Kevin Willard guided Seton Hall to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2016-19, and it would've been five straight if a global pandemic hadn't led to the season being cut short in 2020. In other words, he's been running a consistently good Big East program for a while now, with last season's weird year being a lone and understandable exception. But, that said, not many expected the Pirates to win Tuesday's road game against a Michigan team picked to win the Big Ten.
Willard did, though.
"This is where we are as a program," Willard said following Seton Hall's 67-65 upset of the Wolverines, who entered the game ranked fifth in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. "I expected us to win this game. This wasn't a shock to me."
Despite Willard's well-placed confidence, Seton Hall was an 8.5-point underdog on the road against the reigning Big Ten champions. So if nothing else, oddsmakers were a bit surprised by the result, which doubled as the Pirates' first win over a top-five opponent since they beat Temple in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Jared Rhoden finished with a team-high 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Michigan's Caleb Houstan, a five-star freshman and projected lottery pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, missed eight of the nine shots he attempted and was limited to just four points.
With the win, Seton Hall jumped to No. 16 in Wednesday morning's updated Top 25 And 1. Michigan is down to No. 17 -- three spots behind BYU, which spent Tuesday night blasting Oregon 81-49. Mark Pope's Cougars going from unranked to No. 14 caused Ohio State, Tennessee, Maryland, Auburn, UConn, Illinois, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech, USC and Florida to all be pushed down one spot each, though no fault of their own. That means Michael White's Gators are now the first team out of the Top 25 And 1.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Sallis got 16 points off the bench in Monday's 84-57 win over Alcorn State. The Zags' next game is Friday against Bellarmine. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Johnny Juzang finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Monday's 100-79 win over Long Beach State. The Bruins' next game is Wednesday against North Florida. | -- | 16-17 |
| 3 |  | Ochai Agbaji finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Friday's 88-62 win over Tarleton State. The Jayhawks' next game is Thursday against Stony Brook. | -- | 23-11 |
| 4 |  | Brandon Slater made four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points in Tuesday's 100-81 win over Howard. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 18-16 |
| 5 |  | Tyler Harris made four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in Tuesday's 90-74 win over Saint Louis. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Western Kentucky. | 1 | 22-10 |
| 6 |  | Trevor Keels finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Tuesday's 92-52 win over Gardner-Webb. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday against Lafayette. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 7 |  | Texas allowed Gonzaga to shoot 54.2% from the field in Saturday's 86-74 loss at The Kennel. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Northern Colorado. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 8 |  | Kendall Brown finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 89-60 win over Nicholls. The Bears' next game is Wednesday against Central Arkansas. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 9 |  | Connor Vanover finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 86-69 win over Gardner-Webb. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Northern Iowa. | 1 | 16-17 |
| 10 |  | Trevion Williams finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 96-52 win over Wright straight. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | 1 | 34-5 |
| 11 |  | Jaden Shackelford finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 73-68 win over South Alabama. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday against Oakland. | 1 | 25-12 |
| 12 |  | Marcus Sasser made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in Tuesday's 67-47 win over Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Monday against Butler. | 1 | 32-5 |
| 13 |  | Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds in Tuesday's 80-55 win over Mount St. Mary's. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Ohio. | 1 | 23-10 |
| 14 |  | Alex Barcello made four 3-pointers and finished with 25 points in Tuesday's 81-49 win over Oregon. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Central Methodist. | NR | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 94-83 win at College of Charleston. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Purdue. | -- | 29-8 |
| 16 |  | Jared Rhoden finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 67-65 win at Michigan. The Pirates' next game is Monday against Ohio State. | NR | 25-12 |
| 17 |  | Michigan missed 12 of the 15 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 67-65 loss to Seton Hall. The Wolverines' next game is Friday against UNLV. | 12 | 8-24 |
| 18 |  | E.J. Liddell finished with 13 points and four assists in Monday's 89-58 win over Bowling Green. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday at Xavier. | 1 | 22-14 |
| 19 |  | Olivier Nkamhoua finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 94-62 win over East Tennessee State. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Villanova. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 20 |  | Fatts Russell finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 68-57 win over Vermont. The Terrapins' next game is Wednesday against George Mason. | 1 | 16-17 |
| 21 |  | Jabari Smith finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 93-65 win over Louisiana Monroe. The Tigers' next game is Friday against USF. | 1 | 27-8 |
| 22 |  | Adama Sanogo finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 89-54 win over Coppin State. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday against LIU Brooklyn. | 1 | 37-3 |
| 23 |  | Illinois committed 26 turnovers in Monday's 67-66 loss at Marquette. The Illini's next game is Monday against Cincinnati. | 1 | 29-9 |
| 24 |  | Kyle Lofton finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 69-60 win over Canisius. The Bonnies' next game is Thursday against Boise State. | 1 | 20-13 |
| 25 |  | Storm Murphy made four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in Monday's 65-39 win over Radford. The Hokies' next game is Thursday against St. Francis (Pa.). | 1 | 19-15 |
| 26 |  | Boogie Ellis finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists in Tuesday's 78-61 win at Florida Gulf Coast. The Trojans' next game is Monday against Dixie State. | 1 | 15-18 |
