In this series, we’ll look ahead at Mizzou’s opponents in the upcoming 2023-24 season. We’ll continue by previewing the Seton Hall Pirates.
Date & Location: Dec. 17 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
2022-23 Record: 17-16 overall (10-10 Big East)
NCAA Tournament Finish: N/A (Lost to Colorado in the first round of the NIT)
KEY LOSSES
Tae Davis (transferred), Jamir Harris (graduated), Tray Jackson (transferred), KC Ndefo (graduated), Femi Odukale (transferred), Tyrese Samuel (transferred), Alexis Yetna (transferred)
KEY RETURNERS
Al-Amir Dawes, Dre Davis, JaQuan Harris, Kadary Richmond, Jaquan Sanders
KEY INCOMING TRANSFERS
Dylan Addae-Wusu (St. John’s, 9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg), Jaden Bediako (Santa Clara, 6.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.1 apg), Elijah Hutchins-Everett (Austin Peay, 11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.9 apg), Sadraque NgaNga (Boise State, 2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg)
KEY INCOMING FRESHMEN (rankings from Rivals.com)
Isaiah Coleman (No. 81), Davis Tubek (N/A), Arda Ozdogan (N/A), Malachi Brown (N/A)
OUTLOOK
Shaheen Holloway’s return to Seton Hall didn’t go quite the way the head coach anticipated in his first year. After a 2021-22 season in which the Pirates received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were eliminated in the first round, the team barely eked out a winning season last year, earning victories in just two of their final nine games and missing out on the Big Dance altogether.
There were, however, moments of promise, with wins over NCAA tournament teams such as Memphis, Providence and eventual national champion UConn. And with another offseason spent reshaping the roster to his liking, Holloway might be ready to push Seton Hall above the middle of the pack in the Big East.
The head coach retained his starting backcourt of Kadary Richardson and Al-Amir Dawes. Richardson was top-50 in the country in assist rate last year according to Kenpom, accounting for 31.6% of his team’s dimes while he was on the floor. The 6-foot-4 point guard also produced a steal on 4.2% of possessions, which ranked 30th in the country and helped the Pirates finish 20th overall in adjusted defensive efficiency. Dawes should once again be the centerpiece of the offense after leading the team with 12.6 points per game. The senior proved his ability to space the floor at a high level last year knocking down 38.2% of his 3-pointers on 6.2 attempts per game.
Richarson and Dawes are set to play big minutes, so the rest of the rotation shouldn't be too big of an issue, though the depth is a bit iffy. JaQuan Harris missed all of last year with a knee injury and may not be available for the beginning of the season. Holloway brought in freshman Malachi Brown just before the beginning of the semester. But if Harris is unavailable and Brown doesn’t prove he’s ready for minutes, Dylan Addae-Wusu may have to function as the team’s de facto backup point guard despite a career 1.45 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jaquan Sanders, who saw limited minutes as a freshman last season, may also be leaned on for a bigger role this year.
There are tougher questions in the frontcourt, where Seton Hall lost most of its production from last season. Dre Davis, the team’s sixth man last year, and four-star freshman Isaiah Coleman will compete for minutes on the wing. But the rest of the rotation at the other forward spots is a complete toss-up, especially after the Pirates lost three of their top four rebounders from a year ago.
Jaden Bediako brings the most experience but hasn’t been nearly as effective protecting the rim as his brother, former Alabama center Charles Bediako. Elijah Hutchins-Everett has put up decent numbers in his first two years of college ball but did so for an Austin Peay team that won just 21 games over the two seasons combined. Sadraque NgaNga was rated No. 108 by Rivals.com in the Class of 2022 but barely saw the floor as a rookie at Boise State. And three-star freshman Davis Tubek and Ankara, Turkey native Arda Ozdogan will need to prove they can play at a high-major level before seeing significant minutes.
Mizzou will face off with the Pirates in a semi-home game, with the Tigers only needing to travel 127 miles west. If both teams have a good grasp on their rotations by then, it could make for an interesting matchup.
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