Rhode Island vs. Seton Hall: College basketball game preview, TV schedule
In the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off, Seton Hall and Rhode Island will face off. Who wins the battle between these east coast teams?
TV schedule: Thursday, Nov, 23, 6:00 p.m. ET. ESPNU
Arena: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
When this matchup was originally announced, there was genuine excitement. Unfortunately, injuries on both sides have dampened Thursday evening’s game. On the side of the Rhode Island Rams, the devastating injury to star guard E.C. Matthews has put head coach Dan Hurley in a bind. He suffered a wrist fracture in the loss at Nevada and will be out until mid-December at the earliest.
They still have talent with senior Jared Terrell leading the way with 18.3 ppg. He along with junior Stanford Robinson (11.0 ppg) will have to make up for the lost production. They’ll have to rely on the frontcourt to help out as well, with freshman Andre Berry producing out the gate with 13.7 ppg.
They take on the Seton Hall Pirates, a team that is dealing with some health issues with their own star player Angel Delgado. After posting three double-doubles in as many games to start the season, he started to deal with calf issues, hurting him in the last game. He should be ready to go but could be limited in both minutes and effectiveness.
Good news for head coach Kevin Willard, he has seniors capable of making up the slack. Desi Rodriguez has seen his scoring production increase to start the season, averaging 17.0 ppg. While Khadeen Carrington hasn’t scored as much as expected (12.0 ppg), he’s improved at being the primary ball handler of the team, averaging 5.2 apg.
The Pirates are currently ranked in the top-20 and considered by some to be a dark horse Final Four contender, due to their elite defense and a star player in Delgado. The only concern with this team is whether they can score at a proficient level.
This game may not be as good as once advertised, but there’s still upperclassmen that will put on a show. After everything that’s gone on early in the Atlantic-10, Rhode Island has no margin of error and needs wins like this if they still want an at-large bid. Unfortunately for them, the Pirates might be too much of a challenge while being shorthanded.
Prediction: Seton Hall 70 – Rhode Island 59