Husky Basketball: Seton Hall Pirates Game Preview

After the atrocity that was Sunday, the Dawgs looks to regain a bit of their dignity by taking on a solid team in the Seton Hall Pirates. The Pirates are 2-0 on the year thus far with a pair of wins over a low and mid-major Division 1 team. The Pirates are averaging in the mid 70’s, led by junior Fuquan Edwin who is averaging just shy of 20 points per night on top of his 7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. His 46% 3-point percentage is scary to look at, while his free throw percentage of 73% is also a bit concerning given the trouble the Huskies have had of late from the line.

The Pirates run a 7 to 8 man rotation that features several key players outside of Edwin. Of all the main players, Edwin does not concern me most. That honor goes to 6-9 290lb Gene Teague who figures to be a huge issue to deal with. With a 15 point and 9 rebound average, Teague uses his somewhat limited 24 minutes per game well. Outside of Aziz N’Diaye, the Huskies do not have an answer for this size of player and it will be important that N’Diaye avoids foul trouble as to allow him to continue to match-up against the Pirates main frontcourt power.

6-9 210lb Brandon Mobley may only be averaging 5 points a night, but his 10 rebounds per game is a team high and he figures to play a fair few minutes alongside Teague. Thankfully, the Huskies can throw Desmond Simmons or Jernard Jerreau at Mobley to help quell his effectiveness on the court.

Nov 13, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Albany Great Danes guard D.J. Evans (3) drives the lane against Washington Huskies guard Andrew Andrews (12) during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

Tom Maayan will likely be another frustrating player that the Huskies struggle to contain. At 6-1 180lb, Maayan is considered an undersized guard. The Huskies have had issues dealing with such players the past few season and fans need not look further than Sunday nights mess to see exactly the type of troubles that small guards can exact on the Husky defense. Maayan is a play maker first as one can see by his nearly 6 assists per game. Maayan has only attempted 5 shots across two games, but has made 4. He is efficient when he does take a shot and it is all to important that the Dawgs do not give him easy, open looks.

Normally I would throw in my personal thoughts about keys to the game, but in all honesty they are the exact same as last week. My only hope is that the Dawgs can execute better against Seton Hall though, unlike Albany, the Pirates are not undersized and overwhelmed. The Pirates will be able to compete on the glass, they can shoot the 3, and hit free throws at a reasonable clip. The Dawgs will need to show up in force if they want to have a shot at #4 Ohio State and a way to strengthen their resume for tournament time.

Go Dawgs!