Garden of Dreams! Seton Hall Wins Big East Tournament

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An Isaiah Whitehead layup that seemingly bounced around the rim for 23 years finally fell through the net and the Pirates tied the game at 67 with 18.5 seconds to go. Whitehead would hit the ensuing free throw and the Pirates would go on to win 69-67, their first Big East Tournament since 1993.

In a game that was 23 years in the making, the No. 3 Seton Hall Pirates defeated the No. 1 seeded Villanova Wildcats inside a 19,000 plus crowd at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night in New York City.

Brooklyn native Isaiah Whitehead stole the show once again scoring 26 points to go with three assists as he was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“I really just attacked the basket,” Whitehead said. “I knew I had an opportunity to score the ball.”

As for the feeling of winning a Big East Tournament?

“It still hasn’t hit me,” Whitehead said. “It is an amazing feeling.”

Ish Sanogo was also huge for the Pirates tallying eight points and collecting 9 rebounds.

He played the best college basketball game I have watched in a long time on the defensive end,” Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard said of Sanogo. “He was phenomenal.”

The Pirates shot 57 percent from the field in the first half including 42 percent from behind the three point line. They finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field.

The Wildcats were led by Kris Jenkins who had a team-high 23 points to go with five boards in the win.

“Kris Jenkins hit some unbelievable shots,” Sanogo said. “We knew we had to tighten up defensively on him.”

The Pirates will await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday before finding out where they go next, but for Whitehead, he is confident.

“Whoever we play better watch out,” he said.

One thing is for sure, the whole nation will now be watching out for the Seton Hall Pirates.