The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action on Friday in the Advocare Invitational in Orlando against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. The Bobcats entered with a record of 0-3 while the Pirates came in at 3-1. In the end the Pirates would defeat Quinnipiac 90-79.

The Pirates were very slow out of the gate. After a three pointer from Reggie Oliver, the Bobcats opened up an early 8 point lead. Things didn’t get much better over the next few minutes for the Hall. With 14:18 to go in the first half Daniel Harris would make a layup to give Quinnipiac a 10 point lead. The Pirates would fight back and tie the score with 10 minutes left in the half. Seton Hall made a push and got a lead up to 9 points but entered the half leading 46-39.

The Bobcats were led in the first half by Daniel Harris and Reggie Oliver who each had 10 points. Abdulai Bundu added 7 points and 5 rebounds for Quinnipiac. Peter Kiss and Chaise Daniels each chipped in 6 points. Quinnipiac shot 46.7% from the floor and 46.2% from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Pirates were led by Desi Rodriguez in the first half. Rodriguez had 4 rebounds to go along with 15 points. Michael Nzei added 10 points and led the team with 8 rebounds in the first half. Khadeen Carrington chipped in 7 points and Angel Delgado grabbed 7 rebounds. The Pirates shot 50% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Pirates jumped out to a quick start in the second half to push their lead up to 11 points. With 12:45 remaining in the first half the Pirates opened up a 62-47 lead over Quinnipiac. The Bobcats would not go away though. A three pointer from Peter Kiss cut the Seton Hall lead to 2 with 9:54 remaining. That was as close as Quinnipiac would get. The Pirates would go on to extend the lead and ultimately come away with a 90-79 victory.

Quinnipiac was led overall by Daniel Harris who scored 18 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Chaise Daniels added 14 points and led the team with 11 rebounds. Peter Kiss led the team with 19 points. Reggie Oliver chipped in 13 points and dished out 5 assists. The Bobcats shot 42.4% from the floor and 42.3% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates were led by Desi Rodriguez and Michael Nzei. Rodriguez scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Nzei scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington, Madison Jones, and Myles Powell also scored in double digits for the Hall. Carrington had 17 points and 3 assists. Madison Jones had 11 points and Myles Powell had 12 points. The Pirates shot 50% from the floor and 23.1% from beyond the arc.

With the loss the Bobcats fall to 0-4 on the season. They will take on Indiana State tomorrow in Orlando. The Pirates improve to 4-1 on the season with the victory. The Pirates will now take on the Stanford Cardinal at 7 pm tomorrow in Orlando. Check out the PPI below to see which players excelled. We will have full coverage of the Stanford game tomorrow. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action on Thanksgiving night in the Advocare Invitational against the Florida Gators. The Pirates came in with a record of 3-0 while Florida came in at 4-0. Before the game we talked to our friend Matt Brannon who covers the Florida Gators, check out his comments in our previous post. Ultimately, the Pirates would fall to the Gators 81-76 in Orlando.

The game started out very close early on. With 12:26 remaining in the first half a three pointer from Justin Leon gave the Gators an 18-12 lead. The Pirates would fight back and with 8:48 left in the half, an Angel Delgado lay up gave the Hall a 2 point lead. The Pirates and Gators exchanged the lead several times in the next few minutes. In the end, the Pirates would take a 40-39 lead into halftime.

In the first half the Gators were led by KeVaughn Allen. The sophomore scored 10 points and grabbed a pair of rebounds in the first half. Justin Leon and John Egbunu led the Gators on the boards by each grabbing 4 rebounds. Canyon Barry added 8 points and Chris Chiozza chipped in 7 for Florida. The Gators shot 38.9% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Pirates were led by Khadeen Carrington and Angel Delgado in the first half. They each scored 11 points. Ismael Sanogo led the Hall on the glass with 7 rebounds. Desi Rodriguez added 8 points and Myles Powell chipped in 6 for the Pirates. The Hall shot 55.6% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Pirates came out quick in the second half and scored the first 5 points to increase their lead to 6. The Gators would come charging back though. With 13:22 remaining in the half, Canyon Barry hit a layup to give UF a 2 point lead. Florida would open up a 7 point lead with 10:17 remaining. The Pirates would cut the lead to one but that’s the closest they would get. In the end the Pirates suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 81-76.

The Gators were led overall by KeVaughn Allen with 21 points and 6 rebounds. John Egbunu led the team on the boards with 10 rebounds. Canyon Barry added 20 points and Chris Chiozza chipped in 14 points. The Gators shot 44.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.

The Pirates were led by Khadeen Carrington who scored 28 points. Myles Powell contributed 16 points on the night. Ismael Sanogo and Desi Rodriguez each grabbed 9 rebounds. Rodriguez added 12 points and Angel Delgado chipped in 13 points for the Hall.

With the victory the Gators improve to 5-0 on the season. They advance to the semi-finals of the Advocare Invitational today where they will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Pirates fall to 3-1 on the season with the loss. They will take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats today.

