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The Seton Hall men’s and women's basketball teams have announced their 2016-17 non-conference schedules.
The men will face off against nine teams that advanced to play postseason basketball last season, including games against four NCAA tournament teams.
Isaiah Whitehead and Derrick Gordon are gone, but this young Seton Hall squad has mostly retained a core group of players that beat Villanova to capture the Hall’s first Big East title since 1993.
The non-conference schedule includes five home games, four taking place at the Prudential Center and one at Walsh Gymnasium. The regular season opener will be on Nov. 11 at Walsh against defending NEC Tournament champions Farleigh Dickinson.
The four non-conference home games at the Prudential Center will be against Central Connecticut, Columbia, Delaware and rival Rutgers in the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Dec. 23.
The Pirates will also participate in a few tournaments, including the 2016 AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla. The ESPN Events tournament features five teams that advanced to the postseason, including three NCAA Sweet Sixteen teams in Gonzaga, Iowa State and Miami, as well as NIT quarterfinalists Florida.
The Hall will also participate in the Pearl Harbor Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, which will raise awareness and pay tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. They will play Hawaii on Dec. 6 and California on Dec. 7.
The women’s team, coming off of two straight NCAA tournament appearances, will have a tough 11-game non-conference schedule to begin their season. Some of the bigger contests include home games against Boston and Wake Forest, road games versus Minnesota, Princeton and Rutgers, and the SHU Thanksgiving Classic in South Orange.
"We always do our best to challenge ourselves with a tough non-conference schedule and this year, despite our young team, is no exception," head coach Tony Bozzella said in a press release. "In addition to bringing two teams from the ACC into our gym, we will play two Big Ten teams on the road and overall face a blend of national programs along with local rivals.”
Seton Hall will reignite their in-state rivalry with Princeton, a team that blew a 32-game regular season win streak to the Pirates at Walsh Gym last season. The Hall also cruised to a 77-49 victory against Rutgers last year at home.
All games for both teams will be broadcasted on WSOU and 89.5 FM, and a full TV schedule will be announced at a later date.
Bobby Bevilacqua can be contacted by email at robert.bevilacqua@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @rpb725.
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