St. Peter’s vs. Seton Hall: 3-Point Preview

Facing some adversity

Do not let the score line fool you, Wichita State was in complete control of their win over Seton Hall back on Tuesday. With the home court behind them, the veteran Shockers forced 17 turnovers and held off a late comeback to defeat the Pirates in the most lopsided nine point victory in recent memory.

That game will likely be the most difficult for The Hall this season, and now we will see how they play after a loss. Many important players, like Brandon Mobley, Jaren Sina and Desi Rodriguez really struggled. It will be interesting to see how they respond in an important home game before a tough two game road trip down south. The Hall is unbeaten at home, but St. Peter’s will be gunning for the upset. Seton Hall is a little down for the first time this season after taking that punch from the Shockers. It is time to see if they can get back up.

Whitehead is that good

The coolest customer in the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita on Tuesday was dawning a blue jersey and his name? Isaiah Whitehead. While his teammates, some of whom have played in difficult venues before, looked lost on the court, Whitehead delivered. The freshman had 23 points and even shook off a minor shoulder injury to come back and play in the second half. Whitehead single handedly kept his Pirates in the game.

Many have completely forgotten about those first three games where Whitehead struggled and have since seen him explode. Over the last two games, Whitehead has averaged 24 points per contest and has drilled eight of his last 15 three pointers. If Whitehead is making those three pointers on a consistent basis, look out. head coach Kevin Willard said after the Wichita State game that Whitehead’s shoulder injury is not serious and he should suit up on Sunday.

Rematch of last year’s wild finish

It was a snowy and brisk day back on Dec. 14th, 2013 when Seton Hall last played St. Peter’s. Due to the weather, the Prudential Center was essentially empty at tip-off and the ones that missed the game definitely regretted it. With the Pirates down three in the final seconds of regulation, senior Brian Oliver hit a three pointer at the buzzer to send it to overtime. Oliver would have to hit yet another three pointer with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 80 in overtime. Despite Oliver’s heroics, the Peacocks beat the Pirates for the first time since 1995 by the final of 83-80 in OT led by a career-high 34 points from then junior Desi Washington that included making 7-9 shots from three point land. That seventh three came with 3.3 seconds left and won the game for St. Peter’s just seconds after Oliver had tied it.

When the Pirates and Peacocks tip-off on Sunday it will have been one year since Washington’s heroics. This time around, he looks to knock off the Hall again as a senior and if the Pirates cannot stop him, we could be in for another thriller at The Rock.