Three Things to Know About the Gavitt Games Clash

2018-19 Gavitt Tip-Off Games Seton Hall Pirates (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Date/Time/Location	Wednesday, November 14 \| 7:30 p.m., Eastern \| Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
Television Broadcast	Big Ten Network \| BTN2go
Radio Broadcast	AM970 The Answer \| Pirate Sports Network
Game Notes	Seton Hall \| Nebraska
Links	Live Stats \| Twitter \| Facebook \| Instagram

South Orange, N.J. - The road can be a place of triumph...or a place of despair.

First road trip of #HoopsSZN. Lincoln, Nebraska, get ready. The Pirates are coming to town. #HALLin pic.twitter.com/xNkVTsuDBJ
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 13, 2018

Life on the road in college basketball is tough, but when you win games on the road, they are like gold. The challenge in front of Seton Hall is one for the taking: a game at nationally ranked Nebraska in front of a great crowd with a chance to start padding the NCAA Tournament resume. We're only one week into the season, but it's games like these that make college basketball fun.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris calling all the action, simulcast online via BTN2go. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be in Lincoln as well, sending all the play-by-play and analysis back to the east coast on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network and the SHU Pirates Mobile App.

Three Things to Know About Wednesday's Game at Nebraska

1. The road environment is going to be tough.
Pinnacle Bank Arena will be rocking, and the Pirates are going to have to deal with it. But don't discount how the veterans on this team deal with the noise. Michael Nzei and Myles Powell have been dealing with it for years now in the BIG EAST. Together, they've been a part of seven true road wins when the attendance was above 8,500 and that includes last year's victory at Louisville in front of 19,000 strong. Sandro Mamukelashvili's career high in scoring came at Xavier in front of over 10,000 screaming fans. Myles Cale made his first career start at Madison Square Garden in front of a ton of St. John's fans and delivered 10 points. Yes, it'll be tough, but it's not a given that the Pirates will be rattled.

2. The Pirates give their best shot when the opponent is ranked.
Like any school, Seton Hall gets up for playing ranked teams. When you face a ranked opponent, you're supposed to lose, but the Pirates have been respectable over the last three seasons, going 10-13 in such games. Powell has played critical roles in some of the wins over ranked teams - he had 11 points and seven rebounds against No. 16 South Carolina and hit the dagger three to ice a win at No. 13 Butler his freshman year and then had 19 points and four assists in the win over No. 22 Texas Tech and 17 points in a win over No. 25 Creighton his sophomore year. Note: Nebraska is only currently ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll, not the Associated Press Poll.

3. This one's for BIG EAST pride.
This matchup is part of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, and in each of the first three seasons, the BIG EAST and Big Ten have tied 4-4. Seton Hall is one of three undefeated BIG EAST teams remaining in the series (Villanova & Xavier), and the Pirates have their eyes set on trying both keep their perfect record intact and try to give the BIG EAST its first series win. Meanwhile, Nebraska is one of four Big Ten teams yet to win a Gavitt Game (Michigan, Northwestern and Wisconsin are the others, and we're not including Michigan State, which has yet to appear in the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, what's that about?). Something will have to give Wednesday night.