Hall Takes on St. John's on FOX Saturday
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FOX Sports Go | Game Notes l l Live Audio
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Two original BIG EAST rivals are set to square off for the 93rd time on Saturday as the Seton Hall men's basketball team heads to Queens to wrap up a three-game road swing at St. John's in a game that will be shown live nationally on FOX.
Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. Eastern from Carnesecca Arena, a switch from the originally scheduled start time.
The Hall (15-11, 5-9 BIG EAST) will be the 10th team to visit the Red Storm (17-9, 6-7 BIG EAST) within the confines of the on-campus arena this season. STJ is off to an 8-1 start at Carnesecca, its best in seven years, and has won four consecutive BIG EAST home games overall.
Seton Hall already owns a victory in the season series however; having bested then-#15 St. John's, 78-67, to open the conference portion of the schedule.
The frontcourt duo of Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) and Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) helped orchestrate the winning effort, coming away with a pair of double-doubles.
Delgado tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds in his rivalry debut, notching one of his nine 12+-rebound performances to this point in the year. A leading candidate for BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, Delgado has recorded five of his conference-best eight double-doubles in league play. The 6-foot-9 newcomer has hauled down 49 total boards in the last four contests and now ranks as the top rebounding freshman in Division I with an average of 9.8/game.
Mobley, who is expected to return after being sidelined against Villanova, finished with 13 points and 10 boards after going for nine points and six rebounds in a strong second half. The senior has been an impact performer in all five of the Pirates' conference victories this season, scoring in double-figures four times and posting averages of 11.6 points and 9.0 rebounds.
Against St. John's, Delgado and Mobley owned the defensive glass; snatching a combined 16 rebounds on that end of the floor compared to 19 for the Red Storm as a team.
Entering Saturday's contest, The Hall ranks as the top rebounding team in the conference (36.9 rpg) due in part to their prowess on the offensive boards where the Pirates are averaging nearly three more second chance opportunities (13.0) than their counterparts from Queens (10.2).
Backcourt contributions loomed large in the first meeting as well with Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) coming off the bench to tally 11 points, three assists and two steals; matching the production of STJ standout Rysheed Jordan.
Carrington sunk seven of eight free throws in the matchup as SHU out-scored St. John's 22-to-10 from the line in an 11-point win. The Brooklyn native is second on the squad with 61 made free throws for the season and ranks fourth among qualifying freshmen with 9.3 ppg in conference action.
Fellow Brooklyn product Isaiah Whitehead has led The Hall in scoring in the last two games and does not appear in those rankings solely due to an extended absence that forced him out of the first eight BIG EAST contests.
Whitehead adds a different dimension for the Red Storm to contend with, currently ranking as one of three freshmen at the major conference level posting over 12 points, four rebounds and three assists per game.
Forwards Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and Stephane Manga (Orleans, France) have proven to be an effective combo in the last two outings, combining to average 10.0 points and 12.0 rebounds while splitting time on the wing.
Rodriguez logged over 20 minutes of playing time for the seventh time this season against Villanova and finished with seven rebounds. In the games in which he has been on the floor for at least 20 minutes, Rodriguez has chipped in 7.9 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Contributions from throughout the rotation are going to be vital as The Hall aims for its second win in its last six visits to Carnesecca. The Red Storm features four of the top-13 scorers in the BIG EAST, led by microwave D'Angelo Harrison at 18.6 ppg.
STJ's options on the perimeter are limited though as Harrison, Jordan and Phil Greene IV have combined to hit over 85 percent of the team's 3-pointers on the year. The Johnnies are among the bottom-third in the conference in 3-pointers made and went just 3-of-10 from distance in the first meeting.
The Hall has held St. John's to just 11 made treys (11-of-26, .261) in the three matchups since the beginning of 2013-14.
Despite their struggles from deep, the Red Storm's collection of playmakers has proven adept at taking care of the ball, giving up a league-low 10.7 turnovers per game and ranking second with a +2.58 average turnover margin.
Both teams finished with less than 10 giveaways in December and a repeat performance from The Hall could help the Pirates get back in the win column while completing the first season sweep of the Johnnies in the Kevin Willard era.
FOX coverage of the contest will begin around noon with a live stream available through the FOX Sports Go app. The Seton Hall radio team of Gary Cohen can be heard on 570AM (WMCA) as well as Sirius channel 132, XM channel 202 and the Pirate Sports Network on SHUPirates.com
