After a devastating loss to Fordham, Seton Hall basketball looks to regroup against Hofstra.
Points have been hard to come by and in game two, it already caught up with Seton Hall basketball. Even their shutdown defense couldn’t overcome just 56 total points against a Fordham Rams team that game up over 90 against St. John’s.
“Coach’s message, he just tells us we just gotta build and learn from this,” said forward Prince Aligbe.
Still, for a Pirates team that missed the NCAA Tournament last season become of metrics, an early loss to Fordham isn’t an ideal start to this season.
Game information:
Teams: Seton Hall (1-1) and Hofstra (2-0)
Tip time: 8 p.m. EST
Watch: MSG Networks
Listen: SHU Pirates Mobile App
What to know about Hofstra:
The Pride are 2-0 and picked up a solid win, 90-76 over Iona last time out.
Leading Hofstra in scoring was a name Seton Hall basketball fans should be familiar with – Jaquan Sanders.
The former Pirate didn’t get much playing time in South Orange, but he had 24 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting to lead Hofstra to a solid win. Seton Hall should know how to defend him, but it all depends on how they key in on it in practice. Holloway has been upset with their mentality on off days.
“We ain’t lose this game today, we lost this game on Wednesday,” said Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway after the loss to Fordham. “Sometimes you gotta lose to win.”
Sanders isn’t the only shooter Seton Hall will have to key in on. Through two games, Hofstra is hitting threes at a 38.2% clip. They’re averaging 19.5 assists per game, an all-around tough offense to defend.
Jean Aranguren is leading the Pride at 21.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 6.0 APG. Cruz Davis is right behind at 17.0 PPG, 6.5 APG, and 6.0 RPG. Stopping them will be crucial to stopping Hofstra’s offensive flow.
“Two games in a row, teams are out scrapping us, outplaying us, which is not good,” said Holloway.
Latest on Seton Hall basketball:
It only seemed like a matter of time given how much Seton Hall struggled to put the ball in the basket against Saint Peter’s. And it didn’t take long for the first loss to happen, against a tricky Fordham team out of the Atlantic 10. But Holloway says the Pirates will continue to get better as the season continues, and an early loss isn’t the end of the world.
“You watch college basketball this time of year, it happens,” said Holloway.
Still, it can’t happen often if the Pirates want to be selected for the NCAA Tournament in March. Losses like these destroy metrics, so wins are nearly must-haves.
But right now, there are other metrics SHU should be concerned about. The Pirates are averaging 56.5 PPG on 36.7% shooting. They’re only making 60.4% of their free throws and aren’t pulling down a lot of rebounds. Other than holding both teams they’ve played to under 60 points, there isn’t a whole lot to like about the start to their season.
But there is hope – Isaiah Coleman missed game one due to an injury. He played against Fordham and should have his legs back under him for Wednesday’s meeting with Hofstra. Yacine Toumi continues to show potential with his offensive game and could be a player the Pirates try and get going even more if scoring the basketball becomes a must to winning against the Pride.
It seems like another tough test but SHU knows they need to come away with a win to save their resume early on.