Men's Basketball Faces UMass Tonight at Prudential Center
12/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES - MASSACHUSETTS at SETON HALL (12/7/09)
MASSACHUSETTS (4-4) at SETON HALL (6-0)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Prudential Center - Newark, N.J.
7:00 p.m.
SETON HALL STATUS
The Pirates are a perfect 6-0 following their third straight blow-out victory. On Thursday, Seton Hall defeated Hartford, 89-56. It marked the first time in school history that the Pirates have won three straight games by 29 points or more. Sophomore Jordan Theodore led the Pirates with 17 points in a game which saw every uniformed player score. Senior Eugene Harvey notched a double-double with 11 points and 14 assists. Seton Hall's game vs. UMass is the fourth of nine straight home games. Seton Hall has never defeated UMass.
MASSACHUSETTS STATUS
UMass has won their last two games including an 84-63 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday. The Minutemen have kept a pattern. They lost their first two games, won two, lost two and now have won their last two games to even their record at 4-4. Ricky Harris and Anthony Gurley are the primary scoring options as they are averaging 18.0 and 17.8 points per game respectively. UMass has already faced one BIG EAST opponent. They lost to Rutgers, 83-75, on Nov. 27.
SETON HALL - UMASS SERIES
This is will be only the third meeting all-time between Seton Hall and Massachusetts. The Pirates have lost both prior meetings including their most recent match-up, a 73-60 loss in the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 29, 1997.
LAST 2 GAMES (Seton Hall 2-0)
Date - Score - Location
Nov. 29, 1997 - UMass 73, SETON HALL 60 - Anchorage, Alaska
March 10, 1977 - UMass 86, SETON HALL 85 - Amherst, Mass.
PIRATES vs. ATLANTIC 10
Seton Hall has a sub.-500 record all-time against current teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference. In all, the Pirates are 91-99 against the 14 schools of the A-10. Seton Hall has winning records against only Rhode Island (6-1), St. Bonaventure (16-12), George Washington (4-1), LaSalle (15-12) and Xavier (4-2).
PIRATES CAGE HAWKS, 89-56
Seton Hall cruised to their third straight blow-out victory, an 89-56 win over Hartford on Dec. 3. Four Pirates scored in double-figures including sophomore Jordan Theodore who contributed a game-high 17 points. Seton Hall out-shot, 46.7%-to-33.3%, out-rebounded, 46-to-32, and forced more turnovers, 17-to-14, than the Hawks.
RECORD-SETTING MARGINS
Seton Hall's 33-point victory over Hartford was the third consecutive large margin of victory for the Pirates. In fact, it marks the first time in program history that Seton Hall won three consecutive games by 29 points or more. On Nov. 28, the Pirates beat LIU 95-66 (+29), on Nov. 30 they defeated NJIT, 93-53 (+40) and on Dec. 3 they took down Hartford, 89-56 (+33).
HARVEY SHARING THE LOVE
In Seton Hall's victory over Hartford, senior Eugene Harvey dished out a career-high 14 assists. The total ties for the third-most in a single-game in school history. It's also the most since Shaheen Holloway recorded 14 assists during the 1999-00 season. Paul Lape set the record when he dished out 17 assists vs. Saint Peter's on March 1, 1973.
EVERYONE SCORES
Against Hartford on Dec. 3, all 10 Pirates in uniform got into the scoring column. With two free throws, junior Darnell Gatling scored the first points of his collegiate career. Fellow walk-on Matt Cajuste also got into the mix with three points.
LAWRENCE TO RETURN DEC. 19
Having sat out the entire season thus far, junior Keon Lawrence will be activated from suspension on Dec. 19 and will play against Temple that evening. Lawrence has been suspended since his involvement in a car accident on Nov. 9. Upon his return, he will have sat out the entire first academic semester. Jeff Robinson, sitting out due to transfer regulations, will also make his season debut on Dec. 19.
POINTS MADE
Against Hartford, sophomore Jordan Theodore scored 17 points, while senior Eugene Harvey scored 11. It marks the eighth time that both point guards have scored in double-figures in the same game. It happened six times last year and against LIU earlier this season.
BIG WINS
Since Seton Hall's buzzer-beating victory over Saint Peter's in the season-opener, the Pirates have averaged 25.4 points in margin of victory. Most recently, they defeated Hartford by 33, 89-56.
PIRATES TROUNCE NJIT, 93-53
Seton Hall enjoyed their second easy victory in as many games with a 93-53 trouncing of NJIT on Monday. Despite a slow start, the Pirates used a 23-4 run to pull away for the easy win. Four players scored in double-figures for the Pirates. Seton Hall out-shot, 50.0%-to-30.6%, out-rebounded, 47-to-39, and forced more turnovers, 18-to-12, than the Highlanders.
