Hall Squares Off with St. John's Wednesday at The Rock (FS1, 7 PM)

[Halldan1]

Pirates look to move to 4-4 in BIG EAST play in first of two meetings with the Red Storm

Jan. 26, 2016

Game 20 // BIG EAST Game 8 // Home Game 11
Seton Hall (13-6, 3-4 BIG EAST) vs. St. John's (7-13, 0-7 BIG EAST)

Date Wednesday, Jan. 26 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Location Prudential Center | Newark, N.J.
Tickets BUY NOW! | Upcoming Home Games | Pre-Paid Parking
Tune in FS1 | FOX Sports GO | Seton Hall Radio (PSN) | Sirius 119 XM 202
Links Live Stats | @SetonHallMBB on Twitter | #HALLin
Notes Media Central | Seton Hall Notes

The Tip

Tune In:Tim Brando and Donny Marshall will have the call for the national broadcast on FS1 with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m. The Seton Hall radio team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin can be heard on AM970 The Answer (WNYM) with a simulcast available online at PirateSportsNet.tv as well as Sirius channel 119 and XM channel 202.
Two longtime rivals hit the hardwood yet again on Wednesday when Seton Hall hosts St. John's in the first of two scheduled regular season meetings.

The Pirates (13-6, 3-4 BIG EAST) are coming off a stretch in which they squared off with three consecutive AP Top-12 opponents and following a narrow road loss at then-No. 5 Xavier, SHU returns home where the squad owns an 8-2 record this season.

Sophomore Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) is coming off arguably his best effort in a Seton Hall uniform as he led the way with a career-high 21 points and added eight rebounds against the Musketeers. Steady production from Rodriguez has been a key component of the Pirates' success this season as the athletic wing adds another scoring threat in addition to Brookyln natives Khadeen Carrington and Isaiah Whitehead who have comprised the top-scoring backcourt in the BIG EAST during league play.

Both Carrington and Whitehead have scored in double-figures inn all seven conference contests but Saturday's setback was just the third for The Hall in 12 games in which Rodriguez has totaled 10 or more points.

The three NYC products are pillars of a young core that has assumed the spotlight for SHU this year and while the Pirates have excelled on the break with the sophomores at the controls, Wednesday's matchup will be defined by transition of another kind.

Both squads have undergone a drastic transformation over the past year as Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) is the lone player from either side that started in a 78-67 Pirates victory during the Red Storm's last visit to Prudential Center who is in line to start tomorrow.

The changing of the guard has helped The Hall climb into the thick of the postseason race while St. John's continues to find its way under first-year head coach Chris Mullin.

St. John's (7-13, 0-7 BIG EAST) has dropped its first seven BIG EAST games and lost 10 in-a-row overall but Mullin helms a young squad of his own that is highlighted by freshman floor general Federico Mussini who has asserted himself as one of the top rookies in the league.

Mussini and impact transfers Durand Johnson (Pittsburgh) and Ron Mvouika (Missouri State) have been consistent sources of offense for the new-look STJ side and the team has maintained its identity as one of the most aggressive defensive teams in the conference.

What's at stake in Wednesday's mid-season showdown? St. John's is looking to get on the board in BIG EAST play while Seton Hall aims to add to a postseason resume that has the Pirates among the top-50 in the latest RPI rankings and has seen The Hall post an 11-1 record against teams outside the RPI top-100.

 

[Halldan1]

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Tickets
Tickets to upcoming home games are available and can be purchased online through Ticketmaster, by calling the Seton Hall Athletics Ticket Office at (973) 275-HALL (4255) or visiting the Prudential Center Box Office on gameday.

Pirate Points
- Desi Rodriguez delivered a career-high 21 points to become the third Pirate to hit the 20-point mark this season but The Hall came up short in its bid to score a marquee road win at No. 5 Xavier Saturday, falling 84-76. The game was the third-straight against an AP Top-12 opponent for SHU after the team got past No. 12 Providence (81-72, 1/16) on the road before being clipped by No. 4 Villanova, 72-71, in its most recent home appearance (1/20). Seton Hall had not played three-straight AP Top-25 foes since the 2012-13 season when the team faced off with No. 6 Syracuse, No. 17 Marquette and No. 10 Louisville in a span of eight days, Feb. 16-23.

- Following the challenging stretch, The Hall still boasts the fourth-best RPI in the BIG EAST (44) behind only the three aforementioned teams in Villanova (2), Xavier (5) and Providence (21) - all of whom cracked the top-10 in Monday’s AP Top-25 poll. The Pirates boast the second-best strength of schedule in the conference and own a trio of victories over current RPI Top-100 teams in Providence, Wichita State (RPI: 41) and Georgia (RPI: 61). SHU is also rated among the top-50 squads in the nation by KenPom.com (42) and the ESPN Basketball Power Index (47)

- Backcourt stars Khadeen Carrington and Isaiah Whitehead also helped carry the load offensively against the Musketeers, finishing with 19 and 17 points respectively. Both members of the Brooklyn-born duo have scored in double-figures in all seven BIG EAST games and enter Wednesday’s contest as the second-highest scoring tandem in the league during conference play. Carrington ranks fifth with 17.1 ppg since the start of the BIG EAST schedule while Whitehead is tied for eighth at 16.7 ppg. Only Providence’s Ben Bentil (21.7 ppg, 1st) and Kris Dunn (17.7 ppg, 3rd) have scored at a higher rate. For the season, Carrington and Whitehead have combined for 30+ points 12 times, including each of the last three games

- Whitehead has put his length and athleticism to good use at the defensive end as well, swatting away shots at a rate that places him among the elite shot-blocking guards in the nation. Whitehead rejected three shots against the Musketeers - his sixth game with 2+ blk this season - and now ranks 14th in the league and first among guards with 1.1 blocks/game. Nationally, he’s tied for the ninth-highest blocks per game average among guards and is second among high-major backcourt players - trailing only Craig Sword of Mississippi State who has 18 swats in 20 games to 19 in 21 appearances for Whitehead.

