Men's Basketball To Host Columbia, Sunday

COLUMBIA at SETON HALL GAME NOTES (11/16)

SETON HALL STATUS:

The Pirates are coming off an 88-61 opening night victory over Saint Francis (N,Y.) on Friday.  Seton Hall had five players score in double figures as the Pirates took their season-opener for the fourth straight year.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led the Pirates with 23 points.  Junior Robert Mitchell, in his Pirates debut, scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. 

COLUMBIA STATUS:

The Lions defeated Fordham, 65-62, to open their season on Friday.  Three Lions scored in double-figures and two recorded double-doubles.  Columbia was led by Patrick Foley who led the team with 18 points.

THE MATCHUP:

It has been nine seasons since Columbia and Seton Hall met.  Columbia owns an 11-7 all-time lead in the series.  Seton Hall has won the last three games including a 60-58 decision in their last meeting on Dec. 13, 1999.

TV:

None

Radio:

WABC 770 AM

Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin

WSOU 89.5 FM

Chad Cooper & Andrew Magnotta

Web:

www.shupirates.com

Live Audio Stream

Officials:

Tim Higgins, Curtis Shaw and Clarence Armstrong

THIS WEEK IN THE FINAL FOUR SEASON OF 1988-89

(November 9 - November 16, 1988)

On November 9, 1988, the BIG EAST Conference released their preseason coaches poll which found the Pirates ranked seventh of nine teams.  Senior Ramon Ramos was the lone Pirate honoree.  He was named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team.

On November 12, 1988, the Pirates faced Club Cibona of Yugoslavia in exhibition action.

This season Seton Hall is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of the 1988-89 team’s magical run to the Final Four.

SCOUTING COLUMBIA

Columbia returns one starter from a team that went 14-15 last season and placed fourth in the Ivy League.  The Lions, however, started the 2008-09 season on a positive note by rallying from a five-point halftime deficit to win at Fordham, 65-62, on Friday.  Seniors Joe Bova and K.J. Matsui provide leadership to a young team.  Against Fordham, junior Patrick Foley led the led the Lions with 18 points.  Senior Jason Miller and sophomore Asenso Ampim recorded double-doubles.  Miller had 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  Ampim came off the bench to pick up 15 points and 14 rebounds.  Most impressively, Columbia out-rebounded Fordham, 52-27.

SETON HALL - COLUMBIA SERIES

Seton Hall will square off against Columbia for the first time since a 60-58 victory over the Lions on Dec. 13, 1999.  Overall, the Pirates have won only seven of 18 all-time meetings.  The Pirates have won the last three meetings, however, in this series and have not lost to the Lions since the 1985-86 season.

PIRATES vs. THE IVY LEAGUE

Seton Hall has an all-time record of 33-20 against current teams from the Ivy League.  Since a 61-59 loss at Princeton in 1987, the Pirates have gone 9-0 against Ivy League teams.  Last season, Seton Hall defeated Princeton in their only meeting with an Ivy League team, 65-55.  The only team Seton Hall has a losing record against is their opponent Friday night, Columbia.  The Pirates are 7-11 all-time against the Lions and have played them more than any other team in the league.  Despite the losing record, Seton Hall has won the last three contests with Columbia.

PIRATES OPEN SEASON; TAME TERRIERS

Seton Hall started slowly, but bounced back nicely to pound Saint Francis, 88-61, to open the 2008-09 season.  Five Pirates scored in double-figures.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led Seton Hall with 23 points and was 4-for-6 from three-point range.  Junior Robert Mitchell saw his first action in a Seton Hall uniform, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds.  Sophomore Mike Davis turned in a primetime performance with a career-high 13 points in only 17 minutes.  Seniors John Garcia and Paul Gause also scored in double-figures.  Seton Hall out-rebounded the Terriers, 38-to-32, out-shot them, 51.7%-to-35.1% and forced more turnovers, 18-to-15.

SUPER SOPH

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell scored 23 points against Saint Francis on Friday.  It was the seventh time in his young career that he’s reached the 20-point mark in a game.  Hazell was 4-for-6 from three-point range and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

ANOTHER CLOSE CALL

Seton Hall has had only one triple-double in its 104-year history, but another was nearly achieved on Friday.  Senior Paul Gause scored 10 points, tied his career-high with eight rebounds and set a career-high with eight assists.  Gause also turned in his signature five steals.

DAVIS SHOWING POTENTIAL

Although sophomore Mike Davis continues to battle through foul trouble, he is showing glimpses of his impressive offensive potential.  Against Saint Francis, Davis scored a career-high 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line.  Davis also grabbed four rebounds, all in 17 minutes.

