The Pirates will travel to Massachusetts to face the Minutemen this Saturday before they enter into a five-game homestand that begins on Monday against Longwood.
The Hall is entering the road matchup coming off a 71-62 loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Direct TV SEC/Big East Invitational on Dec. 8. Jordan Theodore led in scoring with a career-best 24 point performance. He was the only player on the roster to score in double figures.
The 7-2 Minutemen will be coming into their second of four straight home games at the Mullins Center after falling to Maine on the same night by a score of 68-56.
Anthony Gurley averages a team-high 20.3 points per game in addition to 4.3 rebounds. Freddie Riley, Sampson Carter and Javorn Farrell also average points in double digits.
The Atlantic 10 team has recorded wins against Rider, Sacred Heart, New Mexico State, soon-to-be Big East team Texas Christian, American Internation, Holy Cross and Quinnipiac.
Their only loss came against Boston College in the Boston Tip-Off Classic, a game at TD Garden that was attended by over 10,000 fans, on Dec. 4. The Minutemen were five points shy of topping the Eagles (76-71), despite 20 second half points from Gurley.
Following the game against the Pirates, UMass will be playing in home games against Central Florida and Boston University on Dec. 22 and New Years Eve, respectively.
On Dec. 13, Seton Hall squares off against the Longwood University Lancers (3-6) who look to rebound from a 31-point loss against Marquette at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis. on Dec. 4.
A 13-4 run about 10 minutes into the first half brought the Lancers within four points of the Golden Eagles, but they were not able to come any closer for the remainder of the contest as they trailed by 23 at halftime. The game marked the first ever meeting between the two teams.
In the loss, junior Martiz Washington tallied a team-high 15 points off the bench, all of which came from three pointers. Starting center Antwan Carter finished the game with 14 points for the Lancers.
Half of Longwood's six losses were decided by over 25 points. Their three consecutive wins from Nov. 18 to Nov. 22 came against Virginia-Wise, Columbia and Montreat, all at home.
Seton Hall will be playing without leading scorer, senior guard Jeremy Hazell, who broke his wrist in the opening round of the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands in mid-November. Hazell recently underwent surgery in an effort to prevent any long-term damage.
Prior to the injury, Hazell averaged 24 points per game and was shooting 52.6 percent from the field.
It is not known which players will make up the starting five as head coach Kevin Willard has tried a number of combinations during the early portion of the schedule.
Ferrakohn Hall, Jeff Robinson, Keon Lawrence, Fuquan Edwin and Theodore were the ones who got the starting roles on Wednesday night against the Razorbacks.
Gabrielle Kiger can be reached at gabrielle.kiger@student.shu.edu
