Pirates Battle the Bulls in Tampa Thursday
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Isaiah Whitehead Feature on NJ.com (Andrew Garda)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Part of a planned escalation in the schedule prior to the start of BIG EAST play, the Seton Hall men's basketball team opens a two-game road swing in Tampa where the Pirates will aim for their first road win of the season when they meet former conference rival USF on Thursday.
The Hall (8-1) continues to receive votes in both the AP and Coaches Top-25 polls after splitting a pair of contests last week; most recently moving past Saint Peter's with a 67-52 victory. Seton Hall and USF (5-4) will be meeting for the first time since realignment landed the Bulls in the upstart American Conference where they finished at the bottom of the 10-team standings with a 3-15 record in the league.
The new year has brought new leadership to USF as former Seton Hall assistant Oliver Antigua made a transition after his brother Orlando was named the ninth head coach in Bulls history in March, replacing Stan Heath.
The Antigua brothers, noted recruiters who were both collegiate teammates of Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard have brought an up-tempo style of play to Tampa that is engineered by a pair of backcourt standouts in Anthony Collins and Corey Allen Jr, two leaders of a team that entered the year with three players with NCAA experience.
Collins, who played for one season in the BIG EAST, leads the American and ranks 12th nationally with 6.2 assists per game. A primary beneficiary of his creative abilities, Allen Jr. has upped his scoring average over seven points from last season and will enter the contest as the team leader at 16.1 ppg.
Big man Chris Perry and JuCo product Nehemias Morillo have started all but one game alongside the two stalwart and rank second and third on the team in scoring, posting averages of 13.0 and 11.6 respectively.
The four have combined to produce over 70 percent of the Bulls' nightly offensive output and where this USF team excels is in its efficiency. Despite a 41.8 percent effort in a five-point home loss to Georgia Southern on Monday, the Bulls rank third in the conference and among the top-45 in the country with a team shooting percentage of .479.
Antigua's squad has also effectively nullified their opponents' opportunities in transition; only twice surrendering as many as 10 fast break points. Behind steady guard play and a maturing supporting cast, the hosts will be looking to bounce back from their first home loss through five games at the Sun Dome.
The Pirates will represent a step up in competition from the previous five teams to visit the Bulls however, and boast their own youthful core that has ignited a near-perfect start.
Freshman Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has owned the title of BIG EAST Rookie of the Week since December 8, becoming the first Seton Hall player to repeat as the award winner since Eugene Harvey in 2006-07. Classmate Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) is coming off a 12-rebound effort in which he narrowly missed his sixth double-double of the season.
Fellow newcomers Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each chipped in seven points off the bench against the Peacocks in a performance that was symbolic of the immediate impact this class has had.
Through nine appearances, freshmen have accounted for nearly 48 percent of the team's points, over 50 percent of SHU's assists and more than 60 percent of the squad's rebounds and steals. Freshmen have also played over 50 percent of the minutes recorded.
Providing a steady, veteran presence that has jelled well with the influx of talent have been senior Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) and junior Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.).
Mobley is coming off a season-best 21-point performance against Saint Peter's and stands as one of the most efficient offensive players in the BIG EAST as well as one of the league's top shot-blockers. Gibbs, whose dead-eye outside shooting (56.1 3FG%, sixth in Division I) has been a revelation for the Pirates' own high-octane approach, has scored in double-figures in all nine games.
With their success as scorers, Gibbs and Whitehead will command respect from the USF defense, opening opportunities for them to create for others including Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) who ranks as one of the top-10 3-point shooters in the league for the second-straight year.
Mobley and Haralds Karlis (Riga, Latvia) are the only holdovers from when the teams last met; a 46-42 overtime victory for The Hall in the first round of the 2013 BIG EAST Tournament. Seton Hall did decisively control the series during the Bulls time in the conference however, posting 10 wins in 12 games.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with a live broadcast available nationally on CBS Sports Network. The radio team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the call for AM970 (WNYM) and the Pirate Sports Network on SHUPirates.com
