Seton Hall will try to learn from a narrow escape before it heads to the Palestra to take on Charlotte on Monday in Philadelphia.
The Pirates (2-0) and 49ers (2-0) set up the neutral-site game at the famed venue nicknamed the Cathedral of College Basketball, though Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway wasn’t thrilled with the late start they were assigned. Penn, the Palestra’s usual occupants, will host Howard earlier in the day.
“Obviously it’s historic — it’s the Palestra and it’s big-time,” Holloway told reporters. “It’s a late game, though, on a Monday. What are we doing? It’ll be tough to get our fans down there — it’s tough to get them down the block (to the Prudential Center). But we’re looking forward to it, a good Charlotte team, but we’ve got to get better and we’re going to get better.”
Holloway was speaking after the Pirates defeated Long Island 67-60 on Thursday; Long Island stayed close the entire game and led 58-57 with about three minutes left before Seton Hall scored 10 of the final 12 points.
Seton Hall has shot just 43.3% overall and 32.5% from 3-point range through two games, but Roddie Anderson has taken the mantle as the go-to scorer. He has led the Pirates in scoring both games (15 against Saint Peter’s, 19 against Long Island) and has made 7 of 12 3-point tries.
In the frontcourt, Terry Copeland Jr., last year’s national junior college player of the year, has averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds so far on 7-of-8 shooting from the field.
Charlotte had a successful first week of the Wes Miller era, defeating Indiana State 78-70 on the road and Georgia State 77-67 at home.
Keyshuan Tillery has averaged 26.5 points over those games, ranking in the top 12 nationally entering Sunday’s action. He has made 9 of 16 from 3-point range.
Miller came to Charlotte after a five-year tenure at Cincinnati in which the Bearcats failed to make the NCAA Tournament. So far, so good for the former UNC Greensboro head coach and national champion as a guard for the Tar Heels.
“I want us to play really hard. I want us to play with a ton of toughness and edge and competitive energy,” Miller told Queen City News.
“I think if we can keep growing, each day, each week, then we can play our best basketball in February and March, and I’d like to see what that looks like if we can accomplish that one-day-at-a-time process of trying to become a great team.”
–Field Level Media
