game to jump back in Tuesday with a visit from No. 2 Iowa State before hosting Baylor on Friday.
The RedHawks (17-0) are the only unbeaten Division I team without an AP Top 25 ranking. They host Central Michigan on Tuesday and Buffalo on Saturday as they try to reach 7-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
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