Saint Peter's @ Seton Hall preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 13, 2015 ) St. Peter's 46, Seton Hall 72

Seton Hall finds itself ranked among the top 15 teams in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time as it prepares to host Saint Peter's on Tuesday. The No. 15 Pirates followed up an impressive road win at then-No. 17 Louisville by throttling VCU 90-67 last week and will be in search of their 20th victory in the last 21 games against the Peacocks.

Unlike in their previous three games, when Desi Rodriguez led the way by averaging 26.6 points, the Pirates shared the ball against VCU, resulting in all five starters in double figures. "We've been playing together for so long, so everybody knows their role," senior Angel Delgado told the media. "We don't focus on one guy. Everybody knows when it's your night and when it's not your night." Aside from an overtime defeat in 2013, the Pirates have had little trouble with Saint Peter's, winning 15 games this century by an average margin of 14.9 points. Senior Nick Griffin, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's No. 4 scorer, has turned it on of late for the Peacocks of Jersey City, averaging 21.8 points over the past four games.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT SAINT PETER'S (4-4): With an offense ranked in the bottom 50 of Division I, the Peacocks must rely on defense, something they have done for the last four seasons under coach John Dunne, who was an assistant at Seton Hall from 2001-06. The Peacocks lead the MAAC in scoring defense, field goal defense, 3-point defense and turnover margin. Davauhnte Turner has reached double figures in scoring in three straight games after doing so just once over the first five games for the Peacocks, who own a 24-point victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, a team Seton Hall defeated by 22 points to open the season.

ABOUT SETON HALL (8-1): Michael Nzei got a rare chance to start when Ismael Sanogo was relegated to the bench with an ankle injury and the junior came through with his best performance of the season against VCU. The 6-8 forward from Nigeria made 7-of-8 field goals and scored 14 points while combining with the other starters to shoot 60.4 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Myles Powell contributed 16 points against VCU and remains the only player to score in double figures in every game this season for coach Kevin Willard.

TIP-INS

1. The Pirates have won 25 straight non-conference home games, including four straight at Walsh Gymnasium, the site of Tuesday's game.

2. Nzei has made 22-of-32 from the field this season for Seton Hall, which last received a top 15 ranking of any kind in January 2001.

3. Seton Hall is 43-13 when Delgado notches a double-double.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 75, Saint Peter's 60