Seton Hall Basketball

The unranked Seton Hall Pirates upset the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines 67-65 on Tuesday at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

Michigan had a chance to tie or win the game down 66-64 with 10 seconds remaining.

Wolverines forward Terrance Williams II missed a long-distance two from the top of the key with eight-tenths of a second left, but Seton Hall guard Jared Rhoden was called for a shooting foul.

Williams missed the first free throw and made the second. Off the inbounds pass, Pirates guard Bryce Aiken was fouled with two-tenths of a second remaining and made one of two free throws to end the scoring.

Michigan then didn't have enough time to get a shot off, capping the upset.

Rhoden led the Pirates with 16 points. Tray Jackson and Aiken each scored 13 off the bench. Jackson made all five of his shots, three of which were three-pointers.

Wolverines big man Hunter Dickinson led all scorers with 18 points.

Michigan guard Eli Brooks stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Backcourt mate DeVante' Jones had an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

The Wolverines led by as many as 10 in the second half and held a 55-46 edge with 8:49 remaining, but Seton Hall responded with an 11-2 run capped by an Aiken three with 4:35 left to tie this one at 57:

Seton Hall ended up taking the lead for good on a pair of Aiken free throws with 33 seconds left for a 65-64 advantage.

Eli Brooks missed a jumper on the other end, and Pirates guard Myles Cale responded with one of two free-throw makes after a foul, leading to the final sequence.

The 3-0 Pirates will now play Ohio State next Monday in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. The 2-1 Wolverines will visit UNLV in the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Former Seton Hall basketball player Myles Powell is suing the school, his former head coach Kevin Willard and team physician Tony Testa for allegedly misleading him about the severity of a knee injury and allowing him to play with the injury, per Nicholas Katzban of NorthJersey.com.

Powell is claiming in the lawsuit that the school, Willard and Testa were negligent in allowing him to play on a torn meniscus in his right knee, and that by doing so he further damaged the cartilage and hurt his chances at an NBA career. 

Powell said in the lawsuit he suffered an injury in the second game of the season, though Testa told him it was only an ankle issue and he could play without further injuring it. 

But he claims that his right knee began to hurt more and more as the season progressed, though he said Testa maintained that it was nothing more than a bone bruise. Powell said Testa treated the injury with medication to alleviate the pain. 

He claims that he should have sat out the rest of the 2019 season after suffering the meniscus tear. He believes Testa misdiagnosed and mistreated the injury.

He also blames his former head coach, Willard, alleging he was "aware of the advice he was given by Testa and that professionals associated with the NBA had 'suspected or discovered' his untreated injury, ruining his chances in that year’s lottery," per Katzban.

Along with negligence, he's also accusing Willard and Seton Hall of "breaching their contract with him and obligation to exclude him from gameplay and practice that would worsen his health."

Powell played four seasons for Seton Hall, averaging 17.5 points and 2.3 assists per game in his college career. He was a first-team All-America selection and the Big East Player of the Year in his 2019-20 senior campaign, posting 21 points per game. 

He went undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft and signed with the New York Knicks, though he never played for the team. He instead joined their G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, playing in 13 games for the team last season and averaging 17.8 points per game. 

Former Harvard guard Bryce Aiken announced Thursday he will play for Seton Hall next season as a graduate transfer:

Aiken is from nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey and was considered the No. 3 player in the state out of high school, per 247Sports' composite rankings.  

The 6'0" player averaged 16.7 points per game this past season with the Crimson but a foot injury limited him to just seven games. The injury gives him the ability to play games in a fifth collegiate season after entering school in 2016.

Staying on the court has been a problem for Aiken throughout his career, dealing with knee problems the previous two seasons. It's limited him to just 39 total games over the past three campaigns.

He's been a difference-maker when healthy, however, averaging at least 14 points per game in each of his four years in school. He was at his best in 2018-19 when he averaged 22.2 points per game, which would have tied for the best in the Ivy League if he played enough games to qualify.

The guard also knocked down 39.8 percent of his three-point looks that year and is a 34.7 career shooter from the outside.

This made him a hot commodity on the transfer market, especially considering he will be eligible to play next season. He eventually chose Seton Hall over Maryland, Michigan and Iowa State.

"[I] was going back and forth between Maryland and Seton Hall, I really love Maryland. But ultimately my heart just chose to stay home," Aiken told Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. "I followed my heart this time around and I knew where I wanted to be for my final year and it was important for me to be home and be able to share this experience with my friends and my family, along with the state of New Jersey."

Seton Hall is coming off a big 2019-20 season with a 21-9 overall record while earning a share of the Big East regular-season title with a 13-5 conference record.

Aiken can help replace seniors Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight as the squad tries to remain a top contender next season.