BLOCK PARTY
Seton Hall came out swatting vs. NJIT on Nov. 30. The Pirates blocked 11 shots which is the highest total in the Bobby Gonzalez era. Sophomore Herb Pope recorded a season-high five blocks, while junior Robert Mitchell had three, senior John Garcia had two and the unlikeliest of them all, 5-foot-9 Darnell Gatling had one.
DEATH, TAXES AND A POPE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
...are three things that have been a certainty these days. Against NJIT, sophomore Herb Pope notched his BIG EAST-leading fourth straight double-double with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. He also had five blocks, all in 25 minutes of action.
MITCHELL MILESTONE
With nine points vs. NJIT on Nov. 30, junior Robert Mitchell is became the 105th player in Seton Hall history to record 500 career points. Teammate John Garcia reached the same milestone late last season and currently ranks 92nd all-time with 543 points.
NOVEMBER REIGN
Seton Hall's victory over NJIT completed another perfect month of November for Seton Hall. In fact, the Pirates are now 19-2 in the month of November under Bobby Gonzalez. During the 2007-08 season, Seton Hall was an impressive 6-0 during the month. The Pirates' only losses in November came to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2006-07 and #12 Memphis last season.
PIRATES CAGE BLACKBIRDS, 95-66
In a dominating effort from the start, Seton Hall ran their record to a perfect 4-0 with a 95-66 dismantling of LIU on Nov. 28. Five players scored in double-figures for Seton Hall, who out-shot the Blackbirds 45.9%-to-34.3%. The Pirates also forced more turnovers, 21-to-8.
500/500 FOR GARCIA
With his 11-rebound performance vs. LIU, fifth-year senior John Garcia became the 34th player in Seton Hall history to record 500 career points and 500 career rebounds. Prior to Garcia, the last Pirate to join the exclusive club was Brian Laing, who finished his career with 1,313 points and 554 rebounds. The last frontcourt player was Kelly Whitney who finished with 1,448 points and 763 rebounds.
MOVING UP THE ASSIST CHART
With his eight-assist performance vs. LIU, senior Eugene Harvey moved up to fourth on Seton Hall's all-time career assist list. He's now only 54 assists away from passing Gerald Greene for third place on the list. Shaheen Holloway (681) and Andre Barrett (662) rank first and second on the career ranking. With at least 24 games remaining, Harvey would have to average 2.3 assists per game to pass Greene, 7.8 to pass Barrett and 8.6 to pass Holloway.
2009-10 CAPTAINS
Four players have been named captains for the 2009-10 season. Seniors John Garcia and Eugene Harvey have been named a captain for a second straight season. Junior Jeremy Hazell and senior Robert Mitchell are first time honorees.
GONZALEZ RECEIVES EXTENSION
Bobby Gonzalez has received a contract extension to remain the Pirates' men's basketball head coach through the 2014-15 season. "This extension serves as a strong indicator of the University's commitment and support for Bobby Gonzalez as head coach of our men's basketball program," Quinlan said. "We expect to be successful and believe that Coach Gonzalez has taken the necessary steps to position our program for future success. He has made progress with the program in only three years and we are very pleased to have him as our head coach." Gonzalez is in his fourth season as the Seton Hall head coach. In three seasons, he has a 47-46 overall record in South Orange, which already ranks him eighth on the school's all-time wins list.
SWISHIN' AND DISHIN'
With 1,366 career points and 475 career assists, senior Eugene Harvey is one of only five Seton Hall players all-time to amass at least 1,200 career points and 400 career assists. The other members include Andre Barrett (1,861/662), Nick Galis (1,651/410), John Morton (1,621/452) and Shaheen Holloway (1,588/681).
GARCIA NARROWLY MISSES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Fifth-year senior John Garcia had a strong season-opener vs. Saint Peter's. The 6-foot-9 center scored nine points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with three blocks. Last year, Garcia was fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game.
STILL UNDEFEATED
With the victory over Hartford, Seton Hall improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That season, the Pirates also won their first six games before losing. The last time a Seton Hall team opened the season with seven straight wins was in 1988-89. That year, the Pirates won their first 13 games en route to a magical Final Four run.
STREAK SNAPPERS
Seton Hall's 89-79 victory at Cornell snapped the Big Red's 21-game home win streak. It was the longest such streak in the nation at the time. Cornell scored the first eight points of the game, but the Pirates out-scored them 40-to-27 in the rest of the first half.
HAZELL NAMED TO WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Junior Jeremy Hazell was named to the 2009-10 season's first BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 20.3 points per game through the season's first three games, all of which resulted in victories. Hazell has totaled 59 points in Seton Hall's last two games. Last year, Hazell earned Weekly Honor Roll recognition four times.
