Seton Hall
Game preview: No.12 Seton Hall faces No.3 Michigan State at Prudential Center
Date: November 13, 2019By: Michael Daly
The No. 12 Seton Hall Pirates (2-0 overall record) will face arguably their tallest task of the season when No. 3 Michigan State (1-1 overall record) rolls into the Prudential Center on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m.
The Pirates will likely be without Associated Press preseason All-American Myles Powell, following a sprained ankle that occurred in Seton Hall’s 74-57 win over Stony Brook last Saturday. Powell is said to be a game-time decision for Thursday’s game. In the game against Stony Brook, Seton Hall overcame the Powell injury early on in the first half.
The Hall trailed Stony Brook 33-29 at the half, but they were able to separate themselves from Stony Brook in the final 20 minutes through their veteran leadership. Senior guard Quincy McKnight and junior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili combined for 31 points and carried Seton Hall’s offense in Powell’s absence.
Before going down with the ankle injury, Powell logged four minutes on the floor and had one attempt from the field against Stony Brook. Powell started his senior campaign in impressive fashion with 27 points in 30 minutes played against Wagner on Tuesday, Nov. 5. With or without their star player, Seton Hall was going to be in for a serious challenge against Michigan State. This game was originally set to feature two preseason All-Americans in Powell and Michigan State’s Cassius Winston.
The Pirates are facing a Spartans squad that has faced significant adversity in the infant stages of their season, both on the hardwood and off of it. Michigan State started its first game off with a 69-62 defeat to No. 1 Kentucky. As a result of the loss, the Spartans dropped from No. 1 in the rankings to No. 3. Winston was the only Michigan State player in double-figures with 21 points. The next leading scorer for the Spartans was Aaron Henry, who registered nine points.
On Saturday night, Winston’s personal life was rocked after the passing of his younger brother Zachary Winston in Albion, Mich. Less than 24 hours after the death of Winston’s brother, the Spartans played Binghamton in an emotional and tear-jerking contest. After the 100-47-win, Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo spoke on the tragedy; “My message to the team tonight was to play with a broken heart,” Izzo said. “I coached a lot of games in my career, but this was by far the most difficult day. I got word shortly after midnight and spent the next four or five hours with Cass and his family.”
Winston’s brother was a sophomore basketball player at Albion College. All three Winston brothers were involved in the same game on Oct. 29, when Michigan State played an exhibition game against Albion. The youngest brother is 18-year-old Khy Winston, who also plays for Albion. Zachary Winston did not play in that game versus Michigan State because of a hamstring injury.
In a heartfelt tribute to his late brother on Instagram, Michigan State’s Winston said; “I love you so much, if I could carry your pain I would wear it on my shoulders just to see you happy and wouldn’t think twice.”
Michigan State will come into Thursday’s game against Seton Hall with heavy hearts and an inspired attitude. On the other hand, Seton Hall must rely on the rest of their unit to fill the void that Powell’s injury left if he does not play. Seton Hall’s head coach Kevin Willard will make his second appearance of the year on Thursday, after making his return on Saturday from his previous suspension.
Pregame coverage on 89.5 FM WSOU will be hosted by Wilnir Louis and Jose Feliciano at 8:15 p.m., while Chris Russo and Dalton Allison will be on the call from the Prudential Center.
Michael Daly is the Web Editor for WSOU Sports and can be reached at wsousportswebeditor@gmail.com.
Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Men's Basketball
