Seton Corridor and Southern California picked up vital outcomes to start the Maui Invitational.
Constructing on these successes will likely be paramount when the Pirates and Trojans meet in Tuesday’s semifinals of the match at Lahaina, Hawaii.
Seton Corridor (6-0) recorded an 85-74 victory over No. 23 North Carolina State on Monday, handing the Wolfpack their first loss.
“An excellent win for us, a great win for our progress,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway mentioned. “However you possibly can’t get glad.”
Southern California (5-0) received its second shut sport in a row, edging Boise State 70-67 within the first spherical behind Rodney Rice’s 27 factors. The Trojans loved a 33-15 edge in 3-point scoring, with Rice connecting 4 occasions from past the arc.
Coach Eric Musselman mentioned the Trojans anticipate a bodily grueling matchup with Seton Corridor.
“We have to defensive rebound, for certain,” Musselman mentioned, “particularly with Seton Corridor. They tackle the persona of the top coach. They’re tough-minded.”
The Pirates can hit the boards. They’ve had 4 totally different gamers as their prime rebounder to date. Najai Hines, who’s Seton Corridor’s seventh-leading scorer, leads the workforce in rebounds at a median of 6.3 per sport.
Holloway mentioned there have been many good indicators for the Pirates to embrace from their first-round victory, notably how they started the second half.
“We simply acquired to play our basketball,” he mentioned. “We begin enjoying the way in which I believe we will play, I believe we acquired an opportunity.”
It wasn’t simply the offense, however what Seton Corridor’s protection did to North Carolina State to assist ignite the offense.
“We acquired some stops,” Holloway mentioned. “We acquired some run-outs.”
Holloway mentioned he is aware of that success could be fleeting, however defeating the Wolfpack ought to assist the Pirates consider in themselves.
“I name this the marathon,” Holloway mentioned. “That is a part of the marathon for us.”
By defeating Boise State, Southern California improved to 3-4 all-time in video games within the Maui Invitational. The Trojans have by no means received the match.
Southern Cal survived a three-overtime sport in opposition to Troy earlier than heading to Hawaii. Regardless of the nip-and-tuck nature of November video games, there’s tons for Musselman to study his workforce.
“I am nonetheless undecided what our go-to performs are,” he mentioned.
–Subject Stage Media
