Report: Seton Hall sophomore benched, may not play vs. Villanova

By foxsports
Published

Seton Hall picked up its seventh straight win -- second consecutive Big East win -- on Saturday afternoon with a narrow 78-74 win over DePaul.

The Pirates played the entire second half without Desi Rodriguez, who was benched by head coach Kevin Willard, according to Jeremy Schneider of NJ.com.

The 6-foot-6 breakout star exited the game at the 5:27 mark and did not return.

"When I took Desi out at the 5:27 mark right before the (media timeout), he didn't agree with the decision. He said some things that my players just don't say. So that was simple as that, he wasn't going to play again," Willard said. "So Veer (Singh) gets the opportunity, he might get the opportunity for a while."

Willard told reporters after the game that he has not decided if Rodriguez will play on Wednesday at No. 16 Villanova.

Rodriguez has been one of the more improved players in all of the Big East, averaging 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In the conference opening win over Marquette on Wednesday night, Rodriguez recorded a career-high 19 points. And all season long, he has added to his highlight reel.

Rodriguez scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds in a season-low 12 minutes.

The Pirates and Wildcats tip at 7 p.m. on Wednesday on FS1.

(h/t NJ.com)