Pirates vs NJIT Preview

Following Saturday night's 29-point dismantling of LIU, the Pirates (4-0) have a quick turnaround as they host the NJIT Highlanders (2-3) on Monday night.

The Highlanders jumped to Division I Men's Basketball in 2006-07 and when they won at Longwood on February 19, 2007, little did they know it would take them until January 19, 2009 to register another victory, which would ironically come against a team in its first season of Division 1 basketball (Bryant; led by the notorious Tim O'Shea).

NJIT set an NCAA record in losing 51 consecutive games after that night in California. Entering this season, NJIT had a record of 1-60 over the past two seasons. They've already rung up 2 wins this season, although one of them came against Division III St. Joseph's College. Their Division I win came last Tuesday, a 56-51 victory over Wagner in Newark.

NJIT's leading scorer is 6'3" 215 lb So. G Isiah Wilkerson (14 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.6 APT in 34.2 MPG). Despite leading the team in scoring, Wilkerson is shooting just .323 from the floor, and is only 4/23 from the arc (.174) and .649 (24/37) from the FT line. He has registered 3 double-doubles this season, grabbing at least 10 rebounds in 3 games. Wilkerson only has 12 TO in 171 total minutes.

6'3" 185 lb Jr. G Jheryl Wilson is the second-leading scorer, averaging 13.6 PPG in 30.4 MPG on .397 shooting. Wilson is also averaging 5.6 RPG, but has only dished out 8 assists this season. He went for 20 on 7/12 shooting against Manhattan in the season opener.

NJIT is shooting just .341 as a team this season, including an abysmal .236 from the perimeter. They have a +3.8 rebounding margin and +1.2 turnover margin, must of which is skewed by their dominance over DIII St. Joseph's (+30 rebounds, +12 TO). They were a total of -12 in rebounding against Manhattan, Wagner, and Stony Brook, being out-rebounded in every game. They also did not register a singe positive turnover margin in any of those 3 games.

Prediction: Seton Hall 90, NJIT 55