Seton Hall's first season of basketball occurred in 1903–04, but the school did not field a team again until 1908–09, the year in which the university achieved its first winning season. The school adopted the Pirate mascot in 1931, and the teams soon gained national prominence with the arrival of John "Honey" Russell in 1936. During an 18-year span, the Pirates racked up a 295–129 record that included an undefeated 19–0 record in 1939–40 as part of a 41-game unbeaten streak. Walsh Gymnasium was opened in 1941 to house the basketball team permanently and featured one of the best Seton Hall teams of all time, termed the "Wonder Five", which led by All-American Bob Davies, earned the school's first NIT bid in 1941. Following World War II, the Pirates were led by stars Frank Saul and Bobby Wanzer and regularly played games at Madison Square Garden. The peak of this era occurred in 1953 when Richie Regan and Walter Dukes defeated rival St. John's University for the NIT title. Perhaps the low point for the team occurred in 1961 when a point shaving scandal sullied the program, but the Pirates rebounded to return to the NIT in 1974 under coach Bill Raftery.[2] Seton Hall became a charter member of the Big East Conference in 1979, where they are still a member to this day.
The 1908–09 Seton Hall basketball team recorded the school's first winning record in its second season of play
Although Seton Hall did have a lengthy American Football Team, The high point of the Big East era for Seton Hall came when P. J. Carlesimo was hired in 1982 and the team began playing in the Meadowlands Arena. By 1988, Carlesimo led the Pirates to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance, and in 1989, he led the Hall to an unexpected tournament run to the NCAA Championship game, where they were defeated by Michigan in overtime. Success under Carlesimo continued with a Big East tournament championship and an Elite Eight appearance in 1991, a regular season Big East Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1992, and Big East Regular Season and Big East tournament Championships in 1993. Carlesimo left to coach in the NBA following the 1993–94 season, but Seton Hall returned to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000 guided by coach Tommy Amaker, and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2006 coached by Louis Orr. In 2006–07, Bobby Gonzalez was hired to lead the Pirates, which moved its home games into the Prudential Center in 2007.[3] Gonzalez amassed a 66–59 record at Seton Hall but was fired at the conclusion of the 2009–10 after a first-round NIT loss to Texas Tech. Concerns were raised in-house about the direction Gonzalez was taking the program, punctuated by several incidents, some involving Gonzalez and others involving student athletes. Shortly after his dismissal Gonzalez was arrested for shoplifting.[4] Seton Hall then hired Kevin Willard for the 2010–11 season.[5]
After struggling to maintain a .500 record through his first five seasons with the program, Willard's Pirates finally broke through in the 2015–16 season, as they won the Big East tournament Championship over the eventual national champion Villanova Wildcats. With the win, Seton Hall secured the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006 and the first Big East tournament Championship since 1993. However, the magic could not continue in the NCAA tournament, as the team was defeated by the 11th-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in the First Round. In 2017, the Pirates were again eliminated in the First Round of the NCAA tournament by the Arkansas Razorbacks, but the Pirates would win their first tournament game in fourteen years upon defeating the NC State Wolfpack in 2018's first round before being defeated by the Kansas Jayhawks in the Second Round. Following the graduation of starting seniors Khadeen Carrington, Ángel Delgado, Desi Rodriguez, and Ismael Sanogo, the Pirates would appear in their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament for the second time in program history in 2019. Led by the play of standout junior guard Myles Powell, the Pirates, at risk of missing the tournament sitting on a 16–12 overall and 7–9 Big East record, won their final two regular season games at home against 16th-ranked Marquette and 23rd-ranked Villanova and advanced to the Big East Final where they lost a rematch to Villanova by two points. Ultimately, they secured a #10 seed in the tournament following their performance down the stretch, and fell to the Wofford Terriers in a first round game in which Fletcher Magee would break Division I's all-time three-point scoring record. In November 2021, Seton Hall traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan to play the then #4 ranked Michigan Wolverines as part of the Big East-Big 10 Gavitt Games. Of note was that the game was the first time the two programs had met since the 1989 NCAA National Championship Game when Michigan beat Seton Hall by one on a controversial foul call. In the 2021 version, Seton Hall upset Michigan, making it the first time Seton Hall had won a road game against a non-conference AP top-five team in university history. They were 0–5 prior.[6]
The Pirates have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 19 times. Their combined record is 13–19. They were NIT champions in 1953 and 2024.
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