WSOU

Preview: Pirates Start Climb Through NIT in the Rockies vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: March 14, 2023

By: Michael Federico

Tyrese Samuel vs Villanova.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU

The Seton Hall Pirates’ (17-15) season continues on Tuesday night as the team accepts their bid into the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and will face off against the No. 3-seed Colorado Buffaloes (17-16). This is the first men’s basketball matchup all-time between the two schools.

The Pirates are coming off of a disappointing finish in the BIG EAST tournament, where the No. 6-seeded Hall lost to the No. 10-seeded DePaul Blue Demons to a score of 66-65. A wild ending in the opening round of the tournament left them hungry for another postseason game.

Luckily for the Pirates and first year head coach Shaheen Holloway, the team gets another shot at making a run in the NIT and it starts in the Rocky Mountains.

Coach Holloway is looking to add to his list of records here at The Hall in his first season as head coach. Coach Holloway had the most total wins, most BIG EAST wins, and most road wins for a BIG EAST head coach in their first year.

The big question mark surrounding the Pirates is the availability of the Syracuse transfer Kadary Richmond who has not played since Feb. 18, where Richmond exited the first half of the UConn game with a back injury.

Richmond’s presence is definitely missed as the junior is averaging 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and two steals per game.

Stepping up for Seton Hall has been Femi Odukale, the junior transfer from Pitt, who is averaging 12.8 points and three steals per game in Richmond’s absence. Odukale is entering Tuesday night’s matchup coming off of back-to-back games with four steals. The Pirates’ defense is going to be a key factor if they want to advance to the second round of the NIT.

Scouting the Colorado Buffaloes, they have two players who have performed all season for the team.

The first is Tristan da Silva who earned himself a First Team All Pac-12 honor with his play, averaging 16 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game.

The other is KJ Simpson who earned Second Team All Pac-12. The sophomore averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Simpson has scored double digits in 26 of the 29 games he has played in this season.

The Seton Hall Pirates will have a tough matchup ahead of them against a team in Colorado that is 12-4 at home. The winner of Tuesday's game will play the winner of the No. 2-seeded New Mexico and Utah Valley game in the second round.

Tipoff is at 11:00 p.m. in Boulder, Colo. with Joe Matthews and John Makuch on the call from the Coors Events Center. Coverage starts at 10:30 p.m. right here on WSOU 89.5 FM.

Michael Federico is an Assistant Sports Director at WSOU and can be reached at michael.federico@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Game Previews

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