Pirates are typically known for their seafaring ways, easily blown by the wind in pursuit of loot and plunder. But Seton Hall’s Pirates are all about the comforts of home.
Head Coach Bobby Gonzalez’ group is 9-1 on their home hardwood heading into Friday night’s contest with Georgetown at Continental Airlines Arena. On the road, the Pirates are a mere 2-5.
Friday will be the second stop on the Hoyas’ 2007 tour of New Jersey following a 68-54 victory over Rutgers Wednesday night in Piscataway. Seton Hall (11-6, 3-2 Big East) has won eight straight in East Rutherford, the latest a 69-68 last-second nail-biter against Providence.
The win was sweet revenge for the Pirates, who had fallen to the Providence Friars just eight days before. Georgetown (12-5, 2-2) will try to avoid being derailed by Seton Hall’s full court press. True to their looting ways, the Pirates lead the Big East in steals per game, with 11.2 per contest.
Pressure defense has plagued the Hoyas in their two conference losses to Villanova and Pitt, so junior point guard Jonathan Wallace and sophomore guard Jessie Sapp will have an eye out for sophomore Paul Gause, who has pilfered slyly throughout the season.
Wallace and Sapp should benefit from spending the second half of Wednesday night’s win at the RAC resting on the bench.
Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said after the victory that he hopes Wallace will benefit from the half of rest he received against Rutgers. “I wanted to see if once we got the lead, got a cushion, to see if the young guys could play and give those guys a rest.”
The “young guys” have certainly stepped up as of late, as freshman DaJuan Summers led the team in scoring against Rutgers for the fifth time this season. Summers’ 17-point tally was one shy of his career high that came earlier in the season against Towson.
Seton Hall has a prodigy of its own in freshman guard Eugene Harvey, who leads all conference first-years with 16.1 points and 4.8 assists per game. Harvey and junior guard Brian Laing, who leads the team in scoring, combine to form a dangerous backcourt tandem.
Also gaining valuable playing time was junior forward Patrick Ewing Jr., who has tempered his emotional style in order to become a more consistent player.
“I think early in the year, for lack of a better word, Patrick was too antsy trying to make plays,” Thompson III said of the transfer from Indiana. “Now he’s just playing, and he’s been much more effective.”
Junior center Roy Hibbert did his part to silence critics who have called him soft throughout the season, scoring 16 points and raising his season field goal percentage to one of the top in the nation at 70.2 percent. Hibbert is averaging nearly 12 points a game and has 43 blocks on the defensive end.
The Pirates will surely have the teams’ last meeting on the mind, a 56-51 Hoya triumph that knocked Seton Hall from the conference tournament last March.
Although Gonzalez is in his first year in East Rutherford, he is no stranger to big-time hoops. In 2004, Gonzalez’ Manhattan team ousted five-seed Florida from the NCAA tournament and nearly vanquished fourth-seeded Wake Forest in the next round. Gonzalez also served as an assistant at Providence for four years prior to taking over the Jaspers.
Gonzalez’ current team is in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big East, and a victory in his first match with Thompson would be the breakthrough win Gonzalez needs to establish a solid foundation in the fertile recruiting bed that is the New York metropolitan area.
Gonzalez’ Pirates will push the road-weary Hoyas hard. The last time the Hoyas played twice in three days against a quick, pressing team, the result was a 56-52 loss at the hands of Villanova.
“The one-day turnaround hurt us last time.” Thompson said. “We will see what happens on Friday.”
The opening tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Continental Airlines Arena.