- In his sophomore season and first as the team’s primary point guard, the former McDonald’s All-American has also developed into a well-rounded floor general. His 17-point, five assist effort against Xavier marked the eighth time this year that he has recorded at least 15 points and five assists in the same game.

- As a team, the Pirates finished with more assists (15) than turnovers (13) against the Musketeers, doing so for the second-straight game after totaling 14 dimes and a season-low six giveaways against No. 4 Villanova. The two performances mark the second time this season That SHU’s assist totals have out-paced its turnover numbers in consecutive outings and the first since wins over Troy (15 A / 9 TO) and Saint Peter’s (14 A / 13 TO).

- SHU also continued to excel on the offensive boards against what is the BIG EAST’s top overall rebounding team in Xavier, finishing with 18 offensive boards, just one off a season-high 19 recorded at George Washington on December 2. The Pirates lead the conference with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game during league play and after totaling 16 second chance points on Saturday, SHU has recorded double-digit points on second opportunities 15 times this season.
In two meetings last year, The Hall averaged 15.0 offensive rebounds and totaled 27 second chance points.

- Senior Derrick Gordon continued to provide a vital bench presence for The Hall, finishing with six points, six rebounds and four assists. Primarily a reserve, Gordon ranks 30th in the BIG EAST with 9.6 ppg and has recorded 3+ assists four times. Three of his five double-digit scoring performances have also come since the beginning of conference play and the Pirates are 4-1 when he scores at least 10 points.

- The Seton Hall Athletics Department is saddened by the loss of SHU Athletics and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Bobby Wanzer who passed away Saturday at his home in Pittsford, N.Y. Wanzer, who wore number 8 in his two seasons at The Hall is one of eight players in program history to have his number retired, The legendary shooter played for SHU during the 1942-43 and 1946-47 seasons due to the program’s hiatus during World War II, leading the Pirates to a 40-5 record that included a then-program record 24 wins in his final season. Wanzer went on to star for the NBA’s Rochester Royals, teaming with fellow Pirates Hall of Famers Bob Davies and Frank “Pep” Saul to lead the squad to a championship in 1951. Over a nine-year NBA career, Wanzer made five All-Star appearances and was named to the All-NBA Second Team three times - making his way into the Hall of Fame in 1987. He was 94.
Scouting St. John's
- Pittsburgh transfer Durand Johnson continued to shine in what has primarily been a reserve role, scoring 20 points off the bench as the Red Storm made a late push for their first BIG EAST win under head coach Chris Mullin against Marquette Sunday. Fifty second half points weren’t enough however in a 78-73 setback

- Standout freshman point guard Federico Mussini delivered 19 points, extending a run of form that has seen him emerge as one of the top rookies in the BIG EAST. Through his first seven BIG EAST games, Mussini is averaging 11.6 points and 2.6 assists, totals that rank third and second respectively among freshmen league-wide

- Though STJ has fallen in its first seven BIG EAST games to extend the team’s losing streak to 10 overall, the Red Storm remain one of the most disruptive defensive units in the conference. In league play, the Johnnies lead the BIG EAST with 5.7 blocked shots per game and are forcing opponents into 16.9 turnovers per game - 1.6 turnovers per game more than second-place Marquette (15.3). St. John’s has maintained its shot-blocking pace despite the absence of Yankuba Sima who was averaging 3.1 blocks per contest before sustaining a hand injury that has kept him out of the last four contests

- The St. John’s season is defined by a period of transition as following the coaching change, 14 players listed on the 2014-15 roster departed from the program, making way for a total of 11 newcomers. In all, returnees Amar Alibegovic (So., F), Felix Balamou (Sr., G) and Christian Jones (RJr., F) accounted for just 90 total points last season or 3.8 percent of the team’s total scoring.

- The Red Storm last won on December 13 - getting past Syracuse, 84-72 at Madison Square Garden. The victory was the last in what was a three-game winning streak and capped a five-game stretch in which STJ went 4-1. Mussini scored a team-high 17 points in the win over the Orange and has finished with at least a share of the team-lead in scoring in six of the squad’s seven victories

- St. John’s has taken four of the last five in the series with The Hall after the Pirates had won four of the previous five leading into the current stretch. Wednesday’s meeting will be the 94th between the two programs - the fourth-highest total against a single opponent in Seton Hall history

Pirate Men's Basketball Home

http://www.shupirates.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/012616aab.html

 

[Halldan1]

Derrick Gordon ‏@flash2gordon Jan 24 South Orange, NJ

This is the time we become even stronger and tighter as a group.Losing back to back games.We grow and learn from our mistakes moving forward

 

[Halldan1]

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