HARVEY NEAR TRIP-DUB
Senior Eugene Harvey flirted again with a triple-double. Against LIU, he scored 18 points, dished out eight assists and recorded a career-high seven steals in only 28 minutes of action. Last season, Harvey came close with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs. Columbia. Seton Hall has had only one triple-double in its history... Eddie Griffin vs. Norfolk State during the 2000-01 season.
PIRATES REGISTER BIG WIN OVER BIG RED
Cornell had won 21 straight home games, the fifth longest streak in the nation, before Seton Hall's impressive 89-79 victory Friday night in Ithaca. The Pirates out-shot, 44.6%-to-44.4%, out-rebounded, 43-to-36, and forced more turnovers, 13-to-8, than Cornell. Despite falling in an 8-0 hole to start the game, Seton Hall led by as many as 18 before rolling to a 10-point victory. Cornell had been receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls prior to the loss.
RAINING FROM THREE
In only 2+ seasons, junior Jeremy Hazell is quickly moving up the career made three-pointers list. Currently, he ranks sixth all time with 201. He only needs five more to pass Levell Sanders for fifth on the list.
GONZALEZ VS. METRO AREA
With the victory over NJIT, Seton Hall notched another win over a NY metropolitan area team. Against teams from New York City or the State of New Jersey, the Pirates are 22-5 in the Bobby Gonzalez era. At Seton Hall, Gonzalez's teams have only lost to FDU, Rutgers and St. John's. Furthermore, Gonzalez's teams are 67-26 against said teams when including his seven years at Manhattan.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
At Cornell, both Herb Pope and Robert Mitchell registered double-doubles. Pope finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Mitchell notched 14 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time that two Pirates had recorded double-doubles in the same game since John Garcia and Eugene Harvey recorded them vs. Columbia last season.
HAZELL EXPLODES FOR 33 POINTS
Junior Jeremy Hazell exploded for a game-high 33 points in a victory at Cornell on Nov. 20. The guard was 12-for-25 from the floor and made five three-pointers. During one stretch in the second half, Hazell scored 10 straight points for Seton Hall. Late in the first half, he also completed a rare four-point play. The performance marked the eighth time in Hazell's career that he has topped the 30-point mark.
FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
In Seton Hall's victory over LIU, five players scored in double-figures. It marked the first time since last season's opener vs. Saint Francis (N.Y.) that five Pirates reached at least 10 points. Against LIU, Jeremy Hazell scored 21 points, Robert Mitchell scored 20, Herb Pope had 19, Eugene Harvey had 18 and Jordan Theodore had 11.
AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
This season Seton Hall is 4-0 at Prudential Center and is 26-12 all-time in the building. Furthermore, Seton Hall is 8-10 all-time at Prudential Center against BIG EAST opponents.
PIRATES HOST FOR 2011 NCAA REGIONAL
Seton Hall University has been named a host institution for the Regional Round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. In conjunction with Seton Hall serving as host, the Prudential Center will be the competition venue for two games of the regional semifinals on March 25, 2011 and the regional final on March 27, 2011. It will mark the first time the City of Newark has hosted the event. It is the first time Seton Hall has hosted a round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1999.
HAMPTON ADDED TO 2009-10 STAFF
Colin Hampton has been hired as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. In this role, Hampton will assist in ensuring the team's academic goals and will work closely with Seton Hall's office of academic support services for student-athletes. He will also be the Pirates' primary video operative and aid in game-to-game scouting. No stranger to Seton Hall basketball, Hampton is fresh off two years of managerial experience with the team. During this time, he served as assistant video coordinator in addition to his typical manager responsibilities.
HALL SIGNS JACKSON
After spending two years at a junior college, Jamel Jackson will bolster the Pirates' backcourt in 2009-10. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard originally committed to Seton Hall last spring, but decided to return to Technical Career Institute (TCI) in Manhattan, N.Y. for his sophomore year in order to concentrate on academics. Jackson will have two years of playing eligibility remaining once he joins Seton Hall. A Third Team All-American and Region XV Player of the Year as a freshman at TCI, Jackson brings a reputation as an excellent shooter to South Orange. He averaged 24.5 points per game as a freshman and 21.5 points per game as a sophomore. The talented guard was also named to the 2008 All-Sportsmanship Team.
SETON SIGNS HALL
Ferrakohn Hall (Memphis, Tenn.) a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward and true freshman will join the Pirates in 2009-10. A First Team All-State selection as a senior at White Station High School in Memphis, Tenn., Hall averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game while leading his team in blocks. An athletic forward, he earned All-District 15 honors and was a nominee for selection as a McDonald's All-American. In two seasons at White Station, Hall guided the Spartans to a 58-20 record and two appearances in the Class AAA Tennessee State Championship. He ranks as the #46 power forward recruit in the nation by rivals.com, and #38 among all small forwards by ESPNU.com.
