Pirates Face Iowa in True Road Test

SETON HALL GAME INFO (2-0) / Opponent: Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0) / Date: Thursday, November 17 / Time: 9:00 ET / Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City / TV: BTN

The Pirates and Hawkeyes look to see where their respective programs are at after both qualifying for the NCAA Tournament a season ago and feasting on lesser competition over their first two games. Here's what concerns me about Iowa:

Peter Jok: The 6'6, 205 senior is a member of the 2016-17 Preseason All-Big Ten Team after averaging 16.1 ppg and a 40.2 3FG% percentage. Jok is the clear on-court leader of a team that lost four starters from a season ago. He loves to shoot from beyond the arc, as the guard is averaging 9 three point attempts over his first two games this season (3-8 vs. Kennesaw State, 3-10 vs. Savannah State). It will be interesting to see who Coach Willard gives the bulk of this defensive task to, as Jok may be a tough matchup for the post-minded Ismael Sanogo. I expect Madison Jones to spend some time defending the Jerry West Award watch list honoree.

Cordell Pemsl: The 6'7, 230 freshman has made an immediate impact in this first two games for the Hawkeyes, averaging 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in just 17.0 minutes of action. It will be interesting to see how Pemsl fares against a stronger, more experienced post defender like Angel Delgado. All signs indicate that Delgado's ankle is not a concern heading into Thursday night, as the junior forward showed less signs of injury on Sunday against CCSU than he did Friday vs. FDU.

This is the first game of an uncharacteristically tough stretch of November/December matchups for the Pirates. SHU will head down to Orlando next Thursday for a Thanksgiving night showdown with Florida, and will also be in action Friday and Sunday against a quality field of AdvoCare Invitational opponents.

This is an exciting time for Seton Hall University basketball. The 2015-16 Big East Tournament championship was the first step in bringing this program back to national relevance. Obviously the NCAA Tournament appearance didn't go as planned, but the important thing from last year is that the pieces are in place (coaching, experienced talent and recruiting) to sustain success. Success begins this season by beating a quality opponent tonight in Iowa.


Quick hitters: 

-Khadeen Carrington was named to the Big East weekly honor roll after averaging 22.5 ppg and shooting 9-10 from three over his first two games.

-Madison Jones registered a career high 10 assists and had just one turnover is his Pirates debut vs. FDU