Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball

History

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. Seton Hall became a charter member of the Big East Conference in 1979, where they are still a member to this day.

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. 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. Seton Hall then hired Kevin Willard for the 2010–11 season.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Pirates have appeared in the NCAA tournament 14 times.

Their combined record is 16–14.

NIT results

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.

Notable players and coaches

In 2016, while playing for the Pirates, Derrick Gordon became the first openly gay man to play in the March Madness tournament.

Professional players

Pirates in the NBA

31 Pirates have played at least one game in the NBA.

Pirates in international leagues

Myles Cale, in the Liga ACB

Khadeen Carrington, in the Israeli Premier Basketball League

KC Ndefo, in the Greek Elite League

Desi Rodriguez, in the Israeli Premier Basketball League

Isaiah Whitehead, in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Dylan Addae-Wusu, in the Polish Basketball League

Awards and honors

Individual Player honors

Consensus First Team All-Metropolitan

All-time career leaders

Lists are accurate through the 2024–25 season.