Seton Hall upsets No. 4 Michigan as Big East dominates

Seton Hall shocks No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor

Who said the Big Ten is the best college basketball conference in the country? The Big East has something to say about that. Seton Hall makes it a perfect 4-for-4 for the Big East in the Gavitt Games so far with an impressive win over No. 4 Michigan.

Kevin Willard‘s squad trailed for most of the second half but refused to go away. Michigan couldn’t find that one big run to put the Pirates to bed.

The offense was touch and go for most of this game. Seton Hall’s starters were 11-for-34 from the field, but it was their defense that provided the lift against the Wolverines.

Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson is one of the best big men in the country and Ike Obiagu corralled him in the second half. Obiagu was a backstop in the lane, turning away ballhandlers and keeping those long Michigan wings out of the paint.

Obiagu notched four blocks, a ton of altered shots, but zero field goals. It’s rare when a player can go without a field goal attempt and still put together a game-changing performance.

Jared Rhoden’s final line might not look great (6-for-16 FG), but he came up with a few big shots down the stretch. Bryce Aiken — a New Jersey native and two-time first-team All-Ivy League player — also had some clutch moments down the stretch.

His ability to create his own shot out of thin air is something that Seton Hall will need to win these kinds of close games. Willard likened him to Steph Curry in his postgame walk-off interview with FS1.

WE HAVE A BALL GAME 👏 @BryceAiken drains the three to tie the game for @SetonHallMBB pic.twitter.com/5qddQPlTQt

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 17, 2021

This is a statement win that should come in handy when the Pirates are putting together their resumé in March. A road win against the No. 4 team in the country should play well with the committee.

In fact, this win will likely be enough to catapult the Pirates into the AP Top 25 Poll. They received seven votes in this week’s poll.

Seton Hall is 3-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season, but it only gets tougher from here on out. Seton Hall will fly south to Fort Myers, FL for a date with No. 19 Ohio State and potentially Florida or Cal next.

Big East Dominates the Big Ten

The Big East is toying with the Big Ten in the Gavitt Games thus far. The big, bad Big Ten has lost all four games so far and at best, can tie the Big East at 4-4. This could be a major boost for the Big East as a whole come March Madness.

The Seton Hall upset was one point away from being the exact same score as Marquette’s win over No. 10 Illinois.

Monday, Nov. 15
Providence beats Wisconsin, 63-58
Marquette beats Illinois, 67-66

Tuesday, Nov. 16
Seton Hall beats Michigan, 67-65
Creighton beats Nebraska,

Wednesday, Nov. 17
Michigan State at Butler
St John’s at Indiana

Thursday, Nov. 18
Ohio State at Xavier
Rutgers at DePaul