MBB to Host Norfolk State, Monday
11/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
**2012 HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT**
NORFOLK STATE (1-0) at SETON HALL (1-0)
Monday, November 12, 2012
Prudential Center - Newark, N.J.
7:00 p.m. ET
SCOUTING NORFOLK STATE
Norfolk State is coming off a historic season in which it captured its first-ever MEAC title and upset second-seeded Missouri in the NCAA tournament. The Spartans must reload for the 2012-13 season after losing five of the team's top seven scorers from a year ago. The biggest loss was the graduation of center Kyle O'Quinn, last year's MEAC Player of the Year. Norfolk State is coming off a season-opening victory at Rhode Island, 67-55, on Friday.
TV: None
VIDEO WEB STREAM: Pirate Sports Network - Joey Wahler & Jason Guerette
RADIO: WMTR 1250 AM - Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin
WSOU 89.5 FM - Vince Coughlin & Paul Sannitti
2012 HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
This is the first time in history that Seton Hall has participated in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. The event features eight teams: Loyola University (Md.), Norfolk State University, Ohio State University, the University of Albany, UMKC, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Washington and Seton Hall University. Each team will play two games at campus sites and two games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Seton Hall is participating in the Naismith Bracket and will face UMKC on Friday, Nov. 9 in Walsh Gym and Norfolk State on Monday, Nov. 12 at the Prudential Center. The Pirates will then face Washington at the Mohegan Sun on Saturday, Nov. 17 and either Ohio State or Rhode Island on Sunday, Nov. 18, also at the Mohegan Sun.
PIRATES DOWN UMKC IN OPENER
Seton Hall used a stifling defense to limit UMKC to just 36 points as the Pirates opened the 2012-13 season with a 75-36 victory in the first game of the 2012 Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Walsh Gym. The Pirates smothering defense limited the 'Roos to just 31.3% shooting from the floor for the game and 14 second half points. No UMKC player scored in double-figures.
MARVELOUS MOBLEY
Sophomore Brendan Mobley notched his first career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds vs. UMKC. With the graduation of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope, he becomes only the third active player who has achieved a double-double in his career. Both Fuquan Edwin and Patrik Auda have one.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Freshman Tom Maayan, playing in his first regular season collegiate game, tallied game-highs of six assists and five steals in Seton Hall's victory over UMKC. The Israel native led the Pirates with 28 minutes.
HISTORIC DEFENSE
UMKC's 36 points are the fewest scored by a Seton Hall opponent since Bill Raftery's Pirates allowed only 31 points to Saint Peter's on Dec. 30, 1980. It's the fewest points allowed in a season-opener since giving up 31 points at Siena to begin the 1947-48 season.
TRANSFERS SHINE
Playing in their first game in a Seton Hall uniform, transfers Brian Oliver (Georgia Tech), Eugene Teague (Southern Illinois) and Kyle Smyth (Iona) all had a major impact vs. UMKC. Oliver had 13 points, Teague added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Smyth was effective all over the court, including backup point guard.
AGAINST NORFOLK STATE
This will be only the second meeting all-time with Norfolk State. In their first game, the Pirates defeated the Spartans, 97-87, on Dec. 4, 2000. In that game, freshman Eddie Griffin recorded the only triple-double in Pirates' history with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks in only 27 minutes.
AGAINST THE MEAC
Seton Hall's game with Norfolk State will be only the 12th time in history that the Pirates will square off against a current team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Seton Hall is a perfect 11-0 all-time against the MEAC, including 6-0 against Morgan State. Most recently, the Pirates defeated Morgan State, 89-81, on Jan. 5, 2008. Seton Hall will face another MEAC team later this year when it faces North Carolina A&T on Dec. 16.
PIRATES DOWN WILMINGTON IN EXHIBITION
Seton Hall pounded Wilmington, 113-72, in its lone pre-season exhibition game. The Pirates had planned on facing FDU-Florham, but that game was cancelled due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The 41-point spread is the second-largest margin of victory in the last 18 exhibition games for SHU dating back to the 1999-00 season. Six players scored in double-figures including newcomers Brian Oliver, Eugene Teague and Kyle Smyth. Brandon Mobley led the team with 20 points off the bench.
AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
The Pirates completed the 2011-12 season with an impressive record of 13-3 at the Prudential Center, their best mark since coming to the building prior to the 2007-08 season. All-time, Seton Hall is 55-27 in the building. Furthermore, Seton Hall is 24-21 all-time at Prudential Center against BIG EAST opponents.
SEASON OPENERS
With Seton Hall's victory over UMKC on Nov. 9, the Pirates have now won their opening game in 12 of the last 14 years. Seton Hall is 86-14-1 all-time on opening night.
