Seton Hall battles Central Connecticut St. in battle of surprising teams

Seton Hall has already matched its win total from last season, and the Pirates can exceed that number Wednesday night when they host Central Connecticut State in South Orange, N.J.

It will be the first game back for the Pirates since going 2-1 in the Maui Invitational, where they beat then-No. 23 North Carolina State in the first round and Washington State in the third-place game following a two-point loss to Southern California.

"We could be as good as we want -- as long as we keep the main thing the main thing," Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said on ESPN after the win over Washington State. "We're a defensive team, so as long as we keep scrapping and fighting and playing together -- what you're seeing right now is guys who like playing together. It shows on the court."

Pirates guard AJ Staton-McCray was named Big East Player of the Week after averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals in Hawaii.

The Pirates are third in the nation with 59 blocked shots. Freshman Najai Hines leads the Big East with 2.5 blocks per game.

Staton-McCray leads Seton Hall with 13.9 points per game. Mike Williams had 40 points in three games in Hawaii, emerging as another offensive weapon for the Hall.

"He played at a high level for two years at LSU, so he understands playing big-time basketball," Holloway said of Williams. "I think he really feels at home here because I've got confidence in him. The thing I really like about him is he's defending -- he's defending everybody's best guards."

This will be Central Connecticut State's second trip into New Jersey against a Division I team in two weeks.

The Blue Devils (5-2) clobbered Rutgers 67-54 on Nov. 21 and have won three in a row. The Blue Devils also have a one-point win on the road at Boston College.

Central Connecticut State has won the last two NEC regular-season titles. Darin Smith Jr. leads all NEC players averaging 20.7 points. Max Frazier (12.0) and Jay Rodgers (10.1) are also averaging in double figures.

"I've said it all the time: we have grown men with basketball IQ and offense, and they know how to play with each other," Blue Devils coach Patrick Sellers said after the win over Rutgers. "A lot of the time when you watch us play, we're not even running a set -- we're just playing basketball. We get into it, we get the ball ahead and then we just start playing."

--Field Level Media