Oregon Ducks freshman Lok Wur issued a public apology after tripping Seton Hall Pirates star Myles Powell from the bench during Wednesday night's game. 

"I want to apologize to Myles Powell and the Seton Hall team for my actions on the bench Wednesday night," Wur said in a statement Thursday, per ESPN.com. "I acted in an unsportsmanlike manner. I am truly sorry for that and regret my actions."

Late in the first half, Powell was tripped up after knocking down a three-pointer near the Ducks bench:

Powell managed to stay on his feet, but it was clear the Seton Hall star felt the act was intentional. No foul was assessed on the play.

Powell had 10 points in the first half as the Pirates took a 34-30 lead into the break. The senior guard finished the game with 32 points, though it was not enough as the Ducks rallied late for a 71-69 victory. 

He also had to be helped from the court following the game, but Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said after the game that Powell was dealing with cramps rather than an injury suffered as a result of the trip.

Wur did not play in the contest, nor has he made an appearance through any of Oregon's first six outings.

With Seton Hall Pirates star Myles Powell feeling it during Wednesday night's game, one Oregon Ducks player appeared to go to extraordinary lengths to slow down the 2018 Big East Most Improved Player of the Year.

After Powell knocked down a three-pointer in the corner late in the first half, a player on the Ducks bench appeared to trip the Pirates guard:

No foul of any type was called on the play.

Powell scored 10 points in the first half while helping Seton Hall take a 34-30 lead into the break. He came out of the locker room ready to play, draining four triples in the first four minutes of the second half, including three in a 60-second span.  

Seton Hall men's basketball program has been hit with sanctions by the NCAA stemming from a tampering case that began in 2016.

Per Tom Canavan of the Associated Press, Seton Hall received three years of probation, lost one scholarship for the 2020-21 academic year and will have limited recruiting over the next two seasons. 

As part of the sanctions, Seton Hall received a fine of $5,000 fine plus one percent of the annual men's basketball budget. Head coach Kevin Willard is required to attend an NCAA rules seminar next year.

Per Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press, the sanctions stem from former Pirates associate head coach Shaheen Holloway tampering with Taurean Thompson's transfer from Syracuse to Seton Hall in 2017. 

Holloway, who was hired as head coach at St. Peter's in April 2018, was suspended for four games, including the first three of the 2019-20 regular season. 

Seton Hall announced on Oct. 29 it suspended Willard two games, including the season opener against Wagner on Nov. 5. 

The Pirates began this season ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25. They won their first two games before dropping a close 76-73 matchup against No. 3 Michigan State on Thursday. 

Seton Hall has suspended men's basketball coach Kevin Willard for his team's exhibition matchup against Misericordia and the Pirates' regular-season opener against Wagner for alleged transfer tampering, per Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press and Zach Braziller of the New York Post. 

"The university-issued suspension is in response to an NCAA investigation into allegations of transfer tampering, sources confirmed," Braziller wrote. "Sources told The Post the player in question is current junior forward Taurean Thompson, who transferred from Syracuse two years ago."

Seton Hall issued a statement, per Carino:

“Seton Hall University has been working collaboratively with the NCAA enforcement staff to address an infraction within our men’s basketball program."

"Our department has been proactive in our review and has been fully cooperating with the NCAA enforcement staff. As head coach, Coach Willard assumes responsibility for the program, including this underlying violation, and has agreed to sit out the October 29 exhibition contest and the November 5 game.  This matter is still in review, and as a result, we will refrain from commenting any further until it is resolved. Seton Hall is and always will be committed to a culture of compliance, and we will continue to work diligently to ensure it."

Carino also wrote that the NCAA is expected to rule on whether the two-game suspension will suffice "in the near future."

Thompson, the player in question, transferred from Syracuse to Seton Hall in 2017 after playing one season for the Orange. He sat out the 2017-18 campaign and averaged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game last year. The 6'10" forward has two years of eligibility remaining.

Willard, 44, is entering his ninth season at Seton Hall's head coach after leading Iona for three years. He's guided the Pirates to four straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2016-19 and a Big East title in 2016.

Seton Hall enters the 2019-20 season with the highest expectations ever in the Willard era. The Pirates sit 12th in the preseason Associated Press poll, and Big East coaches picked them to win the conference.

They return their top three scorers from last year, including Myles Powell, who led the Big East with 23.1 points per contest.

Grant Billmeier will coach in Willard's place, although the Pirates' leader will still be allowed to run practices. 

Billmeier, who played for Seton Hall from 2003-2007, has been on Willard's staff for all but one season in his Pirates tenure.

He took the reins for the Pirates' game against Misericordia on Tuesday and will do the same against Wagner on Tues., Nov. 5 at home. Willard is eligible to return for his team's Sat., Nov. 9 game against Stony Brook.