Seton Hall-Cal in Pearl Harbor Invitational
SETON HALL GAME INFO (6-2) / Opponent: California Golden Bears (7-1) / Date: Wednesday, December 7 / Time: 7:00 ET / Location: Bloch Arena, Pearl Harbor, HI / TV: FS1
Seton Hall cruised in their first game at the Pearl Harbor Invitational on Tuesday, defeating Hawaii 68-57. Up next for the Pirates is a matchup with Pac-12 foe California (who beat Princeton 62-51) on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Here are three keys to beating Cal:
1. Foul shooting: SHU was 12-25 from the foul line against Hawaii. Not from three, from the FOUL LINE. As of games played on December 5th, Seton Hall was 287th in Division 1 in free throw percentage and is currently at 62.5% from the charity stripe as a team. Angel Delgado (43.9%) is not shocking, but Khadeen Carrington (54.8%) has been an unpleasant surprise. The two players rank first and third on their team in free throw attempts respectively. Delgado and Carrington need to improve their numbers immediately if the Pirates expect to beat top ranked teams this year.
2. Generate turnovers: The Pirates forced 18 turnovers on Tuesday night, their highest total so far this season. Coach Willard raves about Madison Jones' on-ball defending, and it showed last night, as the grad transfer guard had three steals. Desi Rodriguez had a game high four steals and Carrington and Myles Powell also added three apiece.
3. Shoot around the sun: If you watched the game last night (or during the day if you're in Hawaii), you could see that the sun glare coming into Bloch Arena effected the players' vision at certain angles. Although it didn't seem to impact Seton Hall's percentages (48.1% FG, 46.2% 3FG), it effected Cal (21.1% 3FG). Look for both teams to emphasize attacking the rim and for the game to end up in the 60s.
Quick hitters:
Seton Hall game will tip a little beyond 9:30 et; Cal beats Princeton 62-51. Ivan Rabb (hand) says he's playing tmrw "no matter what" #shbb
— Chris McManus (@ChrisSHUhoops) December 7, 2016
-Ivan Rabb (6'11, 220 Soph) is Cal's best player. He is averaging 17.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg but scored just 6 points (3-9 FGs, 0-6 FTs) in 33 minutes Tuesday night against Princeton.
