Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The Seton Hall Pirates will attempt to build off a pair of victories over ranked opponents when they visit the Xavier Musketeers in a Big East Conference matchup at Cintas Center on Wednesday evening.
Four days after knocking off No. 15 St. John's on New Year's Eve, the Pirates handed sixth-ranked Villanova its first loss of the season. The consecutive upsets catapulted the squad from unranked to No. 19 in the country.
Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points and came up with a steal late in overtime as Seton Hall earned a 66-61 win over the Wildcats. Khadeen Carrington had a career-high 17 points off the bench and the Pirates limited Villanova to 31.0 percent shooting.
Carrington was fouled and sunk two free throws with 22.5 seconds left in OT to put Seton Hall ahead 64-61, and after Gibbs forced a Ryan Arcidiacono turnover, Jaren Sina made two foul shots to seal the win.
The Pirates are 12-2 overall with both losses coming on the road. Gibbs has shown to be one of the more prolific scorers in the Big East to this point, as he is shooting 47.7 percent from the floor overall and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc in netting 16.6 ppg. He also paces the Pirates with 52 assists and 18 steals.
Freshman Isaiah Whitehead, who averaged 11.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over his first 11 games, is still sidelined with a stress fracture. Brandon Mobley will take on more of a role in his absence, as he is logging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Xavier fell to 10-4 on the season after dropping a 71-68 decision to DePaul on Saturday. Trevon Bluiett notched a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards, while Myles Davis' 14 points provided a spark off the bench for the Musketeers, who were coming off a 17-point win over Georgetown.
With the score tied at 66-66 down the stretch, DePaul scored five points at the free throw line and limited Xavier to 1-of-6 shooting from the floor. Dee Davis had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his last-second, 3- point field goal try came up just short.
Xavier leads the Big East in scoring offense (79.9 ppg), assists (17.4), field goal percentage (.498) and 3-point percentage (.392). The Musketeers boast a plus-13.1 scoring margin and are plus-6.1 on the boards. Bluiett and Matt Stainbrook lead the team is scoring at 13.1 and 12.1 ppg, respectively. Stainbrook is also pulling down 7.3 rpg, while Davis and Remy Abell are both averaging about 10 ppg.
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