But Zegarowski’s unrelenting competitiveness, on display for all 39 minutes of his 23-point masterpiece Saturday, seems to have filtered into the fabric of this team this season.

When they take the floor, they expect to win. When they take a hit, they answer right back. Whatever it takes. Zegarowski embodied that Saturday.

“As soon as the game started, when he was hitting all those shots, I already knew,” junior Ty-Shon Alexander said. “He was going to go crazy this whole game.”

Zegarowski stood in a defensive stance at the top of the key to begin almost every Seton Hall possession, often shouting at the leery Pirates (21-9, 13-5), who walked the ball up the floor in an attempt to dictate the flow of the game.

He made eight of his 10 field-goal attempts, including all five of his 3s. He delivered dimes and rose up for rebounds. He crashed to the floor for a steal early in the second half, then set his feet for a charge down the stretch.

“To be honest with you, Zegarowski played unbelievable,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “If he plays like that, I don’t know if anybody can beat them.”