Maui Game 1: NC State vs Seton Hall

When: Monday November 24 – 2:30 PM ET

Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii

TV: ESPN2

Opponent: Seton Hall Pirates (Big East Conference)

Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 75-67 / NC State 77-69

Wolfpack Snapshot:

• Record: 4-0
• Rankings: AP #25 KP #19, BT #32

Wolfpack Player Notes:

• Terrance Arceneaux has been cleared to play.
• Ven Lubin played 22 minutes against VCU and played well, his thumb no longer appears to be an issue

Team Statistical Comparison

Opponent Overview:

Shaheen Holloway was a four-year player at Seton Hall, starting 109 of 116 games. He was elected to the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Coach Holloway secured his spot in NCAA tournament history in 2022 by leading Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight, riding upset victories over Kentucky and Purdue. In March 2022, he accepted the head coaching job. He is beginning his 9^th season as a head coach.

Seton Hall was terrible in ’24-’25, finishing last in the Big East at 7-25 / 2-18.

The Big East voters unanimously picked them to be similarly terrible again this season. (picked last)

To wash last season’s bad taste out of his mouth, Coach Holloway brought in 10 transfers, including former Wolfpacker Trey Parker. Trey is averaging 16 minutes a game, 9th on the team and appears to be in the regular 9-man rotation. (added to the player stats table – just because)

The highlight transfer is point-guard Adam “Budd” Clark of Merrimack, an All-MAAC first team selection a year ago who averaged 19.8 points and six assists. He also added Elijah Fisher (Pacific), Mike Williams (LSU) and AJ Staton-McCray (Miami).

Top-75 freshman forward Najai Hines (6’10” 265) is their highlight freshman.

Fun Fact: For those who obsess about height, the Pirates are not. KenPom ranks them 326th in team average height. [yay!] They are the only team in the field the Wolfpack is taller than. [boo!]

Their Season So Far:

Record: 5-0

Rankings: KP #88, BT #101

• Game 1: Saint Peter’s 77-50 (KP #303) – Blowout, up 13 at the half, won by 27.
• Game 2: Wagner 68-61 (KP #332) – Wagner was up 1 at the half, but the Pirates built a 10 pt lead in the second and held them off to win by 7.
• Game 3: Fairfield 82-59 (KP #278) – Close in the first half 37-32 at halftime, but the Pirates built a 17-point lead halfway through the second and finished 82-59.
• Game 4; Monmouth 70-58 (KP #207) – Monmouth led 34-27 at the half, but the Hall came back to lead by as much as 18 in the second and won 70-58.
• Game 5: New Haven 68-45 (KP #359) – Blowout, up 14 at the half, won by 23.

Probable Starters

9 Things to Watch For:

1. Key Stat – NC State (looking at you Tre & Q) will need to be better at protecting the ball than we’ve seen. (Pack opponents avg 7.8 steals) Seton Hall averages 10.4 steals. Guards Clark and Staton-McCray each have 4 steal games.
2. Key Stat – Paul McNeil – He was ‘0-fer’ last game. P2 took 3 shots in the first half then only one in the second. All were 3PT attempts. He needs to attempt more than 4 shots, and sometimes he needs to attack the basket rather than just wait for catch and shoot opportunities. Hot or cold, he needs to be perceived as a threat. If not, Matt Able will.
3. NC State’s rotation – The Pack has to use it’s depth. Arceneaux is coming back right on time, we should also see more of Jerry Deng and Alyn Breed. We will see 10 and possibly 11 (“Big Scottie takes the pineapple the length of the court for the monster jam”) players every day.
4. Maximize possessions. The Pirates are very good defensively, ranked 27 in KP defensive efficiency. (VCU is ranked 28)
5. Seton Hall has not relied heavily on the 3PT shot nor have they shot it well – Like the VCU game, the Wolfpack will sit back and allow them to take them and focus on protecting the paint.
6. The Hall wants a low scoring, low possession game. They are 350th in tempo and 362nd in average possession length.
7. The Pirates do not turn the ball over much – they are top 40 in turnovers committed
8. Terrance Arceneaux – He’s only played 18 minutes this season. He needs get enough minutes to work through the rust in this one, the Wolfpack will need his ‘A’ game Tuesday and Wednesday. (and the rest of the season)
9. This game will be played at 9:30 AM local time. Can’t afford a slow start against a team that will be tough to score against.

Prediction:

This game pits NC State’s 16th ranked offensive efficiency and 31st ranked defensive efficiency against Seton Hall’s 151st ranked offense and 27th ranked defense. The Pirates won’t make it easy, but they will struggle to keep up with the Wolfpack offensive tsumani.

NC State wins a tough game, 80-69. Go Pack!