When: Monday November 24 – 2:30 PM ET
Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii
Opponent: Seton Hall Pirates (Big East Conference)
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 75-67 / NC State 77-69
Team Statistical Comparison
Shaheen Holloway was a four-year player at Seton Hall, starting 109 of 116 games. He was elected to the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Coach Holloway secured his spot in NCAA tournament history in 2022 by leading Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight, riding upset victories over Kentucky and Purdue. In March 2022, he accepted the head coaching job. He is beginning his 9th season as a head coach.
Seton Hall was terrible in ’24-’25, finishing last in the Big East at 7-25 / 2-18.
The Big East voters unanimously picked them to be similarly terrible again this season. (picked last)
To wash last season’s bad taste out of his mouth, Coach Holloway brought in 10 transfers, including former Wolfpacker Trey Parker. Trey is averaging 16 minutes a game, 9th on the team and appears to be in the regular 9-man rotation. (added to the player stats table – just because)
The highlight transfer is point-guard Adam “Budd” Clark of Merrimack, an All-MAAC first team selection a year ago who averaged 19.8 points and six assists. He also added Elijah Fisher (Pacific), Mike Williams (LSU) and AJ Staton-McCray (Miami).
Top-75 freshman forward Najai Hines (6’10” 265) is their highlight freshman.
Fun Fact: For those who obsess about height, the Pirates are not. KenPom ranks them 326th in team average height. [yay!] They are the only team in the field the Wolfpack is taller than. [boo!]
Rankings: KP #88, BT #101
This game pits NC State’s 16th ranked offensive efficiency and 31st ranked defensive efficiency against Seton Hall’s 151st ranked offense and 27th ranked defense. The Pirates won’t make it easy, but they will struggle to keep up with the Wolfpack offensive tsumani.
NC State wins a tough game, 80-69. Go Pack!
