MAUI, Hawaii — Seton Hall arrived at the Maui Invitational as a 10.5-point underdog, a team predicted to finish in the bottom third of the Big East, and a presumed appetizer for No. 23 NC State on Feast Week’s opening Monday on the island of Maui.
Instead, the Pirates flipped the table, stole the silverware and walked out with an 85–74 stunner at the Lahaina Civic Center — an upset so clean it might’ve convinced a few beachgoers to wander inside and ask what, exactly, they just missed.
Seton Hall didn’t just win. The Pirates won by 11, more than double-covering the spread and improving to 6-0 in the process, becoming the first unranked team to beat a ranked squad this season. Yes, really.
They outplayed, out-defended and out-toughed an NC State team that entered 4-0 in Year 1 of the Will Wade Redemption Tour in Raleigh. The Wolfpack, projected as a top-third ACC squad with top-25 polish, walked into Maui looking ready to feast; instead, they got hit with a full Shaheen Holloway special — extra pressure, no substitutions for comfort.
KenPom lists NC State 32nd overall following the game, 21st in offense and 59th in defense, with Seton Hall sitting 73rd overall — elite on defense at 18th, but humming like a lawnmower offensively at 128th. But on this sunny Hawaiian afternoon, Seton Hall’s defense turned the Pack’s supposed offensive edge into myth.
The Pirates suffocated NC State early, clogging lanes like they were rerouting traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. Wade’s Wolfpack mustered only 33 first-half points, struggling to generate any rhythm while Seton Hall threw bodies, hands and whatever else was legal at every drive.
Then came the second half.
Seton Hall hung 50 points after the break, turning a tight matchup into a steady separation. The Pirates shot 52% from the field and 83% at the line. NC State managed 42% and 73% in those categories, a gap that ballooned as Seton Hall matched the Pack bucket for bucket — and then found more.
AJ Staton-McCray took over for Seton Hall, dropping 22 points and making plays every time Holloway barked for someone to “go win a possession.” On the other end, Ven-Allen Lubin delivered 16 points for NC State, doing everything he could to keep the Pack upright against one of the tougher defenses in college basketball this season.
Neither team exactly auditioned for Splash Brothers status, with Seton Hall going 7-for-22 from beyond the arc and NC State finishing 8-for-24. But the Pirates didn’t need a flamethrower; they needed grit, rotations, closeouts and a little Big East stubbornness. And they had every bit of it.
The Pack, to their credit, competed to the horn. Wade’s team didn’t quit, didn’t sulk and didn’t look like a group ready to bail on the plan. They just ran into a Seton Hall team that guarded like its life depended on it and played like this tournament still means what it always has on the island.
The blue blood branding and our beloved Bill Walton may not be in the Lahaina Civic Center this Feast Week, but it still matters to many of us.
With the win, the Pirates advance to face the winner of USC vs. Boise State on Tuesday, which at the time of writing, is coming down to the wire, as the Trojans and Broncos trade baskets.
NC State drops into the loser’s bracket, awaiting whichever team emerges from that same matchup looking equally frustrated.
Alright, it looks like USC is going to escape the grasps of Boise and survive, again, 70-67 in Game 2. The Trojans may be sloppy, but they sure do find a way!
Alright, back to Seton Hall and NC State…
And yes — the conference chatter begins now. Is the Big East better than expected again? Is the ACC struggling again? Are we all dramatically overreacting to one Feast Week afternoon in paradise?
Absolutely. But that’s what November basketball is for. It’s why we love it each and every Thanksgiving.
Because even with the bracket thinner than it used to be and the backdrop more fragile, the Maui Invitational still delivers. Every year. Every time. It brings surprises, chaos, and the occasional power-conference panic attack. It still radiates the warmth, pageantry and history that makes college hoops special.
And as long as the ball keeps bouncing in Lahaina, this event will remain one of the sport’s greatest treasures — a Thanksgiving tradition that refuses to lose its magic, blue blood branding and NIL $ or not.
What a fun start to Feast Week it has been on the island!
Check Out All EasySportz CBB Content Here!
College Basketball Daily Schedule
