Monmouth-NJ @ Seton Hall preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 18, 2013 ) Monmouth-NJ 66, Seton Hall 82

Seton Hall will continue with the Battle of New Jersey on Sunday when it tips off against visiting Monmouth. The No. 23 Pirates got just about everyone involved in beating in-state foe Fairleigh Dickinson for their eighth straight season opening win and will now look to stay unbeaten against the Hawks.

Desi Rodriguez led the way with 17 points and Angel Delgado recorded his 51st career double-double, but no player logged more than 23 minutes for the Pirates, who opened to a 47-28 halftime lead. The story of the night, aside from the play of freshman Myles Cale, was the way Khadeen Carrington orchestrated the offense in his debut at point guard. "He didn't really know how to pass the ball," Delgado said of Carrington, who handed out six assists. "He really worked over the summer on how to pass the ball and how to get people open." Micah Seaborn registered 34 minutes in notching his first career double-double and made a pair of free throws with five seconds left to lift the Hawks over Bucknell, an NCAA Tournament team last season, 79-78.

TV: 1:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MONMOUTH (1-0): Apparently all Diago Quinn needed was an opportunity as the junior broke out with 16 points and seven rebounds in the opener after not doing much with limited playing time in his first two seasons in West Long Branch. It was only the second career game in double figures for the 6-9 forward, whose production is needed to make up for the loss of three of the Hawk's top four scorers from last season. Six freshmen, led by Deion Hammond (13 points) and Melik Martin (eight rebounds), made their debuts for coach King Rice.

ABOUT SETON HALL (1-0): Cale, a 6-5 guard, lived up to his billing as one of the top players coming out of Delaware by producing 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Coach Kevin Willard gave Cale high praise prior to the season when he told reporters: "Myles is a very gifted athlete that knows how to score the basketball and the sky is the limit for him. He will have an opportunity to become a star in the Big East." Another freshman - 6-10 Sandro Mamukelashvili - also had an encouraging debut with eight points and five offensive rebounds for the Pirates, who have an average margin of victory of 18.6 points against Monmouth.

TIP-INS

1. The Pirates, who are 12-0 against the Hawks, have won seven straight against teams from New Jersey and have games upcoming with New Jersey Tech and Rutgers.

2. The victory over Fairleigh Dickinson was the 17th straight non-conference win for Seton Hall at the Prudential Center, where they are 56-8 all-time in non-Big East games.

3. The Hawks, who improved to 5-2 in season openers under Rice, have lost 11 of the 12 meetings with the Pirates by double figures.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 85, Monmouth 63