Seton Hall joins GCU's loaded slate

Grand Canyon's most ambitious nonconference schedule turned even more formidable with the release of the Wooden Legacy tournament bracket.

GCU will face Seton Hall in a Nov. 22 first-round matchup at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) at Cal State Fullerton, giving the Lopes four nonconference opponents that were NCAA tournament participants this year.

The Pirates, coming off their third consecutive season of 20-plus wins, and Lopes are part of the Wooden Legacy's Thanksgiving break field, which also includes Miami (22-10 last season), Utah (23-12), Fresno State (21-11), Hawaii (17-13), Northwestern (15-17) and La Salle (13-19).

The GCU-Seton Hall winner will advance to a 9:30 p.m. Nov. 23 second-round game against the winner of Utah-Hawaii. All tournament games will be played at Titan Gym and televised on the ESPN family of networks.

Seton Hall went 22-12 last season and finished third in the Big East Conference behind Xavier and national champion Villanova. The Pirates lost four of their top five scorers, including two-time All-America honorable mention Angel Delgado and top scorer Desi Rodriguez.

Shooting guard Myles Powell is Seton Hall's leading returning scorer and will team in the backcourt with point guard Quincy McKnight, a Sacred Heart transfer who averaged 18.9 points as a sophomore. Transfer Taurean Thompson, a 6-foot-10 center who started for Syracuse as a freshman in 2016-17, also is eligible to join the Pirates' lineup this season.

Seton Hall is 68-33 over the past two seasons and won its first NCAA tournament game since 2004 when it beat North Carolina State in March. The Pirates lost 83-79 in the second round to Kansas, a No. 1 seed.

GCU's nonconference schedule also includes games against 2018 NCAA tourney teams South Dakota State (away on Nov. 6), Nevada (at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Dec. 9) and Texas (away on Dec. 15).

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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