Seton Hall Men's Basketball 2015 Postseason Capsule

Seton Hall Pirates
Big East (16-15, 6-13)

 

Seton Hall got off to a great start in Big Eat play. They beat a then-ranked St. John’s team on New Year’s Eve to begin conference play and followed it up with an impressive overtime win at home against Villanova. When they met those two teams again in late February, this was a very different Pirates team. They lost to St. John’s 85-72 and were destroyed 80-54 at Villanova. There were only three wins in-between.

Big Wins: 12/31 St. John’s (78-67), 1/3 Villanova (66-61), 1/31 Xavier (90-82)
Bad Losses: 1/22 DePaul (60-64), 2/3 at DePaul (62-75), 2/7 Marquette (54-57)
Coach: Kevin Willard

Why They Can Surprise:
This team does have talent. Of course it starts with junior guard Sterling Gibbs who is far and away the most efficient and prolific scorer on the team. Gibbs is a great outside shooter and knows how to attack the basket. When Gibbs is having a good day, the Pirates are a tough team to beat. Freshman guard Isaiah Whitehead did miss most of January, but he is usually a solid secondary scoring option behind Gibbs. Those two spearhead a pretty good defensive effort, especially when it comes to three-point field-goal defense. The frontcourt has a couple scoring options in Brandon Mobley and Angel Delgado. Delgado, a 6-9, 230 pound freshman, is also a superb rebounder and one of the best offensive rebounders in the Big East.

Why They Can Disappoint:
The problem is Seton Hall has been terribly inconsistent. Along the way they have lost players and dealt with suspensions and injuries, and that has really contributed to this team falling apart. On the court, the biggest problem is youth. Of the eight players in the regular rotation, five are freshmen. Whitehead, Delgado and Khadeen Carrington have shown a lot of promise, but they can disappear too. In the postseason, disappearing is not an option or Seton Hall will be making an early exit.

Probable Starters:
Isaiah Whitehead, Freshman, Guard, 12.0 ppg, 3.5 apg
Sterling Gibbs, Junior, Guard, 16.3 ppg, 3.8 apg
Stephane Manga, Senior, Forward, 2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Angel Delgado, Freshman, Forward, 9.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Brandon Mobley, Senior, Forward, 9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg

Key Roleplayers:
Khadeen Carrington, Freshman, Guard, 8.8 ppg, 1.8 apg
Desi Rodriguez, Freshman, Forward, 5.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Ismael Sanogo, Freshman, Guard, 0.5 ppg

By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.8 (140th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.6 (207, 8)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.2 (241, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.6 (162, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (112, 4)  
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.4 (123, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.4 (292, 10)
Rebound Margin: 0.9 (158, 7)
Assists Per Game: 12.3 (194, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.5 (166, 8)

Recent Postseason Appearances:
2012    NIT    First Round win over Stony Brook
2012    NIT    Second Round loss to Massachusetts
2010    NIT    First Round loss to Texas Tech
2006    NCAA    Round of 64 loss to Wichita State
2004    NCAA    Round of 64 win over Arizona
2004    NCAA    Round of 32 loss to Duke
2003    NIT    First round loss to Rhode Island
2001    NIT    First Round loss to Alabama

*all team stats through 3/8

 

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