Iowa-Seton Hall is distinct men’s basketball clash of styles

A torrid offense against a tenacious defense.

That’s the tagline for Wednesday night’s Iowa-Seton Hall men’s basketball contest, It’s part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, the eght-game series this week between members of the Big Ten and Big East conferences.

The Hawkeyes have an interesting road tipoff, a true clash of styles. As of Monday morning, Iowa was one of 10 teams in the nation averaging at least 100 points per game while the Pirates of South Orange, N.J., were one of 14 teams holding opponents under 50 points per outing.

That was with just two home games apiece under their belts, and no expected NCAA tournament contenders among the opposition. Now the two 2022 NCAA participants get a serious rise in competition when they clash at 6:30 (CT) at Newark’s Prudential Center.

The Hawkeyes shellshocked Bethune-Cookman and North Carolina A&T last week, scoring a total of 201 points and shooting 51.4 percent from the field.

Seton Hall easily defeated fellow New Jersey schools Monmouth and Saint Peter’s, holding them to 52 and 44 points, respectively. The Pirates’ foes shot a combined 28.7 percent from the floor and 15.9 percent from 3-point distance.

“They are very good,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “They’re deep. They’re obviously well-coached. They have a really good collection of pieces. Athletes, drivers, power guys, versatility.”

Shaheen Holloway, who coached No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight last March in one of the NCAA tourney’s best underdog stories ever, is Seton Hall’s coach.

Of the 10 players in Holloway’s rotation, seven transferred to Seton Hall either this year or earlier, four from ACC programs. He has five players averaging at least nine points per game. Only one is a starter.

Iowa got what it wanted last week, shakedown cruises that got Tony Perkins established as the starting point guard and plenty of playing time for his backups, junior Ahron Ulis and freshman Dasonte Bowen.

Power forward Filip Rebraca and sophomore wing Payton Sandfort had strong starts, and juniors Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery took commanding offensive roles as expected.

Now it’s time to play somebody. This is just the start. The Hawkeyes will face six more games against teams from major conferences by Dec. 11.

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