For the first time since the week of Jan. 30, 2001 the Seton Hall men's basketball team enters the top 25 national rankings.
"I don't really care," head coach Kevin Willard said. "I care about what's on the left side of the win loss column, I care about my players continuing to get better and playing well. I think for the fan base and for recruiting it's great."
The Pirates are ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll while receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
The ranking comes behind the Hall off to their best start since the 1992-93 season with a 14-2 overall record and a 3-1 record against Big East teams. It also comes with the team currently ranking third in the RPI while playing the second rated schedule in the country.
Their most recent victory came in a 66-57 defeat of the Providence Friars on the road, where the Pirates held a one point lead with 3:40 left in the game before going on a 9-0 to close out the game.
Leading the team is senior Herb Pope averaging a double-double a game with 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Behind him is senior Jordan Theodore scoring 15.9 points a game and 7.4 assists a game which is fourth best in the country. Sophomore Fuquan Edwin leads the nation with 3.2 steals per game while also contributing offensively with 14.1 points per game.
The Pirates return to the Prudential Center Tuesday to face the DePaul Blue Demons at 7p.m.
Stephen Valenti can be reached at stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu
