VCU @ Seton Hall preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 17, 2011 ) VCU 54, Seton Hall 69

The best three-game stretch of Desi Rodriguez's career has helped to propel No. 19 Seton Hall up the rankings ahead of Saturday's matchup with visiting VCU in the Never Forget Tribute Classic. Rodriguez has scored 80 points as the Pirates have won three straight games, including a pair of wins over ranked teams, prior to the second meeting with the Rams.

Rodriguez, a 6-6 senior forward, had taken a back seat during his first three seasons to former teammate Isaiah Whitehead and current teammates Khadeen Carrington and Angel Delgado, but that is no longer the case. In a 79-77 victory at then-No. 17 Louisville, the first for Seton Hall since 1952, Rodriguez scored 19 first-half points and finished with 29 after hitting the game-winning shot on a driving layup with seven seconds remaining. "Last week against Rhode Island, I didn't put it in his hands," coach Kevin Willard told the media of the Pirate's only defeat. "I made sure the rest of the year it would get in his hands at the end of the game." Justin Tillman and De'Riante Jenkins are two of five players to average double figures in the scoring for the Rams, who are coming off an emotional 71-67 defeat to Texas and former coach Shaka Smart.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, FOX

ABOUT VCU (5-4): The Rams have faced no shortage of tough competition this season with losses to Virginia, Marquette and Michigan in addition to Texas, but in the Pirates, they will be playing their first ranked opponent this season. First-year coach Mike Rhoades, who led a resurgence at Rice after spending six seasons as an associate head coach at VCU under Smart, has his team excelling from behind the 3-point line with Tillman, Jenkins, Jonathan Williams and Khris Lane each shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. The Rams haven't been able to create the havoc on defense they were known for under Smart as they have averaged only 6.4 steals while permitting opponents to shoot 46.5 percent from the field.

ABOUT SETON HALL (7-1): Myles Cale hasn't factored into many games this season, but against Louisville, he made several key plays. The freshman guard played only 12 minutes, but came up with four steals and converted one of them into his only two points in the game for the Pirates, who defeated the Rams 69-54 in the Charleston Classic in 2011. "When we got down seven, he checked in and got two huge big deflections, go us out on the break, and all of a sudden, he gave us good juice off the bench," Willard, whose team has won 20 straight non-conference games at the Prudential Center, the site of the game which honors 9-11 victims, told the media.

TIP-INS

1. The Pirates, who moved up five spots in the rankings, have won 51 of their last 54 games when securing a seven-point lead at any point in a contest.

2. Carrington scored a season-high 18 points against Louisville to move into 22nd place on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list with 1,410 points.

3. Delgado recorded his 55th career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Louisville, which had won 22 straight non-conference games at home.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 77, VCU 70