The Bronx’s Desi Rodriguez Helped Seton Hall Upset Villanova, Capture Big East Crown

Villanova (29-5), the top seed in the Big East Tournament, was defeated by third seed and the nationally unranked Seton Hall Pirates (24-8), 69-67, on Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden.

Whitehead led in scoring with 26. Desi Rodriguez  scored 12 and Derrick Gordon with 10 points also scored in double digits.

Desi Rodriguez was born in the Bronx but switched high school to join his close friend Whitehead at Abraham Lincoln. Whitehead was the Hall’s leading scorer this year at 18.2 points per game. Carrington, 14.8, and Rodriguez, 12.5, also averaged in double figures in scoring.

Although both teams will be in the NCAA National Tournament that begins later this week, the win is still a prestigious honor. The Pirates had not won the Big East title since 1993. The Wildcats of Villanova were winners in 12 of their past 13 contests and the Pirates had been successful in 11 of their last 13 games.

The contest was the third between the two this year, both of which had been won by the Wildcats. The Wildcats were victorious by nine in the first contest, 81-72, but won the second by only a single point, 72-71. Isaiah Whitehead, the Dave Gavitt Trophy recipient as the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament explained why the Pirates players were not cowed by the past record.

“It doesn’t matter who we play. We’re up for the challenge,” he said.

After the game, coach Jay Wright of Villanova, said, “Great college basketball game. [It was] just awesome to be a part of it. The Garden was rocking. You know we got beat by a team that played better than us tonight. They played a great first half. We played a great second half, and then down the stretch, they made the plays, and we didn’t. Some of the reasons we didn’t is because they made some great defensive plays.”

The relative inexperience of the five sophomores who started for Seton Hall did not prevent them from taking an early lead. A 17-8 scoring in mid-way through the first half provided the Pirates with their largest lead of the contest, 37-23, at 3:35. The first half concluded with the Pirates ahead by double figures, 40-29.

The Wildcats exhibited the reason for their high ranking this season by how they reciprocated in the second half. A 17-4 scoring rampage excited the large number of fans and cut the double digit lead to a tied score of 50 with 9:21 remaining. The fifth and final knotted score at 67 came with 18 seconds on the clock as Whitehead scored on a layup. The tie was broken by his free throw. Villanova missed its final two attempts to score and the Pirates and supporters celebrated on the floor of the “Mecca of Basketball.”

The All-Tournament Team was comprised of Khadeen Carrington and Ismael Sanogo of Seton Hall, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins of Villanova and Trevon Bluitt of Xavier. All six honorees will be on the national stage this week when the tournament begins.