HARVEY AT THE BUZZER
Senior Eugene Harvey came off the bench for the first time after 93 consecutive starts to begin his career, but that didn't affect his production. A strong second half led the senior to a fine game with a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes of action. Harvey also moved ahead of former teammate Brian Laing for 22nd on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list.
PIRATES WELCOME FUQUAN EDWIN
Highly touted 6-foot-6, 205-pound small forward Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University and play basketball for the Pirates beginning in the 2010-11 season. As a junior, Edwin averaged 16 points and eight rebounds a game in helping Paterson Catholic to a second consecutive Passaic County Championship. A Second Team All-State and All-County selection, he is the #77-ranked prospect in the Hoop Scoops Top-100. Among the nation's small forwards, Scout.com ranks him #48, while ESPN ranks him as the #23.
THREE-POINT SPECIALIST
In the 2009-10 season, Jeremy Hazell broke the single-season three-pointers attempted record with 290 and tied Terry Dehere's record with 105 three-pointers made. In only two seasons, Hazell ranks sixth on SHU's career lists for both three-pointers made with 201 and attempted with 582.
RETURN OF ELITE SCORING DUO
This season marks only the second time in school history that Seton Hall has begun a year with two 1,000-point scorers on their roster. Senior Eugene Harvey and junior Jeremy Hazell both eclipsed the milestone in 2008-09. The only other time Seton Hall has returned two 1,000-point scorers was in the 1987-88 season when Mark Bryant and James Major returned for their senior years after scoring their 1,000th points during the 1986-87 season. That year, Seton Hall made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
SETON HALL IS MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
Junior Jeff Robinson is poised to join Seton Hall at the conclusion of the first semester. Robinson played basketball for a season and a half at the University of Memphis. Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robinson had to sit out the remainder of the 2008-09 season and the first semester of the 2009-10 season. The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Robinson played in all 28 games in 2007-08 as Memphis marched to the NCAA title game. The first game Robinson will be eligible to join the Pirates will be Dec. 19 when they host Temple.
PRESEASON BIG EAST PREDICTIONS
Seton Hall is predicted to finish 10th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference. Villanova is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2009-10 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody has been picked as Player of the Year. Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson was selected BIG EAST Rookies of the Year. The lone Seton Hall individual with preseason honors was junior Jeremy Hazell who was selected to the Second Team.
PIRATES SET FOR YEAR THREE IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Seton Hall begins year three at the Prudential Center with eight sellouts under its belt. The Pirates had five sellouts in year one and three more last season. This year, Seton Hall has 17 home games including marquee match-ups against West Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette and in-state, arch-rival Rutgers.
GARY & DAVE RETURN
The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their seventh season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates' radio flagship station, 77WABC. For the third straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC. The 2009-10 season marks the 21st season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.
HALL PASS AT WWW.SHUPIRATES.COM
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. New for the 2009-10 season, all of Seton Hall's non-televised games will be carried via live VIDEO stream as part of the Hall Pass package. Watch all of the action live while listening to Gary and Dave's radio broadcast. Get the HALL PASS Today!
TV EXPOSURE
Seton Hall's slate features 10 games on national television. All 18 of the Pirates' BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season. Seton Hall will play in the first conference game of the year, Saturday, Dec. 26 vs. West Virginia, on CBS at 3:30 p.m. Following the CBS game, the Pirates will appear on national TV on Jan. 2 vs. Virginia Tech on ESPN2, Jan. 14 at Georgetown on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 21 vs. Louisville on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 28 at USF on ESPN or ESPN2, Feb. 2 at Villanova on ESPNU, Feb. 11 vs. Notre Dame on ESPNU, Feb. 20 at West Virginia on ESPN, Mar. 4 at Rutgers on ESPN or ESPN2 and Mar. 6 at Providence on ESPN360. The remaining nine conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with seven being broadcasted on SNY, one being shown on MSG and one being shown on MSG+. The Pirates' game vs. DePaul on Sunday, February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.
LOOKING AHEAD
VMI
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Time: Noon
Prudential Center
Newark, N.J.
TV: None
Live Video Stream: www.SHUpirates.com
Radio: WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM
NOTEBOOK: Seton Hall will remain at home on Saturday, Dec. 12 vs. VMI for game five of nine straight games at Prudential Center. This will be the first meeting ever between the teams. VMI returns two starters from a team that went 24-8 and finished second in the Big South Conference last season. The Keydets are a big-time offensive, run and gun type of team. In their first six games this season, they topped the 90-point mark five times. Four players are currently averaging in double-figures in scoring for VMI, including sophomore Keith Gabriel who is averaging more than 19 points per game. Considering Seton Hall is averaging over 80 points per game, scoring records could fall in this high-flying match-up.
