Norfolk State Norfolk St/Seton Hall Seton Hall Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Freshman Eddie Griffin had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in what is believed to be the first triple-double in Seton Hall history before leaving the No. 8 Pirates' 97-87 victory over Norfolk State on Monday night with a leg injury.

But on Tuesday, Griffin was diagnosed with a strained tendon in his right knee The results of an MRI determined that there was no damage to the ligaments or cartilage.

Griffin, the Pirates' 6-foot-9, 212-pound forward, will undergo daily treatment for the injury. His status for the Illinois game on Saturday is day to day.

The injury, which occurred when he attempted to score on an alley-oop pass from Ty Shine with 1:04 remaining, was preliminarily diagnosed as a sprained right knee.

"I'm really concerned," Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker said following the game. "Because you're talking about a great kid who had done everything we've asked of him and played so well.

"He's all right; he'll be OK. He's a player," said freshman point guard Andre Barrett on Monday night, who had 10 points and 12 assists.

Griffin has become an impact player for the Pirates, leading the team with 22.2 points per game. Seton Hall, which plays at No. 9 Illinois on Saturday, can ill afford to lose Griffen for an extended amount of time.

"If we don't have Eddie Griffin tonight, we lose," Amaker said. "And if we play like this against Illinois, I think we can all predict the outcome."

Darius Lane added 16 points for Seton Hall, which last opened a season 5-0 in 1989.

Cornelius Roberts had 22 for the Spartans (1-3), and Terrance Winston added 20.

Seton Hall started slowly and trailed the Spartans 21-19 until midway through the first half when Griffin had five points during a 12-0 run.

Shine started the run and put the Pirates ahead for good with his 3-pointer at 10:46. Charles Manga's dunk on a pass from Lane capped the run, and gave Seton Hall a 31-21 lead.

Norfolk State pulled to 64-54 on Winston's 3-pointer early in the second half. But Seton Hall iced it with a 16-3 run to take a commanding 80-57 lead.

With the game seemingly wrapped up, Seton Hall got sloppy in the closing minutes and allowed the Spartans to pull to 93-87 before holding on for the victory.

"I'm very happy with the way we played," Spartans coach Will Jones said. "We want to play big schools to try and get to their level of competition."

ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Norfolk State Clubhouse

Seton Hall Clubhouse