Seton Hall basketball stuns No. 23 N.C. State in Maui Invitational

Seton Hall’s basketball program, left for dead as free agency swept across the college basketball, sent a message to the sport in the opening game of the Maui Invitational Monday.

Time to retract that obituary.

The Pirates stunned 23rd-ranked N.C. State 85-74 in the quarterfinals, earning a spot in Tuesday’s semifinal against the winner between USC (4-0) and Boise State (4-1). Tip time is 5 p.m. Eastern on ESPN/ESPN2.

It’s the program’s best out-of-conference win in head coach Shaheen Holloway’s four-year tenure and the best since the Pirates took down top-10 squads Michigan and Texas in 2021, the start of Kevin Willard’s final season.

Senior guard A.J. Staton-McCray set the pace with 22 points and seven rebounds as the Pirates improved to 6-0. They beat N.C. State (4-1) in all the hustle categories.

This looked nothing like last year’s Big East cellar-dweller, because it is nothing like it. The entire 10-man rotation is new, with Holloway stocking up on transfers with experience of production, regardless of the level. That showed throughout the lineup in this first real test after five wins over soft competition.

3 THOUGHTS

1. Brought the hard hats

This was a physicality beat-down in every respect. The Hall outmuscled N.C. State for most 50/50 balls, swatted them at the rim, harassed them at the perimeter, dictated tempo and just looked like they wanted it more.

Some key stats: Seton Hall posted edges of 13-6 in second-chance points, 22-7 in fast-break points, 19-11 in points off turnovers, 9-2 in blocks and 11-5 in steals. Most important, N.C. State came in as the nation's third-best 3-point shooting team and staggered out hitting just 7-of-21 (33 percent). Most of those were heavily contested.

The Wolfpack seemed genuinely shocked at the haymakers that kept landing on their chin. This is the mentality Holloway’s Saint Peter’s teams brought, only with more talented players. That bodes very well for the rest of this season.

2. Mike Williams emerges

At the start of the season, the junior guard, who transferred from LSU in the offseason, was the surprise entry in the Pirates’ starting lineup. Now, the reason is obvious. After coming into Feast Week averaging 7.0 points and shooting 46 percent from 3-point range, Williams set the tone against the Wolfpack. He tallied 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, with six rebounds and two assists in just 19 minutes. He’s been bothered by a left knee injury and had to leave the game – although he valiantly tried to return. Assuming Williams can stay healthy, he’s a two-way weapon who is both efficient and explosive. Every winning team needs that guy.

3. Holloway approached this correctly

It’s understood that fans don’t want to see five games against cupcakes to open the season, but Holloway gave 10 new players some runway to figure out roles and each other, understand his in-game expectations, and gain some confidence.

It worked like a charm.

3 QUOTES

From Shaheen Holloway’s postgame radio interview with Dave Popkin:

(On the way).

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball stuns No. 23 N.C. State in Maui Invitational