We would again like to thank Matt Brannon for his help! Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates players stood out. We will have full coverage of the Quinnipiac game today. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

Welcome to Inside the Enemy Ship. The Pirates take on the Florida Gators on Thanksgiving night in the Advocare Invitational. We were lucky enough to talk to Matt Brannon from The Independent Florida Alligator. Here are his thoughts on the match up of Florida against Seton Hall:

BBA: How have things been different with Gators basketball since the departure of Billy Donovan? MB: Billy Donovan was larger than life in Gainesville. The whole basketball program was centered around him and had little structure after he left in 2014-15, UF’s first losing season in 17 years. The focus has been making the NCAA Tournament under Mike White. And after not making the tourney two years in a row, the pressure is on this season, though most of us covering the team expect them to make it. The program didn’t have much culture in White’s first year, but now we’re starting to see more develop, especially concerning relationships among players and coaches. Interestingly enough, this is UF’s first Big East opponent since White took over.

BBA: Florida has had a weak schedule up to this point, what has impressed you so far though? MB: The most impressive thing they’ve done all season was probably starting the game 15-0 against Belmont. UF had just come off a game where they almost blew a big lead against St. Bonaventure. So it was impressive to see them come out firing in the next game, making it 15-0, 24-4, early on in the first half.

Another impressive improvement is how UF has gone from making about 64 percent of FTs last year to 75 percent so far.

BBA: What has been the biggest weakness of the UF team so far? MB: UF is last in the SEC in assists, but their biggest weakness is probably three-pointers. Florida was bad from three last season too and so far they’re shooting about 32 percent this year. They’re also letting opponents make 33.3 percent of their threes.

BBA: Where do you see Florida finishing this season in the SEC? MB: I expect Florida to finish second behind Kentucky at the moment, but it’s possible they could finish one or two spots down if Texas A&M and/or Georgia gets hot.

BBA: Which player should Seton Hall be most prepared to face on Thursday? MB: Florida’s gotten the bulk of its scoring from two wing players who score from all over the floor: Canyon Barry and Devin Robinson. Both can carry the offense and should be the priorities for any defense. Center John Egbunu can also score in the post with dunks/hook shots depending on how much he can muscle up the defender.

BBA: What do you see as Florida’s game plan against Seton Hall? MB: I think Florida will try to make it a defensive, low-scoring game. While they usually run with Justin Leon, kind of a three-four hybrid, at power forward, they might play Kevarrius Hayes, a true defensive four, to help rebound on the interior. Along with rebound, the other focus is limiting Seton Hall from three, which they had success doing against a big three-point shooting team in Belmont.

BBA: What’s your prediction for the final score? MB: I think the game will be decided in the last minutes with Florida winning 70-65.

A big thanks again to Matt Brannon for his insight into the UF program! Make sure to give him a follow on twitter @MattB_727. The game can be seen on ESPN2 at 8:30 pm. We will have full coverage of the game tomorrow night. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

The Seton Hall Pirates were in action today against the 2-0 Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa. This game was part of the Big East vs Big Ten Gavitt Games. The Pirates fought hard in the second half to come away with a 91-83 win.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to start the game. The Hawkeyes would hold the lead until the 10:50 mark of the first half. A three pointer from Myles Powell gave the Hall a 1 point lead. With 7:30 remaining in the first half the Hall opened up a 6 point lead over Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes would rally back and take back the lead with  3:16 remaining in the half. Iowa would end up taking a 44-42 lead into the half.

The Hawkeyes were led by Tyler Cook and Peter Jok who each had 13 points. Peter Jok led the Hawkeyes with 5 rebounds in the first half. Christian Williams dished out 3 assists in the first half.

The Pirates were led in the first half by Myles Powell with 14 points. Khadeen Carrington added 12 points in the first half. Desi Rodriguez led the Pirates with 4 rebounds. Carrington dished out a pair of assists in the first half.

The Pirates dominated the second half. With 16:37 to go the Pirates took the lead and would never relinquish it. The Pirates got the lead to as high as 11 points. The Hawkeyes did fight hard but the Pirates never let go of the lead. Several clutch shots and defensive plays from Myles Powell helped seal the win for the Hall. The Pirates left Iowa with a 91-83 victory.

The Hawkeyes were led by Peter Jok with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tyler Cook chipped in 24 points. Dom Uhl added 8 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa. Jordan Bohannon dished out 4 assists on the night. The Hawkeyes shot 38.1% from beyond the arc and 45.9% overall.

The Pirates were led by freshman Myles Powell with 26 points and 2 steals. He was 5-7 from beyond the arc. Desi Rodriguez added 25 points and 9 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington chipped in 20 points and 3 assists. Angel Delgado led the Pirates with 11 rebounds. The Pirates shot 47.1% from beyond the arc and 50.8% overall.

With the loss the Hawkeyes fall to 2-1 on the season. They will now take on Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Sunday. The Pirates improve to 3-0 on the season with the victory. The Hall will head to Florida to take on the Gators on Thanksgiving night. Check out the PPIto see which players performed the best. We will have full coverage of the Florida game a week from today. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.