SETON HALL’S “RUDY”

With just shy of five minutes remaining in regulation, Coach Bobby Gonzalez put walk-on Pete Peregrin into the game for the first time in his collegiate career.  Peregrin had just been named a walk-on that evening.  Despite a lack of practice, Peregrin played the rest of the game and scored two points on a pair of free throws.

REST IN SIGHT

Only Paul Gause logged more than 30 minutes of action Friday night vs. Saint Francis.  Thanks to the addition of Jordan Theodore, even ironman Eugene Harvey received some welcome rest.  Harvey played 24 productive minutes against the Terriers, more than 12 minutes less than his career average of 36.1 minutes per game.

MAN OF STEAL

Against Saint Francis, senior Paul Gause picked up five steals.  It is the 13th time he has recorded at least five steals in a game. 

WALK-ONS ANNOUNCED

Head Coach Bobby Gonzalez identified four Seton Hall students as walk-ons for the 2008-09 season.  Matt Cajuste, Darnell Gatling, Pete Peregrin and Jason Simmons have been added to the current roster and may play as soon as Sunday.

PIRATES SLAM MOLLOY IN SEASON TUNE-UP

Sophomore Brandon Walters scored 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Seton Hall’s, 101-68, win over Molloy College.  The Pirates had six players score in double-figures in the exhibition contest in Walsh Gym.   Junior Eugene Harvey had 19 points, four assists and five steals. Senior John Garcia netted 10 points and had 15 rebounds.

MARINATTO TO BE NEXT BIG EAST COMMISH

John Marinatto, who has served as senior associate commissioner of The BIG EAST Conference since 2002, has been named Commissioner of the conference.  The appointment was made by a unanimous vote of the league’s Chancellors and Presidents.  Marinatto will succeed Mike Tranghese, who is stepping down as Commissioner in June 2009. Marinatto will assume Commissioner’s duties on July 1, 2009.

PRESEASON BIG EAST PREDICTIONS

Seton Hall was predicted to finish 13th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference for the second consecutive season.    Connecticut is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody has been picked to repeat as Player of the Year.  Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Louisville’s Samardo Samuels were selected BIG EAST Co-Rookies of the Year.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Seton Hall is one of eight teams participating in the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 20-23.  The Pirates will play three games against some of the best competition in the country.  Other teams include Fairfield, Memphis, Missouri, USC, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech and Xavier.  Seton Hall’s only known competitor is USC, who they’ll face on Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.  All three games will be televised nationally on ESPNU.  If Seton Hall reaches the championship game, it will be seen on ESPN2.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP EXPANDS TO ALL 16

In 2009, the BIG EAST will invite all 16 teams to its men’s and women’s championship tournaments.  The men’s tournament begins Tuesday, March 10 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Saturday, March 14.  All games will be played at Madison Square Garden.  The top four teams will receive byes in the first two rounds of tournament play, while seeds 5-8 will receive byes in the first round.

INSIDE THE STATS

Seton Hall’s 27-point victory over Saint Francis resulted in many statistical standouts.  Senior Paul Gause nearly recorded a triple-double while tying his career-high with eight rebounds and setting a career-high with eight assists.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led all scorer’s with 23 points.  It was the seventh time in his career that Hazell has topped the 20-point plateau.  Senior John Garcia picked up where he left off last season on the boards.  The returning Seton Hall rebounding leader tied for the team lead vs. Saint Francis with eight boards.

GAUSE CLIMBING THEFT CHART

Senior Paul Gause enters his senior season in sixth place all-time on the career steals list with 176.  He trails the leader, Dan Callandrillo, by 84.  Due to two injuries that caused him to miss 16 games last season, Gause was only able to collect 45 steals in 2007-08.  But the prior year, 2006-07, he recorded a conference-leading 90 thefts which set a single-season record.  If Gause duplicates that effort this year, he’ll set the all-time career record.  Gause is also the newest member of the 500-Point Club.  He currently has 556 career points which ranks him second on the active list (Harvey 908).

LAING, NUTTER SIGN OVERSEAS

Former Seton Hall men’s basketball players Brian Laing  and Jamar Nutter have signed professional contracts to play basketball in Europe this year.  Laing has signed with STB Le Havre of France, while Nutter signed with Bakken of Denmark.  Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre plays in France’s “A” league, which is considered the top French professional league.  Laing will be reunited with former BIG EAST foe Kentrell Gransberry.  STB Le Havre signed the former USF center earlier this summer.  Meanwhile, Nutter will attempt to lead his Bakken Bears to a third consecutive Danish League championship.

