Seton Hall vs. Wagner: 2019-20 college basketball preview, TV schedule

The burden of expectations has reached Seton Hall as Myles Powell and the Pirates open their season against the Wagner Seahawks.

TV Schedule: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 6:30 PM ET, FS1

Location: Walsh Gymnasium, South Orange, New Jersey

Saddled with some of the highest expectations in program history, the Seton Hall Pirates begin their 2019-20 campaign on Tuesday night at home against the Wagner Seahawks of the NEC.

Those expectations largely fall on one player: Myles Powell. Tuesday should begin a coronation for one of the best players in all of college basketball. Just last week, the senior guard was named a Preseason All-American. The Trenton native has averaged at least 10 points per game every season and averaged an impressive 23.1 points per game last season. While defenses will constantly be keying in on him this season, Powell is set to have one of the most epic senior campaigns in recent memory.

Powell isn’t the only dangerous player on the Pirates – he’s not even the only dangerous player on the Pirates named Myles. Myles Cale average 10.2 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting from 3-point range during his sophomore season, emerging as a secondary weapon for Seton Hall. When Powell gets, double or triple-teamed, expect the ball to find its way into Cale’s hands.

The opponent for this likely beatdown is Wagner. Last season, the Seahawks finished 13-17, 8-10 in NEC play. Bashir Mason is entering his eighth season as Wagner’s head coach, which seems improbable when considering he’s only 35 years old. The losing season was only his second in seven years at the helm and he’ll look to turn it around in 2019-20.

These two teams have made playing each other an annual tradition, with this being the third straight year they’re competing during the non-conference season. In 2017, Wagner lost at the Prudential Center to a ranked Seton Hall squad, 89-68. Last year, Wagner was blown out on the road in each team’s respective opener, 89-49.

This game does have an added wrinkle, as one of the two head coaches will not be barking orders from the bench. Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was suspended for two games, though an exhibition contest against Misericordia counted towards the total. The school chose to suspend Willard amidst an NCAA investigation into tampering to land transfer forward Taurean Thompson from Syracuse.

Willard’s absence should not ultimately have an effect on the final score of this game, as 12th-ranked Seton Hall should trounce Wagner in the opener of a big season.

Prediction: Seton Hall 78, Wagner 52