NOVEMBER REIGN
With a victory over UMKC in the season-opener, the Pirates continued what has historically been a very fruitful month of November. Seton Hall is now 29-6 in the month of November over the last six seasons.
COLLECTING CANARIAS
Freshman Tom Maayan is the fourth current player on the Seton Hall men's basketball roster from the Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA) in the Canary Islands. Maayan re-joins former teammates Patrik Auda, Aaron Geramipoor and Haralds Karlis who are also CBA alumni. The four represent a heavy international flavor on the Pirates this year. Maayan is from Galil, Israel. Karlis is originally from Riga, Latvia. Auda is from Brno, Czech Republic and Geramipoor is from Manchester, England.
YOUTH IS SERVED
The Pirates enter the 2012-13 season without a single traditional senior on their roster. Seton Hall will look to its trio of juniors, Fuquan Edwin, Patrik Auda and Aaron Geramipoor for veteran leadership. Brian Oliver and Gene Teague, who both sat out last season due to NCAA transfer regulations, also have two years of collegiate experience under their belts. Kyle Smyth, a graduate transfer from Iona, will play right away for Seton Hall in his final year of eligibility.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will play 13 non-conference games with seven home dates at the Prudential Center and one at Walsh Gym. The Pirates will open the 2012 regular season with the University of Missouri at Kansas City on Friday, Nov. 9, in Walsh Gym. It will mark the first regular season game held at Walsh since defeating Norfolk State, 97-87, on Dec. 4, 2000. Additional home games include Norfolk State on Nov. 12, Maine on Nov. 21, Saint Peter's on Nov. 25, NJIT on Dec. 4, North Carolina A&T on Dec. 15, Longwood on Dec. 19 and Stony Brook on Dec. 28. Seton Hall will take to the road on Nov. 29 at LSU as part of the 2012 SEC/BIG EAST Challenge. Additional road contests include Wake Forest on Dec. 8 and Long Island University on Dec. 22 at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Neutral games include Washington and either Ohio State or Rhode Island at Mohegan Sun Arena on November 17 and 18 respectively.
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME TIP-OFF
Seton Hall will participate in the 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. The Pirates will face the University of Missouri-Kansas City to open the season at Walsh Gym and Norfolk State at the Prudential Center before playing the tournament's final two games at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. At the Mohegan Sun, Seton Hall will face Washington on Nov. 17 and either Ohio State or Rhode Island the next day, Nov. 18. The annual NCAA men's exempt tournament sponsored by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference features eight schools in two four-team brackets.
BIG EAST / SEC CHALLENGE
The Pirates will travel to LSU as part of the 2012 field for the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge on Thursday, Nov. 29. The game will be carried by ESPNU. It will be the third straight season that Seton Hall has taken part of the event and the first time that it has traveled to Baton Rouge, La. Last season, SHU dismantled a previously unbeaten Auburn Tigers squad, 81-59, at the Prudential Center for its first-ever win in the challenge. In 2010, Seton Hall's only other previous appearance in the challenge, the Pirates dropped a 71-62 decision to Arkansas at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. The BIG EAST holds a 16-12 all-time advantage in the event and doubled-up their Southeastern conference foes in 2011, taking the challenge eight games to four.
PIRATES vs. THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Seton Hall has faced just one of the current members of The Summit League in the past. The Pirates lost to IUPUI, 67-65, on Dec. 20, 2008. Other members of the league that the Pirates have never played include: Fort Wayne, North Dakota State, Oakland, Omaha, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Western Illinois.
NEW FACES
After sitting out the 2011-12 academic year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Georgia Tech transfer Brian Oliver and Southern Illinois transfer Eugene Teague will suit up for the Pirates this fall. Seton Hall also added a trio of new guards, Sterling Gibbs, Tom Maayan and Kyle Smyth. Maayan is the fourth former member of the Canarias Basketball Academy to join Seton Hall's roster. Smyth graduated after four years on the basketball team at Iona, and transferred to Seton Hall for his fifth and final year of eligibility. He was red-shirted in 2008-09. Gibbs, a transfer from Texas, is the all-time leading scorer at Seton Hall Prep, but will have to sit out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
NEW RADIO PARTNERSHIP
Seton Hall athletics announced on Thursday a new radio partnership for the 2012-13 men's basketball season with WMTR-AM 1250 Radio. Additionally, for the 10th consecutive year, play-by-play voice Gary Cohen and color analyst Dave Popkin will team up to call all of the Pirate action. Each of Seton Hall's 31 regular season games will be heard on WMTR-AM 1250.