KAZIMIR, RHODES JOIN PIRATES’ STAFF

During the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez added two to his staff.  Dennis Kazimir was hired as Director of Basketball Operations, while Rodrick Rhodes was named Administrative Assistant.  A former assistant coach at Tiffin and Wright State, Kazimir replaces Stephen Sauers.  A five-year NBA veteran and UMass administrator, Rhodes replaces Elvis Valcarcel.

STIX FINALLY GETS HIS CHANCE

After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robert Mitchell has finally suited up for the Pirates.  In Seton Hall’s season-opener, Mitchell scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  In 2006-07 at Duquesne, Mitchell led the team in scoring with a 16.4 points per game average, which ranked ninth in the nation among Division I freshmen.  He made 18 starts and pulled down 5.4 rebounds per game.  Mitchell was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week five times en route to being ultimately named Rookie of the Year by the conference.

904 POINTS IN TWO SEASONS

With 92 points, junior Eugene Harvey will become only the 20th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points in less than three seasons.  Harvey’s 908 points is the eighth highest total in a players first two seasons all-time at Seton Hall.  He’ll be the 36th player overall to record 1,000 career points.

GARY & DAVE RETURN

The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their sixth season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates’ radio flagship station, 77WABC.  For the second straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC.  The 2008-09 season marks the 20th season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.

LIVE AUDIO STREAM

Go to www.shupirates.com to listen to all of Seton Hall’s home and away games as a part of the Hall Pass.  Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will bring you all the action.  Get the HALL PASS Today!  

TV EXPOSURE

All 18 of the Pirates’ BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season.  Additionally, all three Seton Hall games at the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised nationally on ESPNU or ESPN2.  Collectively, the Pirates will get the nation’s attention 10 times with at least three broadcasts on either ESPN or ESPN2 (vs. Rutgers on Jan. 29, vs. St. John’s on Feb. 5 and the BIG EAST Championship), six on ESPNU (three in Puerto Rico, vs. Providence on Jan. 22, at Rutgers on Feb. 8 and at DePaul on Feb. 10) and one on ESPN360 (at Cincinnati on March 7).  The remaining 12 conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with 11 being broadcasted on SNY and one be shown on MSG.  The Pirates’ game vs. Connecticut on February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.

APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS

Junior Eugene Harvey needs only 92 points to be come the 36th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points.  Last season, Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter both eclipsed the milestone. 

2008-09 CAPTAINS

Three players have been named captains for the 2008-09 season.  Senior Paul Gause has been named a captain for the second straight season.  Senior John Garcia and junior Eugene Harvey were named team captain for the first time.

PIRATES SET FOR YEAR TWO IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER

Last season the Pirates opened their new home, Prudential Center, and the state-of-the-art facility drew raves from the scores of Seton Hall fans.  Seton Hall recorded five sellout crowds in the building’s inaugural season.  This year, Seton Hall has 16 home games including marquee matchups against Georgetown and Pittsburgh as well as local rivals Rutgers, St. John’s and Connecticut. 

AIR JORDAN LANDS IN SOUTH ORANGE

Freshman guard Jordan Theodore is a key member of Bobby Gonzalez’s 2008-09 recruting class.  Theodore averaged 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 4.6 steals per game as a junior at Paterson Catholic.  He helped lead them to an 18-8 record and scored a career-high 31 points vs. DePaul in the county final.  Additionally, he was the point guard for the #1 rated summer AAU basketball team, the New York Gauchos.  Recently, Theodore was named a Preseason All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention by CollegeHoops.net.

LAWRENCE, POPE TRANSFER IN

Over the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez acquired two impact transfers, Keon Lawrence and Herb Pope.  Lawrence played basketball the last two seasons at the University of Missouri.  Last season, he played in all 32 games and averaged a team-high 29.2 minutes per game.  He led the team in field goal attempts and averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while making 20 starts.    Pope played basketball last season at New Mexico State University.  Last season, he appeared in 16 games and made 12 starts.  A native of Aliquippa, Pa., he averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Named to the 2008 All-WAC Newcomer Team, Pope’s two best performances came in the WAC Tournament.  As of today, both players will sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

LOOKING AHEAD

USC

2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts

Puerto Rico Tipoff

Thursday, November 20, 2008

7:00 p.m. ET

Coliseo de Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

TV:  ESPNU

Live Audio Stream:  www.shupirates.com

Radio:  WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM

NOTEBOOK:  Once Seton Hall completes its second home game in three days, it will take to the road for the next three games.  These true “Pirates of the Caribbean” will take part in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff with games on Thursday, November 20, Friday, November 21 and Sunday, November 23.

Seton Hall’s first opponent is USC.  The Trojans return three starters from a team that won 21 games and made it to the NCAA Tournament last March.  Juniors Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis welcome newcomers headlined by DeMar DeRozan.

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