Following a disastrous start to the season, Seton Hall found its footing with two wins at the Charleston Classic.
The Pirates have had a week off to chart their next steps before Monmouth pays a visit Saturday to Newark, N.J.
Seton Hall (4-3) narrowly beat Saint Peter’s to begin the season, then lost by a point to both Fordham and Hofstra. After holding Wagner to a mere 28 points in a victory on Nov. 16, the team headed to Charleston and placed third.
The Pirates beat VCU in overtime, lost 76-60 to Vanderbilt and then hung on for a 63-61 defeat of Florida Atlantic last Sunday.
“We don’t play until Saturday, we got a couple days. I gotta see what lineups work best together,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway told reporters at the time. “But happy to come out 2-1 … Florida Atlantic is really good, VCU is really good, so to beat those two teams, it’s good for us.”
The Pirates have the No. 4 scoring defense in Division I (55.7 points per game allowed) and Chaunce Jenkins leads the offense with 14.1 points per game. Question marks dot the rest of the transfer-heavy roster, and Seton Hall ranks near the bottom of Division I at 58.1 points per game.
In this all-New Jersey matchup, the Pirates get to face one of seven remaining winless teams in Monmouth (0-8).
The Hawks played at a multi-team event hosted by Stephen F. Austin and lost their three games by 10, five and 10 points. Jack Collins led Monmouth in scoring for the first time this season with 25 points in a 71-61 loss to Presbyterian.
“I was so happy for Jack Collins that he played like we all know he can,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “We have to get tougher and there’s some things that we know we can fix. We just have to keep working together to get our chemistry.”
Abdi Bashir Jr. leads Monmouth with 19.5 points per game. In his last game against a power-conference foe, he dropped 38 points on Rutgers with a program-record 10 3-pointers in a 98-81 loss on Nov. 15. Bashir scored 30 against Stephen F. Austin but was held to 0-for-6 shooting and four points the next day against Presbyterian.
When Seton Hall hosted Monmouth last year, the Hawks made the Pirates work for a 70-61 win. Isaiah Coleman, one of Seton Hall’s few returning players this year, had a breakout game that day with 17 points.
–Field Level Media
