Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway cuts down net after winning NIT
Seton Hall basketball coach Shaheen Holloway cuts down the net after winning the NIT
In his third season at the helm, Seton Hall basketball coach Shaheen Holloway has produced a non-conference schedule that meets two of his stated criteria: to play local opponents, and to scale back the degree of difficulty from the slates he largely inherited the past two years.
Here is the Pirates’ 2024-25 slate, followed by three takeaways (most times and TV designations will be added later, along with the Big East schedule):
Monday, Nov. 4 vs. Saint Peter’s at Prudential Center
Saturday Nov. 9 vs. Fordham at Walsh Gym
Wednesday, Nov. 13 vs. Hofstra at Nassau Coliseum
Saturday, Nov. 16 vs. Wagner at Walsh Gym
Thursday, Nov. 21 vs. VCU at Charleston Classic, 5 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22 vs. Vanderbilt or Nevada at Charleston Classic, 5 or 7:30 p.m.
Sunday. Nov. 24 vs. TBD at Charleston Classic, time TBD
Saturday, Nov. 30 vs. Monmouth at Prudential Center
Wednesday, Dec. 4 vs. NJIT at Prudential Center
Sunday, Dec. 8 vs. Oklahoma State at Prudential Center
Saturday, Dec. 14 at Rutgers
3 TAKEAWAYS
1. More Walsh Gym action
This marks just the second time Seton Hall has scheduled two non-conference regular-season games in Walsh Gym since 1992. Using the historic 1,300 seat venue twice this fall is not inspired by the raucous atmosphere of last March’s NIT games there. It’s because open dates at the Prudential Center were hard to get with the Devils, concerts and other events already on the books. The Fordham game originally was intended for the Rock but got moved to campus due to a concert.
Playing at Walsh is both charming and advantageous (a hoop-head’s paradise in many ways), and should remain an annual staple, but in terms of revenue, its capacity is way smaller than the season-ticket base. The challenge of finding suitable dates in Newark also is why the non-conference slate got announced later than usual.
2. An appropriate difficulty level
In the later years of Kevin Willard’s regime, Seton Hall ramped up out of conference commensurate with the program’s status as a top 25 contender with plenty of proven Big East talent. Holloway has said, more than once, that those schedules were too difficult for this new phase, when high turnover means a longer adjustment period at a season’s start. Plus, sadly, the metrics behind the NCAA Tournament’s selection process seem to favor scheduling down.
This slate seems right for where the Hall is at – 10 new players, only one of whom has Big East experience (although early word is that Holloway is impressed by what he’s seen thus far). The Charleston Classic (which also includes Miami, Drake, Oklahoma State and Florida Atlantic) is wide open. The Pirates’ Big East-Big 12 Battle draw, Oklahoma State, has been down.
On the flip side, at Rutgers will be a stiff test and the other locals on the docket are seemingly decent for their levels – there might well not be a 300-plus-ranked metrics drainer among them.
3. Local, local, local
Outside of the Charleston Classic, seven of the Pirates’ eight opponents are from New Jersey or New York. That’s good for fans and the sport in the area. As an added bonus, Wagner and NJIT are coached by former Pirates Donald Copeland and Grant Billmeier, who helped the program reach the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2006.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
