Seton Hall and Southern California picked up significant results to begin the Maui Invitational.

Building on those successes will be paramount when the Pirates and Trojans meet in Tuesday's semifinals of the tournament at Lahaina, Hawaii.

Seton Hall (6-0) recorded an 85-74 victory over No. 23 North Carolina State on Monday, handing the Wolfpack their first loss.

"A good win for us, a good win for our progress," Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said. "But you can't get happy."

Southern California (5-0) won its second close game in a row, edging Boise State 70-67 in the first round behind Rodney Rice's 27 points. The Trojans enjoyed a 33-15 edge in 3-point scoring, with Rice connecting four times from beyond the arc.

Coach Eric Musselman said the Trojans expect a physically grueling match

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