Thursday, August 26, 2010

A look at Saint Peter's Non-League Sked

Here's a look at Saint Peter's non-league schedule.

The Peacocks play in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas on the U.S. Virgin Islands with a first-round game on Nov. 19, a second-round contest on either Nov. 20 or 21 and a third game on Nov. 22. They'll meet Old Dominion in the opener, then either Clemson or Long Beach State in the next game and, finally, an opponent from the other bracket of the eight-team event in the final game (the other bracket includes Alabama, Seton Hall, Xavier and Iona).

St. Pete's plays non-league away game on Nov. 13 (Robert Morris), Nov. 29 (Seton Hall), Dec. 11 (Wagner), Dec. 21 (Binghamton0, Dec. 23 (Rutgers) and Dec. 29 (Lehigh).

It plays home games on Nov. 27 (LIU), Dec. 18 (FDU).

It will also participate in a BracketBusters game in mid-February.

Game by game insight:

- Robert Morris: Picked for 4th (by The Sporting News' College Basketball Annual) in the 12-team NEC. It finished 23-12 lasg season and was its league's representative to the NCAA tournament. Best Player: 5-9 sophomore guard Karon Abraham (13.6 points per game last season) was the NEC's Rookie of the Year.

- Old Dominion: Picked for 2nd in the 12-team Colonial Athletic Association. Finished 27-9 last season and played in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. Best player: 6-8 senior forward Frank Hassell (9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds).

- LIU: Picked to finish 2nd in the 12-team Northeast Conference. Finished 14-17 last season. Has four returning starters. Best Player: Senior guard Kyle Johnson (11.5 ppg.) and forward Kenny Onyechi (league-best 2.1 blocks per game).

- Seton Hall: Picked to finish 12th in the 16-team Big East Conference. Finished 19-13 last season. Its new head coach is Kevin Willard, who spent the last three years in the MAAC as the head man at Iona. Best Players: 6-8 junior forward Herb Pope (11.5 points, 10.7 rebounds), 6-5 senior guard Jeremy Hazell (20.4 points).

- Wagner: Picked for 11th in the 12-team Northeast Conference. Finished 5-26 last season. New head coach with former Seton Hall star Danny Hurley. Best player: Junior guard Chris Martin (12.1 points).

- FDU: Picked to finish 8th in the 12-team NEC. Finished 11-21 last season and lost its top scorer and top rebounder to graduation. Top Player: Senior guard Mike Scott (12.6 points, 5.4 assists).

- Binghamton: Picked for 6th in the 9-team America East conference. Finished 11-17 last season. Best player: 6-7 senior forward Greer Wright (15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds).

- Rutgers: Picked for 14th in the 16-team Big East Conference. Finished 15-17 last season. New head coach in Mike Rice, formerly at Robert Morris. Best player: 6-7 senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (11.8 points).

- Lehigh: Picked for 5th in the 8-team Patriot League. Finished 22-11 last season. Best player: 6-2 sophomore guard C.J. McCollum (19.1 points, 5.0 rebounds). He was last season's top-scorer among freshmen nationally.

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